When trout attack

After guiding full time during the summer for the past five seasons, I thought I had seen it all on the piece of water I operate on. I’ve caught silvers on top water, I’ve caught big trout on mice and I’ve pulled out my fair share of angry chums that have taken me to my backing. But what I experienced last week was a completely new one for me.

Myself and Jett, our other guide who you’ve read about in last week’s article, were to take out a bachelor party for the day. I took three guys and he took two. We split up and fished our way down the river. It started off slow but we put a few fish in the net and we all had a good time chatting and poking fun at each other.

It was after lunch and the sun had started shining and temperatures were on the rise. We pulled into a run that I like to spend some time at and the three guys got out of my boat. After not having so much as a nibble, we all loaded up and started floating down the creek.

As we floated past an overhanging tree, I looked over to see a huge trout holding just downstream and hovering over a large submerged log. I instructed my client to cast towards it, and after several failed drifts we watched the trout slowly slide into the deep run downstream.

I figured if I switched over to a small nymph we might be able to trick the fish into eating. I rigged up another rod and handed it to the client that had the best angle on the fish. He flipped the nymph out into the water and I began rowing back upstream into position.

As we were about ready to take a cast out, a grayling struck the nymph dragging across the surface. It was a decent grayling, probably 12-13 inches. We all thought that was pretty neat and got a good chuckle out of it. As I was reaching for the net, I watched the huge trout rise out of the deep run and begin chasing the grayling and striking at its head!

We all started hollering and the boat went nuts. I told my client to reel in the fish as quickly as possible and the trout followed the grayling all the way to the raft. The client next to him began casting his streamer behind the grayling, hoping to get a chance at the big trout. My client was able to get ahold of the grayling and release it safely. As he was unhooking the fish, I saw out of the corner of my eye the other line go tight and watched my client hook into something big.

I knew right away the big trout had taken his streamer. I told him to keep the line tight and to let the fish run if he took off. I rowed as hard as I could upstream to keep the fish in calmer water. The fish made some short runs and mostly stayed deep, greatly increasing our odds of landing it. I couldn’t get the raft far enough to reach dry land and the client in the back hopped out to hold the raft while I netted the fish. I waded out ahead of the raft and the client eased the big trout ever closer, until finally I slid the net under its heavy body and scooped it up in one smooth motion.

The creek erupted in cheers. Everyone got out of the boat and we all admired the great size of the fish. I could barely get my hand around the base of its tail. It was an old hen and she looked to have seen a few years on the creek. She was long, strong and had a deep belly, all signs that she was a healthy fish. We snapped a few quick pictures with her and sent her back to where she had just come.

We all high fived and celebrated the great teamwork that had just transpired. I had rowed into position, one client hooked the grayling that brought the trout out of the hole, one client hooked the trout that was trying to attack the grayling and the other client hopped out of the raft to hold it so that I could focus on netting the fish. It was an incredible experience that I won’t soon forget.

I’ve floated by the tree a couple of times since and have seen that same big trout sitting over her log. I haven’t been able to trick her again, and maybe I never will.