I've made three trips out there in the last few weeks to 2 different creeks and although things aren't quite in full swing yet, it turned out to be three pretty good days. Here's an action shot of me fighting a big rainbow while showing off the guns and the gut. Maybe next time Marty will let me know he's taking my picture so I can suck it in a little. Thanks Breh!
Can anyone say Pellet Pig? This creek holds some wild fish but is also regularly stocked with rainbows by Trout Unlimited. I guess they put some big 'uns in there the last time:
This might be the biggest trout I've ever caught, and it was a lot of fun, but it's washed out colors, short fins and small head are the unmistakable signs of a hatchery raised fish. Somehow that takes some of the feeling of accomplishment out of it.
This is a shot from the bend pool on the 2nd creek where I spotted an honest 25" brown last summer. I never did catch that fish (not from a lack of effort) so I hope he shows up this year. I still won't catch him but it'll be fun trying.
A nice rainbow that came from just upstream of that picture. This one was caught in a spot that required 2 people to get him landed, so that's Marty's hand in the picture although I actually caught the fish. I wouldn't want to give Marty any undue credit - that Yankee d-bag certainly doesn't need it.
One of our favorite runs. Big fish were all over this spot last year.
Marty landing a nice brown that inhaled a foam beetle pattern drifted under some low hanging branches on the other side of the creek. There were some tense moments trying to get him through all of those weeds:
The end of the fight. A 17 - 18" brown in perfect shape.
So, I haven't seen the big boys out in numbers yet but there are a few making early appearances. I can't wait...
