I have a fishing spot that I frequent 1-2 times a week. My soon to be wife and I have been going to this particular spot for well over a year and a half. We discovered this spot by throwing a wet fly across the rushing water and having a 5 inch brown trout nail it. At that point, we were sold. This was to be our brown trout fishery.
A normal brown trout in this particular fishery does not get large. Nothing like Lake Ontario run brown trout. A normal sized brown trout here is 5-9 inches long. You are very lucky to get a 12 inch brown on the end of your line. This area is what you would consider a small creek pool. The fish to fish competition for food is fierce here and the brown trout are very aggressive against one another.
Before I get into the story any further, I have to first state that one of my favourite fish is the brown trout. It is something about their colour, their mannerism and aggressiveness as well as their fight and power that draws me towards them. I think this love started very young in my fly fishing career. While out for steelhead and resident rainbow trout, I caught my very first brown trout. Not big, but still in my opinion; beautiful.
Since that small brown trout, I was hooked. Luckily enough my wife and I found something closer to home that held my favourite fish.
The brown trout here love dry flies. Anything resembling a Light Cahill. I personally use an adaption of that fly called “The dog hair special”.
Small Nymphs are also a great menu choice but these little brown trout are deceptive and will only give the lightest tug. Light fly fishing gear is essential!
A couple months ago my wife and I were fishing for these beauties with some dry flies. With a perfect drift, they were killing them left, right and center. Half way through our evening of fishing I saw a small 5 inch brown trout hit my fly top water. Behind him is what scared me and left me with my mouth open for close to 5 minutes. I was awe struck… Behind him was what looked like a 18 inch golden bar. It was a massive brown trout. The biggest I had ever seen in this fishery. A trout so big for this area, it is the thing of legends. I made it my goal to catch this golden illusion.
Many weeks passed with no sight of the monster. Until one night, something tugs at a size 20 mayfly nymph. Behind this tug was not a 5-10 inch trout but a 18″ monster. My 5 weight fly rod felt useless. The fight and power was unlike anything I was used to. After 1-2 minutes into the fight the rod tip shoots up and she was gone. I drove home with my tail between my legs that night.
Round two. Two weeks later I was swinging a white death fly across the current. It was on a very bright sunny day. I could see every brown trout that wanted to inspect my fly. I see a flash of silver and gold and right behind it was her… the golden illusion. She takes the white death and runs. The fight ensues and again, within one minute, she was gone. At this point I thought I would never catch her.
For weeks I did research on luring and catching huge brown trout. I tied ridiculous flies and streamers. The type that only humans would find appealing. I was grasping at any thing to reinstall the hope of catching such a beautiful brown trout.
I set out to try catching her at night. I was hoping with a veil of darkness, she would come out of her hiding spot. I caught a lot of brown trout that night but they were all of average size. Before heading out, I threw out a huge black stone fly and managed to hook into this wider sized brown trout. It was a welcome surprise.
Fast forward a couple weeks and I finally felt ready to head to the good old fishery and try again. This evening was more so about relaxing than catching a monster.
My wide and I had dinner in the car and set out to our spot. We set up a blanket and just took in the scenery. While sitting down, my wife turns to me at some point and says “you are going to get her tonight”. I laugh and shrug it off. I was here to catch beautiful little browns and that was it.
The brown trout were hitting dry flies this night so I played at that a little while. We had only been fishing about an hour when I cast and laid out a perfect drift. A 5 inch brown trout surfaces to the dry fly and I strip set the fly. Darn… I missed the set. But what do I see behind him? A flash of gold. My eyes go wide and I call over to my wife, “she is here! I just saw her! She just went for a little brown trout”.
I tie on a small (1 inch long) muddler minnow. I have used this fly here before with no such luck. Why did I tie it on? I really have no clue. Something was urging me to try it. I do a couple false casts and send the muddler minnow across the current. Strip, strip, wait… strip, strip, wait. Time to recast. I cast back into the exact same spot. I do the same retrieve pattern and wait. I lay out what will be my fourth and final cast with this fly. Strip, strip, wait… I pulled a longer strip and watched as a golden bar bursts through the water. This illusion destroys my muddler minnow and without thinking, I strip set and put my rod tip up. Almost like an extra appendage, I physically move the fly rod without consciously thinking about it. A good hook set and I was in for a fight like no other. With pulls left and right, a 4 foot jump and ridiculous head shakes I kept saying to myself, “please don’t get off, please don’t get off”. Another 2 foot jump and I feel something hit my foot. My reel had somehow fallen off of my reel seat and hit the ground. Did I care? Nope. It was like that part no longer mattered. I realized I would need to play the fishing rod at a perfect angle now because too much angle and my rod would break. Too little angle and my tippet would break. With rod and line in one hand and no reel, I guess this is the closest I have ever been to Tenkara fishing.
Our 5 minute fight continued and I found my self constantly chanting to my wife “this is him, this is him, this is him, oh my god”. After two runs while trying to get her in the net, I was finally able to bring her in.
Worth. Every. Minute. Week. and Month.
Never give up on a dream. No matter how small or how big. I didn't on mine and that golden illusion became a reality.
Tight lines everyone.
-G B A
Sweet write up brother.
