The following websites have information about where to find brook trout in the Eastern U.S. and Canada, how to help protect these fish and the beautiful places they inhabit, and some resources to help you find trout and other fish in the U.S. and Canada.
By State
District of Columbia (Washington DC)
Friends of Fletcher’s Cover – Shad fishing HQ every spring! Check current conditions on their real-time river data page.
National Capital Chapter of Trout Unlimited – Good info about trout fishing outside the District in Maryland and Virginia. Also, tips for fishing the Potomac River in DC, and headquarters for springtime SHAD FISHING info!
Potomac River Map – For the Potomac River in the immediate DC area. Not brook trout related but pretty cool that you can find some awesome fishing literally in sight of the national monuments, notably, shad in the springtime.
Tidal Potomac Flyrodders Links – A large and growing group in the DC area devoted to fly fishing on the Potomac. The links page is a good resource to bookmark. Check out the forum, too.
Maine
Maine Council of Trout Unlimited Brook Trout Waters – Where to find fish in the greatest brook trout habitat in the U.S.
Rangeley Lakes – Possibly the best trophy brook trout and landlocked salmon fishing in the U.S.
Maryland
Brook Trout Management – Good information on how the Maryland DNR maintains wild brook trout populations. See also their Coldwater Resources Mapping Tool.
Cunningham Falls State Park – The upper reaches of Big Hunting Creek as well as some nearby streams hold brook trout. Catch and release, fly fishing only restrictions are the rules here. You can read more here about trout fishing on Big Hunting Creek, including its history and the state’s approach to stocking the stream with brown, rainbow and brook trout.
Fish and Hunt Maryland – All kinds of places to go.
Frederick County Maryland At-A-Glance – Great resource if you’re planning on bushwhacking around Catoctin Mountain Park, Cunningham Falls State Park or Frederick Municipal Forest for some brook trout. Shows property lines and other information on an interactive map.
Maryland Trout Stocking – Information, maps and quantities of trout stocked in Maryland rivers, streams and lakes.
Public Angler Access – A clickable map of locations stocked by the state.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game – Start here, then maybe here.
Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition – Leading the charge to restore sea run coastal brook trout populations in New England and Long Island.
New Jersey
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife – Info about fishing the Garden State, which has its fair share of wild brook trout. See the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Summer Trout Fishing page. If you can fish these places in summer they must be good. I know that several of these streams hold wild brook trout, too. Streams listed include: Big Flatbrook, Toms River, Manasquan River, Pequest River, Paulinskill, upper South Branch of the Raritan River, Wanaque River (below Wanaque Reservoir), the lower Musconetcong River (below Hackettstown), Van Campens Brook, Dunnfield Creek. Also, a number of lakes in northern New Jersey have good trout fishing all summer, though not sure about brook trout in those spots.
New Jersey State Council of Trout Unlimited – Trout Central for the Garden State, including news, links to local TU chapters and more.
New York
Guide to Brook Trout Fishing in Adirondack Ponds – Find brook trout in the many ponds dotting Adirondack Park. Fish in these waters can reach 3 lbs. or more in weight.
North Carolina
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) Maps – Interactive maps for fishing, boating, and game lands.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Forest Index – Lots of trout fishing stream info, though not very detailed. Good for some ideas on places to fish for wild trout, though.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission – Great though labyrinthine (and constantly changing) resource for fishing in Pennsylvania. Start with the main fishing page. Then take a look at the County Guide, an interactive Google Maps-based web page showing streams, rivers and lakes in Pennsylvania, along with which species are present, the percentage of public or private access available on each stream, details directions and more. See also the best waters for wild trout.
Hickory Run State Park – Beautiful park with good trout water. Some streams are stocked, including Sand Spring Run, Hickory Run, Hickory Run Lake and Mud Run. Others are not, such as Fourth Run and Hawk Run. Some of the stocked streams hold native brook trout, too. Well worth exploring. The second largest brook trout I’ve ever caught was taken in this park.
Kettle Creek State Park – Upper Kettle Creek has good brook trout fishing, and there are several other streams within the park with native brook trout. The reservoir and lake are also worth checking out for trout and bass fishing.
Michaux State Forest – Located about half way between Gettysburg and Chambersburg, it has about 85,000 acres and encompasses a handful of state parks, including Caledonia, Pine Grove Furnace, and Mont Alto. Print out the public use map and check out streams like Rocky Mountain Creek, Raccoon Run, Carbaugh Run, Birch Run, Toms Run, Antietam Creek and the East Branch of Conococheague Creek.
Nescopeck State Park – Might have some brook trout in Lake Frances, Nescopeck Creek and elsewhere.
Tobyhanna State Park and Gouldboro State Park – Might have some brook trout in Tobyhanna Lake.
Rhode Island
Protect Rhode Island Brook Trout – Organization involved in preserving, protecting, and restoring wild brook trout populations in the state.
Virginia
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries – Start here. See the area maps and the special regulations streams page. For a license as well as a permit to fish Buffalo Creek, Mossy Creek, and the Upper South River, you can obtain those here. The VDGIF site lists a few brook trout streams and lakes.
Northern Virginia Chapter of Trout Unlimited – One of the largest TU chapters. Their website has lots of good info about events, fly tying and where to fish in VA and also in MD, PA and WV.
Rapidan Wildlife Management Area – Fishing and access info, maps, regulations. The Rapidan River is a “fish for fun” stream, so all fishing is restricted to single barbless hooks, artificial flies, catch and release only. Beautiful place, great fishing. The Conway River is nearby, with similar regulations, and has good sized brown trout in its lower reaches.
Shenandoah National Park – Skyline Drive Status or call (540) 999-3500, 1, 1 – The many streams in Shenandoah National Park might be the best places for catching wild brook trout in the state. Most are accessible from Skyline Drive, others from the lower park boundaries. Check the status of Skyline Drive before you head out to fish the headwaters of streams in the park. In winter, even the threat of snow will prompt the National Park Service to close the road. Wildfires have also forced the closure of sections of Skyline Drive in the past.
Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited – Coordinates the work of Virginia chapters in the areas of conservation, education, and advocacy.
Virginia Trout Fishing Guide – The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries guide on where to go, fish stocking programs and all things trout in the Commonwealth.
Virginia Trout Stocking Schedule – Weekly fish stocking information in Virginia.
Virginia Trout Stream Sensitivity Study – Data from long term periodic stream sampling of brook trout streams in Virginia, “most of the streams are associated with public lands, including national park, national forest, and wildlife management areas.” You can find info about streams by county and name.
West Virginia
Blackwater Falls – Good info for where to go and where to stay if you’re fishing in this area.
Monongahela National Forest – The U.S. Forest Service’s site with info about fishing here.
West Virginia Trout Stocking Schedule – Weekly fish stocking information for the Mountaineer State.
WVAngler – Good message board with info on fishing in the state.
National
Trout Unlimited Conservation Success Index – Lots of data for watersheds throughout the United States. Kind of raw and scientific, and may not be the first thing you’ll reach for when you just want to find a new place to fish, but interesting and useful for lots of things.
TroutBlitz – Make a contribution to science. Grab your rod, camera, GPS, and submit photos and observations of trout you’ve caught. See this guide to do it correctly.
Wild Trout Streams – Maps! Data! Plot your next outing. Phenomenal resource.
Eastern U.S.
Chesapeake Bay Brook Trout Outcome Management Strategy – Interesting read about the state of brook trout in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which covers a large swath of the Mid-Atlantic. Includes a fairly extensive (though by no means complete) list of streams where you can find brook trout in this area.
Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture – The EBTJV is a partnership of fisheries managers, biologists and agencies whose long term goal is “to implement a comprehensive conservation strategy to improve aquatic habitat, raise public awareness, and prioritize the use of federal, state and local funds for brook trout conservation.” I had to go to a couple different pages on their website to piece that together, but now I know and so do you. The data and maps resource is useful and is the basis for data provided on several other sites.
See also the EBTJV map viewer.
Spatial Hydro-Ecological Decisions System (SHEDS) Interactive Catchment Explorer – That title is a mouthful… Explore hard-to-find data on watersheds in the northern part of the brook trout’s native range in the Eastern U.S. This includes elevation, percent of forested land in the watershed, average summer temperature, precipitation, and more to help understand how brook trout populations may be affected in each watershed as some of these variables change over time.
Canada
Algonquin Provincial Park – About the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, they claim this park is considered one of the finest locations for Brook Trout and Lake Trout in the world.
Anticosti Island – In the Gulf of Saint Lawrence off the coast of Québec, this is a remote spot. Salmon and brook trout fishing on the Jupiter River, possibly in Parc National d’Anticosti and elsewhere.
Cape Breton Highlands National Park – There are a number of really good small streams and lakes loaded with trout and some salmon. My advice: get an annual park fishing license and a good topo map (the park visitor center sells both), pick a stream close to you, rig up a light rod with a dry fly, and give it a go.
Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries – Great information about where to catch brook trout, brown trout, and salmon in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. See the angling guide for details (it breaks the area up into a half-dozen sections, with maps and regulations for different bodies of water), as well as many other publications on the site.
Ontario Fish ON-Line Map – Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry map of fishable waters. There are brook trout over there somewhere.
Saguenay Estuary – In Quebec, the estuary in this national marine park holds a large population of anadromous brook trout.