Huntington is a lake about 25 miles above us at 7000'.
One of our neighbors caught a monster Brown.
Best, Fred
Tim Young of the Shaver Lake Trophy Trout Project related the story of a huge brown trout at nearly 16 pounds caught by a team effort by Larry Reed of Auberry, 6-year-old grandson Noah and daughter Ericka. Young said, "He just threw a nightcrawler out while beached cooking hot dogs for the kids. He saw the line moving out and started reeling it as he felt it was of good size, but not that big. Reed handed the rig to Noah, and he worked it for around a dozen minutes as it kept taking line before making some ground. Noah got tired, and the fish was heading toward a submerged tree. Reed had to take over again, and after another 10-plus minutes, he finally got it to the boat. Ericka tried to net it and broke the net so she jumped in the water like Steve Erwin on the back of a croc and brought it to shore. Unfortunately, the old female brown couldn't recover to be released."
Fred,
16 lbs. is a MONSTER Brown Trout,
any measurements??? Lenght & Girth???
Photos???
That's a BIG ONE.
Wayne
That sounds like some trophy fish, sure don't get that big here!
Too bad it died! :( It's always nice to turn those big growth genetics back to produce some more biguns'.
a fish that trio will never forget!
Yes great for the father, very good memories for the children, as they were involved, they sure will never forget, cheers Don.
Quote from: El Pescador on May 30, 2023, 05:50:59 PMFred,
16 lbs. is a MONSTER Brown Trout,
any measurements??? Lenght & Girth???
Photos???
That's a BIG ONE.
Wayne
If photos become available, I will post them, Wayne —-
This is just the blurb in our local Fresno Bee newspaper this morning. They showed a photo of a large brown —- but it was just a file copy.
I am generally very happy with 2-3 pounders, the occasional 5 pounder, and then a little remote lake in the Sierras that produces 5-6 pound Rainbows. But that is a 11 mile hike one-way. Plus, due to the Creek Fire nearly 3 years ago —- they closed nearly all of the roads and backcountry trails. It will need to talk to someone to get access, if possible. If not —- I will likely just go anyway.
Largest Brown I ever caught was a male at 12.2 pounds and 30". This was also Huntington Lake, from the shore, 12/22/92.
DQ Microlite 265 with 4 lb. test, a 6' Fenwick glass rod, and a Nightcrawler.
Pure luck.
Best, Fred
Fred,
I have MUCH to learn from you!!!
My largest CAUGHT Brown Trout was 23".
Caught on the East fork of the Walker River, downstream of Bridgeport, CA.
Drive to the CA/NV border and the private waters of Sceirine Ranch. A 4th generation working cattle ranch boarding the CA/NV border and 4 miles of the East fork of the Walker River. NO MORE than 4 anglers per day on this stretch of river.
(https://alantani.com/gallery/37/7588-300523232251-37981662.jpeg)
Late in the day, I was alone and trying to be the angler and the photographer. The Sun set 10 minutes later.
What a place, I should post about these private fishing waters sometimes....
Wayne
If the fish died I would have to mount this is a trophy and most taxidermists will save the meat for you.I have had a LMB and crappie mounted in the past.I have caught bigger ones since,but at the time they were my personal best. Now I just take pictures unless I had the catch of a lifetime.I would mount any the grandchildren wanted to mount, but it's a personal choice.I don't like to kill anything unless I am going to eat it or safety of life.
Came in first place in the "Jake on the Lake" tournament on Lake Tahoe back in 201.....?'ish
It was "only" 9 pounds and it was huge, $500 fish!
Couldn't I'm imagine a 16 pounder.
"The Jake" as it's called by the locals was also a Rainbow and Mackinaw tourney.
There were some 30 pound plus Mac's in the weigh in line.
This is what you call a BIG brown trout.
this story is of the british record brown trout at over THIRTY POUNDS in weight
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3871738/Trout-world-Angler-smashes-British-record-takes-15-minutes-two-broken-nets-one-maggot-land-34lb-fish.html
It's a Rainbow KC. I read the comments, most seemed pretty "cheeky"(is that the right English expression and spelling?).
(https://alantani.com/gallery/35/17471_03_11_21_2_21_40_357492022.png)
I`ll sorry , but my reading comprehension got in the way of a good fish story
We get some monster trout down here in NZ too - ironically descended from Californian steelhead/rainbow stock released in the 1880s.
The biggest are around the Tekapo/Twizel region, eg:
(https://alantani.com/gallery/38/3590-160823205719.jpeg)
24lb and released to fight another day...
Hope you're all keeping well.
Cheers, Justin
That is a very impressive fish!
Justin - I think I have read just about everything written by Zane Grey about fishing, and one of his books covered fishing for monster salmon, trout, and steelhead in New Zealand. The timeframe would have been right around the turn of the century (the LAST century, the early 1900's) so it seems to me that fishery got really impressive really fast, so much so that the wealthy of the time (pre-internet? heck this was pre-air travel) heard about it and flocked to it. - john
Quote from: kevin cozens on August 16, 2023, 02:21:54 PMThis is what you call a BIG brown trout.
this story is of the british record brown trout at over THIRTY POUNDS in weight
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3871738/Trout-world-Angler-smashes-British-record-takes-15-minutes-two-broken-nets-one-maggot-land-34lb-fish.html
Youre right there. i must be blind. i have caught hundreds over the years. my PB is around 10lb. biggest brownie is around 6lbs
Man what is the internet doing to people? Did you read those comments, KC? You Brit's are supposed to be one the politest cultures in the world, perhaps 2nd only to the Japanese.
Hi John,
Just in response to your comment about the fishery getting really good really fast - I have a book which details that era and it reflects exactly that.
Within a few decades, in the absence of any predators (aside from humans) and a lot of food, the introduced fish had achieved epic proportions.
The biggest recorded brown (according to the book) was harpooned from the bank of a river in the Taupo region and weighed nearly 60lb.
I understand the browns were introduced from Tasmania.
The biggest rainbow I've heard of in the Taupo catchment was a ~40lb specimen caught in the early 1900s.
The fish population exploded in the 1910s and the average size dropped precipitously.
The government of the time was so concerned about the fishery that it undertook a netting campaign to reduce the numbers and bring the average size up to ~6lb.
By the 1920s, it'd recovered to the point that an angler reputedly caught 10 x ~20lb trout in a single session.
The average in the Taupo fishery today is about 4-8lb, but there are still some monster browns around.
All the best, Justin