Brook trout (speckled trout)

A char: dark olive back with pale, worm-like markings ('vermiculations'), red spots with blue halos on the sides, and lower fins edged in white with a black line.

8–14 in in streams; 2–5 lb in big northern rivers and lakes.

About 2 ft and over 14 lb; the world record came from the Nipigon River in Ontario.

Insects, salmon eggs and flesh, sculpins, smolts, leeches and small fish.

River and lake fish that hold behind rocks, at the tail of pools and along seams where slow water meets fast water. In salmon country they follow the spawning salmon to eat their eggs.

Found from Northern Ontario, Quebec, Hudson Bay & Labrador, New Hampshire & Maine and Newfoundland & Gaspé. Cold, clean streams, rivers and lakes from Maine to Labrador and Hudson Bay; the Nipigon River, the Broadback, and the rivers of Labrador are famous for trophies. Some run to the sea ('salters') or into Lake Superior ('coasters').

Cold, clean streams, rivers and lakes from Maine to Labrador and Hudson Bay; the Nipigon River, the Broadback, and the rivers of Labrador are famous for trophies. Some run to the sea ('salters') or into Lake Superior ('coasters').

1–8 ft.

1–8 ft in rivers; drop-offs and inlets of lakes.

Spring after ice-out, and late summer through fall when the salmon are spawning.

Morning and evening; overcast days fish well all day.

No tide — in rivers, steady or slowly dropping water is best.

Cloudy, cool days; avoid high, muddy water after heavy rain.

Worms where legal.

Small spinners and spoons, mouse patterns, streamers, nymphs and dry flies.

9 ft 5–7 weight fly rod, or a 6½–7 ft light to medium-light spinning rod.

Size 6–14 flies; single barbless hooks on spinners and spoons where required.

4–10 lb mono, or floating fly line.

3X–5X tippet (4–8 lb), 7½–9 ft.

Swing streamers through pools and runs, or cast small spinners along undercut banks and logs. On big northern rivers, skate a mouse fly across the surface at dusk.

Brook trout spook easily in clear water. Stay low, stay back from the bank, and make your first cast count.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Excellent eating — one of the best-tasting fish in its range.

Bleed and ice it right away. Fillet, then remove the skin and any dark bloodline.

Pink, sweet and delicate; a classic pan-fried whole over a campfire.

Cold, fast rivers — wear a wading belt and a life jacket in boats, and in Alaska and northern Canada carry bear spray and make noise.

Many trophy brook trout waters in Ontario, Quebec and Labrador have a limit of one fish or are catch-and-release, artificial-lure only. Licenses, limits and seasons are set by each province, territory or state, and many lakes and rivers have special size limits, slot limits or closed spawning seasons — check the current regulations for the water you fish.

Keep only what you'll eat, release the rest quickly, and follow size and bag limits.