The Tale of Two Trout

I don’t know what happened the first ten days of September. It was like the giant trout in North America went nuts. Not only the one had I eluded to in my last blog, but another beast from Canada that was nudging the fifty pound mark. When the dust settles and the IGFA shakes out all the details, both the world record Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout may have fallen in the same week.

The story of the new Brown record has been covered ad nauseum so I won’t bore you with the details. It was even mentioned on the local nightly news. Wow, they never mention fish or fishing on the nightly news. They must have an angle to work it into Obama’s Health Care Plan.

Anyway, for us in the Great Lakes Region this was a day to lay claim to a very prestigious title. The world record Brown Trout was taken from our own Lake Michigan. Since Rip Collins shattered the 40 pound mark with a world record from the Little Red River, Arkansas has held the record since 1992.

Rockford Illinois angler Tom Healy was fishing with guide Tim Roller and hooked and landed a 41 pound 7 ounce monster while casting Michigan’s Manistee River. The fish hit a #8 Rapala Shad Rap.

In an era where we are seeing salmon sizes shrink and diminishing baitfish populations, the Browns keep getting bigger. I noticed this trend more than five years ago and started to theorize the causes. I did an article for The In-Fisherman that could explain some of it. Simply, the Salmon are geared to feed on alewives (dwindling population) and other pelagic baitfish populations. The Browns will diversify to other food sources as needed. Right now, Gobies!!! And lordy-mama, there is no shortage of gobies. I saw Browns gorged with gobies. I saw Browns hanging around the harbors (where the gobies are) all year long. And, I experienced Browns feeding on the bottom (where the gobies are) like Walleyes. Are the Browns in Lake Michigan getting to these enormous sizes due to the Gobies? I believe that is half of the answer. The other is the introduction of the Seeforellen Strain, a fast growing, late spawning strain that is accounting for most of the real giants being caught. Put the two factors together and you get a great shot at 25, 30 and now 40 pound Brown Trout. Tired of hearing about the “good old days in fishing”, there ARE the good old days for Great Lakes Brown Trout. Right now Lake Michigan is probably the best spot in the WORLD for a trophy Brown.

OK, let’s jump to Saskatchewan’s 106,000 acre Lake Diefenbaker. The self proclaimed “Fishing Geeks”, the Konrad brothers have done it again. These two young men, Adam and Sean (twins), are quickly putting their name above the legendary Trout greats like Ray Johnson (The Hermit of Flaming Gorge) and Del Canty.

On the evening of September 5th they trolled up a 48 pound Rainbow on a Rapala (Jeeze, it was a good week for Rapala!!!) breaking their own record of two years ago. The enormous sizes of trout on Diefenbaker are probably due to a stocking or accidental stocking of sterile (triploid) fish. These fish do not spawn and can concentrate all their effort to EATING!!! It shows, hey!
(Photo courtesy of The Fishing Geeks (http://www.fishinggeeks.net/))

What an incredible week in trout fishing history and two legendary fish. If that doesn’t get you out fishing this weekend you may as well put your tackle up on Craigs List!

The Report:
I think we received enough rain to get some fish moving this weekend. It will pull some Kings in from their staging positions and it will also draw some up the tribs. The water is still warm near shore so things aren’t perfect, but we are now at the point that they are coming in no matter what. Big spoons, crankbaits, and minnow baits tossed around the harbors are a good choice right now. A chunk of spawn under a slip bobber is also a good option right now and throughout the rest of the fall.

Next:
Speaking of spawn, I’ll give you a simple recipe to cure your spawn in my next visit.

Till then, tight lines and smooth drags.