Went fishin with Scudly

Saturday morning at zero dark thirty Mark (scudly) and I hit the streams of Southwestern Wisconsin. Mark being my fishing guest I let him have every hole first. He started out the morning with a sweet brown. We fished until 10am and Mark’s trout count was up to approximately 35.

Pitch dark plays heck with digital camera. Mark went out on his own on Sunday.

****Ask Mark about “Lightning”*****

nice fish mark. what did it measure? looks like fun. i havent cast a line for a few weeks now, having some major withdraws.

Fanatic

Nice fish! What was it caught on/with?

Thanks guys. Measured 19″, also nice and fat. Caught on a crawler. Hooked “Lightning,” the ~30″ female brown at the same hole this morning. Hit like a bolt of lightning. BAM my pole was instantly bent over and reel screaming. She stripped my 10 lb braided 30

feet out before I was forced to tighten the drag a notch

Was like trying to ride a bull. This fish thrashed and twisted and had violent head shakes. Like no other trout I’ve ever ad. Felt twice as strong as this 19.”. In the end I only got to see her gigantic dorsal fin and tail flip out of the water. She broke the line.

Assume alligator teeth on this big brown cut the line. What is the better option for a toothy critter – braided or mono? All my other big fish of the season landed on 12 lb mono – tough as nails. Does braided get nicks like mono? How often do folks replace braided line? Honestly I’ve had the braided on for 4-5 fishing outings. Maybe I needed 20 lb line to begin with as u suggested. This fish is something else. If I lived close by I’d be fishing this until I get her. Len says this trout is likely 10-12 lbs. Felt like I had a nice Muskie on, not a stream trout.

Driving me nuts wondering if I could have landed that fish on my other pole with 12 lb mono.  My gut tells me yes.   That braided is not terribly tough.  When I get snagged I can break off ok.  With 12 lb mono I need to wrap line around a stick to pull off.  That tough.   

You know I was fishing with BOTH poles yesterday. Had the big stout one at the pool out front of me.  Other one with braided can cast better.  

Do it all over again I’d use spinning feel with 15lb mono, stiff rod.  No need to feel for subtle takes.  A fish like that is going to clobber it – not just baby taps.   

Driving me nuts. I’m sure that other pole would have landed the fish.  Need to ditch that POS closed face and get a bigger spinning reel stiff rod combo.  

Question for you – braided line cuts more easily than mono, correct?  Mono better for a toothy critter like pike or an enormous brown.   

Next question- how often do you change your braided?  Here it gets nicks just like mono.

Next question – which is more invisible – braided or mono?   Believe mono is.  Believe braided better for casting spinners – long casts, fish have to act quick.  

Dang I want that 30″ female brown soo bad!!!! 

mark what are u using for braided?

Mark, have you tried Maxima lines? They are very tough and abrasion-resistant. The standard for steelheading up here is 8 LB Maxima. If it’s good enough for big steelies on a raging river, it’s good enough for stream trout anywhere. The heavier tests do get a bit stiff though, and like any line, watch for nicks.

Nice fish

Here is my story I wrote up about last Sunday morning:

A Bolt of Lightning

My buddy Len told me about a female brown trout he estimates to be ~30” and likely 10-12 lbs.
Many would find it hard to believe that a stream trout of this size exists in southwestern Wisconsin. However, if you know Len, he does not [censored] when it comes to big trout. Len and I fished the day before and I caught this chunky 20” brown on a crawler out of the now infamous pool. This fish alone made my weekend. Nice and chunky. We landed this guy in under one minute. Len did a great job landing the fish in his enormous net. Len and I proceeded to other local favorite streams. Len said I caught >35 before 9:30 am. To be honest, I lost track, I was having so much fun. It was too easy, like shooting fish in a barrel.

After catching the beautiful chunky 20” brown, I knew this pool was special. I had to come back again to give this spot another try. As we parted on Saturday, Len gave me his old net which is roughly two-thirds the size of his new net. I figured this was the last I’d see of Len this year. The net said it all. In return I swapped Len with a handful of #9 PMD silver Panther Martins, Len’s favorite. I called Len later that afternoon and was hoping he could meet me again on Sunday however Len talked to his wife Barb who’s first question was: “Did Mark catch a big fish?” Len could not lie. The only advice Len gave was to go to Walmart and buy a heavy pole with a reel rigged with 20lb line. Looking back, I should have followed Len’s instructions to a tee.

She hit Sunday morning like a bolt of lightning at 6:30 am. KA BOOM! The trout instantly bent my rod in half and my reel began to scream. Zip, zip, zip more line peeling out. This fish was hauling [censored] so far however I maintained pressure and gained on her now and then. Out went more line. I was losing her. She was now 30 feet upstream and zigzagging back and forth around the pool. I was sick to my stomach. My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my head. I began to pray. In the middle of The Lord’s Prayer more line peeled out. The big brown trout was doing constant violent head shakes trying to remove the hook. She was not happy with the situation she was in. I felt nauseous yet slightly optimistic at the same time. I kept thinking – I can do this, maintain pressure. I had the fish on for over a minute now so I obviously had a good hook set.

This fish felt more than twice as strong as the 20” trout caught the morning before. Never had I experienced such a strong trout peel out my 10 lb braided line like this. Losing more line I had no choice but to click my drag one notch tighter. The trout made a torpedo run from the left side pool to the far right and for some odd reason swam up on the rocks at far edge of shore doing its best to tuck under a rock. The fish seem wedged there. I maintained light pressure. The fish and I were at a standstill. The giant was belly up on rocks on the opposite side of the shore. I could see her gigantic dorsal fin and tail fin flapping around. What a monster. This trout was broad and had the figure of a giant northern pike, yet from a distance I could see dime sized crisp brown spots.

What happened next was devastating. The fish appeared to be taking a breather beached on the rocks on the opposite side. I thought to myself, what should I do? Should I let out slack and hope she runs out back into the center of the pool? However, I was worried she would wrap around a rock and cut the line. I applied pressure. The big brown did a quick 90 degree turn and POP, out went the line. That did just not happen, did it? I sunk to my knees on the soft mud in devastation. I was trembling, ready to puke from the adrenaline this fish gave me and the loss of her.

For sure, she was a trout of a lifetime. Len said he has been trying for the gigantic trout over 30 times now that lives in this now infamous pool. Len hooked her with a Panther Martin last fall. Len’s friend Joe hooked her this spring on a crawler. From conversations it appears I had her on the longest. At the very least, I had hooked the biggest trout of my life and I fought her and she won, at least this fight. Until next summer….

Wow, what a story

Sorry to hear about the loss

Glad you liked the story. Here are a few more photos.

Jenn surprised me with a nice 8×10 mix. She had a coupon for a free photo and put this together while I was in St. Louis on business last week. Turned out nice, don’t ya think?

A Bolt of Lightning

thought she was getting sick of you fishing soooo much. Guess she heard the tale of “Lightning” told so many times she felt sorry for you losing that monster.