Big Sky Country 2.0 - Day 4

Houston, we have a problem. One of my goals was to land a trout over 20" on this trip. I flirted with it last year with an 18.5" brown and a 19" rainbow, but I never got there. And as we head out on Tuesday morning, I haven't even had a contender on yet.

But today we'll be on the Big Hole river with Stonefly Inn guide Garey Avis. From the get-go, it's clear that this guy knows this river (and guiding) in a way that only decades of experience can deliver. Today we're getting in on pre-spawn browns that are looking to fatten up. Garey's got a few secret spots to show us, so after a beautiful drive over the mountains, we're off.

Our first stop is literally a stone's throw from the launch. While Reid nails one right off the bat, I'm off to a slow start. No worries, that will change soon enough. The second spot is one I'd fished last Fall and cleaned up in. Within an hour we'd caught so many 14-18" fish we stopped counting. But I never found the hawg. This spot was really where I figured out my drift, got my casts working, and all the other little kinks you need to work out at the start of a day on the water. Once again, this spot yields a nice collection (mostly browns) of mid-sized fish. Fun fights and plenty of them. Just before we're ready to roll on to the next spot, BAM! and I've got a hawg on. Unfortunately, I couldn't get his head turned and he pops off. Dammit -- Garey agrees this one would have easily made my goal. No problem. Lots more fish in the Big Hole!

The next spot is one I'd have probably rolled right past. Interesting because on this trip I feel like my angling skills have improved considerably over last year. I've got much better mechanics for casting, hookset, and reading water. Lesson learned -- you can ALWAYS learn from a good guide, even when you think you're da' bomb.

Pretty quickly I stick a nice brown. As we examine it in the net, Garey says, "Welllll, you could call that your 20...". Reid quickly agrees. Nuh-uh boys, that's not what I came for. I want the fish that's an easy, no-doubt, slam-dunk 20+ incher. A half hour later, I've got it! A hard take-down, followed by a solid fight, and I've got my 20" brown trout.

After this, the fishing is just plain relaxing. I stuck some very nice fish, including at least a dozen at the last hole above the take-out, but now that I've hit my goal, I'm just chillin'.

Kudos to Garey and fishing partner Reid for helping support me in making my goal -- my first legit, native (non-lake run) brown over 20"!

-Sean-