Setting your alarm clock for 4:00am with plans of leaving at 4:30am always seems to be pretty crazy. But when it involves spey rods, big streamers and pissed off brown trout, all seems good.
That was the plan last Thursday when Jake, good friend Mike and I were headed to the Upper Madison in search of some lake run fish that were rumored to be moving out of Quake Lake. We got to the river right on time, 6:30. Just enough time to rig up the rods and hit the river. Temps were in the high 30’s, water was clear and hopes were high that Mr. Brown Trout would find one of our offerings tasty.
Jake swung up a handful of average (14-18″) fish and after three hours of not so much as a bump, I ditched the two hander and started staring at a bobber. A couple feisty rainbows came to hand on Zonkers for myself and Mike.
At lunch I got antsy and started fishing while Mike and Jake watched. I knew the heckling would be soon to follow and I heard plenty of comments from the peanut gallery. A few examples were-
-You’re doing it wrong. (Jake)
-I remember the first time I casted a fly rod. (Mike)
-Dude, I am so much better than you.(Mike)
-If you were a industry pro, you would’ve caught a fish by now. (Jake)
-If you had Abel nippers you would’ve caught a fish by now. (Jake) (He really does brag about those damn nippers…)
After a few minutes, the bobber went under, I set the hook, and felt the slow head shake and some heft on the line. I knew right away it was a good fish. And of course, the peanut gallery started up again.
-I bet it’s a snagged whitefish. (Mike)
-That whitefish sure is kicking your ass. (Jake)
-If this fish is under 16″ you’re buying us beers. (Jake)
I finally convinced the guys it was a big fish and to grab the net, a camera and to get down to the river. And of course, I got sh*t for making them leave their lunch…
When the fish rolled on the surface they were convinced and Jake pretty much ran into the river to net it. This is where it got interesting. Jakes wading boots are shot and watching him run after this fish, beer in hand and yelling “Hold my beer and watch this!” (Thanks Big Sky Brewing for the koozies) was pretty damn comical. After a botched net job, Jake took it upon himself to literally dive into the river, head first, to net the fish and make sure he didn’t come out again. (Jake- I will buy you dinner for that.) After the laughing ended, I was staring at the biggest brown that I had ever landed.
He had it all. Buttery brown, kype jaw, girth, length, etc. etc. It was the fish I had been searching for. And he ate a chironomid…..
After photos were taken and the fish was released, I was on cloud nine. We could’ve went home right then. Nothing like catching the biggest brown trout of your life with two of your best buddies!
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful and after a quick stop at Three Dollar Bridge to look for risers, we headed back to Bozeman.
