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Tiny Creeks, Huge Fish

10K views 61 replies 25 participants last post by  Jim Fitz 
#1 ·
I wanted to share an experience I had recently that was a truly special one. I have been searching a long time for a fish like the brown in the pictures below and the stars finally aligned to make it happen. All I will say is that it took place right here in Washington and you won't find the location easily. It took years and many a mile of walking to get to this point. It was caught on my 4wt with a 5x leader and 6x tippet with a hopper and took close to an hour to land. I had to wait until my friend Mike came to look for me because I could not land the fish myself. It didn't fit in the large net I brought but we were able to capture him with it and release him unharmed after the necessary photo and video shoot. Took lots of video from the trip and will be creating some sort of video edit from the trip in the near future. The fish measured 28". The rainbow wasn't too bad either. :)

 

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#9 ·
Awesome. Looks like Nunya Creek but on a different stretch of it.
 
#16 ·
I love this post and congrats on the hard work. The best part about fishing is the exploration and the hunt. You could always throw down some money and travel to a known river to take a guided trip with the best info on how to hook the big one but it’s far more rewarding to put in the hours and find one on your own. I fish for an excuse to travel and explore new places.
I look forward to you next report.
Josh
 
#20 ·
Tabled rock formations. Clearly a spring creek. I'm thinking south central to south eastern Wa. East of the Columbia by a margin but not close to the Idaho border either. Narrowed it down to about one fifty square miles? I'll find it ;)

As mentioned... Tell no one!

EDIT: Walla Walla valley? Wait... Tell no one.
 
#21 ·
Gaper alarm is sounding. "Fought it for almost an hour with 6x?" Give me a break. I feel bad for that poor brown trout. Probably took ten years to grow to that size and some jackass with a distended labia probably killed it for a picture.

My buddy and I have caught dozens of browns topping 22" from that creek on 10# flouro P Line and had them in the net in under a minute with 6wts. There may not be a more unique and special fishery in the state, so next time you saddle up and ride into the desert, leave your purse at home and have some respect for the fish. What a joke.
 
#22 ·
Most of that time was spent letting the fish rest in the pool while I prayed my friend would come look for me so we could net it. He swam away fine. He was there the next day too. Anyway thanks for your concern, or jealousy whichever it was.

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#23 ·
Can you not hear yourself?

You literally let a beautiful brown trout from a special river struggle around a small pool for almost an hour attached to your line while you waited patiently for your buddy to hopefully come find you and net it for you? That's sad shit. "I remember my first beer."

You also said earlier in the thread that you would have seen the carcass the next day if it had died, now you say you saw it the next day? Which is it?

Believe me guy im not jealous. But when you post an ego stroke a thon on the Internet about a special place that doesn't need more attention you are asking for it. I'm not impressed.
 
#26 ·
Just curious, what would you have done if your buddy was busy chasing tail at the local watering hole and had no interest in coming to check up on you, and subsequently helping you land that fish? You already admitted to being completely unable to do anything about it solo, so if nobody had showed at what point would you have given up and broken it off? Or would you have tied your line to a tree and let the fish gently swim around the pool while you went home for a bigger net?
 
#32 ·
Great fish. I do understand the pride in catching a beast like that. But out of respect for all of us who enjoy the streams that are state has to offer please use more caution when posting pictures and reports about the waters in which you fish. They are only so great because the few who fish them keep quite about that.

That's not to take anything away from your fish, but many of us have spent time getting to know waters and have caught trophy trout.... But we are not gonna show the hoards of suckers on the Internet our prize. Why you ask... Because we would like to go back next year and not have to deal with a bunch of slap dicks chucking streamers with 4wts!

Congrats on the fish. But please use some caution when posting pictures and reports on a public forum.
 
#33 ·
Great fish. I do understand the pride in catching a beast like that. But out of respect for all of us who enjoy the streams that are state has to offer please use more caution when posting pictures and reports about the waters in which you fish. They are only so great because the few who fish them keep quite about that.

That's not to take anything away from your fish, but many of us have spent time getting to know waters and have caught trophy trout.... But we are not gonna show the hoards of suckers on the Internet our prize. Why you ask... Because we would like to go back next year and not have to deal with a bunch of slap dicks chucking streamers with 4wts!

Congrats on the fish. But please use some caution when posting pictures and reports on a public forum.
Thanks. Yeah I don't think I should have ever posted this thread. I have been trying to find a way to delete it.
 
#36 ·
Hard to catch spooky fish if you don't use light tippet ya know.
I like that you needed 6x tippet to catch these spooky fish but were able to land them from a camp chair in the middle of the stream. They seem very spooky.... Either way, great fish. I would have worked it closer to the shallows and snapped a pic and broke it off if I seriously couldn't land it. I've landed countless 20+ inch browns on my own, but then again I use appropriate gear for the fish I expect to be catching. Hint: You're probably fishing some seriously spooky fish if you need less than 3x flouro tippet.
 
#37 ·
I like that you needed 6x tippet to catch these spooky fish but were able to land them from a camp chair in the middle of the stream. They seem very spooky.... Either way, great fish. I would have worked it closer to the shallows and snapped a pick and broke it off if I seriously couldn't land it. I've landed countless 20+ inch browns on my own, but then again I use appropriate gear for the fish I expect to be catching. Hint: You're probably fishing some seriously spooky fish if you need less than 3x flouro tippet.
I never expected to catch something that big.
 
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