** This is Part Two of the Where to Find Big Trout series on Troutbitten. This all reads a lot better if you first read Part One. Find it HERE. ** -- -- -- -- -- -- Imagine your favorite big fish river. Maybe it’s one with a reputation for growing the big boys, with...
Let’s define big. Any trout measuring in the mid-teens is a respectable fish. I think that's fair. And anything eighteen inches or over is “big.” Trout that have grown to over twenty inches are what we call a Whiskey, and twenty-four-inch wild trout are Namers —...
Go ahead. Look back through the Troutbitten archives and you’ll find a bunch of photos featuring big, beautiful trout. Some are stocked, most are wild, some were difficult to catch, and others were easy. All of them were a fun time. Chasing the biggest wild browns is...
We talk a lot about big wild brown trout. The search for these extraordinary fish is what keeps us going. It’s part of the Troutbitten culture. And the inch marks of Whiskey (20+) and Namer (24+) are ingrained here. To some of us big fish are everything. But to all of...
I approach from downstream, making daring casts into the brush pile, probing a dark network that's shaped by collected seasons of tangled roots and half trees. A heavy current crashes into the pile and is redirected outward, and I wade into the bottom part of that...
My story, Thirty-Inch Liars, is over at Hatch Magazine today. Here are a few excerpts..... -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ... I once read through a publication that printed, "Thirty-inch wild trout are common in this stretch of water." Now, I don't care what river in...
. . .I’ve gone through a couple phases of trophy hunting, but I’m always careful to return to my roots before the obsession overtakes me. I don’t want to lose my enjoyment for the simple things on the water: the friendships, the forests, the mountains, the mysteries and the way thick, cool moss on limestone feels like a sofa cushion for a mid-stream lunch. Those are the good things that are available every time I put on my waders, even though the big fish usually aren’t.
While going in and out of these phases of trophy hunting for wild browns, I’ve learned that I was looking for big trout in the wrong places. I had to seek out new rivers. And sometimes, I simply had to find new places on my old rivers. Point is, I learned that trophy hunters need a target. It’s not enough to go to the same places and fish the same ways as you always have. You have to learn where the big fish are, go there, and put on your patience pants — because Whiskeys don’t come easily . . .
** This post is from contributing author, Matt Grobe. ** Man, who doesn't anticipate when you have ALL DAY to do nothing but fish? Well, this past Sunday was one of those day's for me. Mother Nature didn't cooperate though, and 1.5 inches of much needed rain fell on...
** This post is from contributing author, Pat Burke. ** Today was a day where all my plans backfired. I originally looked to explore some new water on our favorite big trout river. I was somewhat behind where I needed to be to meet a milestone at work. So I had to go...