I called Dan a week before the opener to see if he was a lock on going to Wickiup Reservoir with me.  It didn't take him long to say "I'm in", after swapping stories of big browns recently being caught by some other guys we know through this great sport we call trophy trout hunting.  Dan was suddenly all fired up to go, and I was so glad I made the phone call.  As it turns out, this was a great call by both of us, and it proved to be my most productive trip to Wickiup in the

13 years of my life I have spent fishing this beautiful place.

Dan met me after work at my place and it didn't take long to pack and hitch my boat to the Dodge.  We arrived Friday night around 8:30, and had just enough time to unload the boat, build a campfire, and drink a couple beers in anticipation for the morning.

As always, Saturday morning came early and we were fishing by legal hours.  It didn't take long and I had hooked and landed a pretty little 18" brown on a favorite Wickiup lure of mine.  We were happy to get the "skunk" off the boat so soon, and were quick to get a fresh soak on our scented lures.  Around 7:30, a really nice 20", 3lb. hen came aboard for a visit.  We were up in the Deschutes arm, and the action seemed to slow for the next hour.  Dan and I made the call to venture out into open water, and I was quickly rewarded with a randomly spotted 5lb. hen.  She was a 24" long beauty that made my goal of one brown over the 5lb. mark come true for the weekend.  After some pics and a few high fives, Dan said "R.D., look at your favorite Wickiup lure!!".  I looked down and to my dismay the back hook had completely pulled out of the body of the lure.  I was so bummed because this little gem was the HOT lure with all four fish to the boat thus far.  Dan joked with me and said "Ahhh, we finally have a level playing field now!".  As we all know all, good things don't last forever.  I dug into the tackle box for a different offering, since I knew this was my one and only version of this particular lure.

Dan and I trolled the area where I scored on the 5, for another hour and a half without a bump.  We made the call to move out to a spot I have learned over the years.  Once again, the good Lord was looking out for us, and this proved to be the best decision of the entire weekend.  Dan and I found a bite that was going off.  We trolled a 200 to 300 yard long stretch and would get a strike on every pass.  After about the third miss, one stuck good, and Dan hollered that this was a solid brown.  I buzzed in my gear as quick as possible and stood ready with the net.  Up from the depths appeared a beautiful golden brown hookjaw with tons of black spots on him.  He fought around the boat and made a couple runs.  Dan worked him in and I scooped him.  We both high-fived because we knew Dan had just met his 5lb. goal for the trip.  A quick tape put this awesome buck at 24.5 inches.  He was also a solid 6 pounds!  After some photos, Dan slipped this stud back in the water and let him swim free.  Way to go buddy!

The bite slowed around noon, but we were still getting bumps every other trolling path.  We practiced the old saying "Don't leave fish to go find fish", and remained steady with this drill.  Every now and then one fish would stick and we would land him.  Pretty soon though it really slowed and we left the spot to check on another area we know to be productive in the early spring.  As we approached the spot, we saw our old buddy Chuck Jones there.  We had good conversation for 15 minutes or so catching up.  Dan and I tried the area for only an hour or so, but in the end decided to head back to our hot spot.  Boy, was that the right decision!

Around 5 p.m. Dan's rod doubled down and he set the hook.  FISH ON!!

And this was a good one.  I stood ready and couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of what was on the end of his line.  Up came a beautiful CHUNK of a brown in the 24" to 26" range.  He screamed off some line and then suddenly leaped into the air.  Dan stayed right with him, but this veteran move had unfastened the treble from his mouth.  We both said "NO!!", but could only look helplessly on as the FAT brown swam back down into the black depths of Wickiup.  Instead of moping about the loss, Dan quickly said let's get back at it, as this could be the start of another HOT bite.

No more than 15 minutes later, I had one the biggest takedowns in my brown trout fishing career.  Lucky for me this fish stuck, and was taking line off my reel without any resistance.  I had only witnessed this once before and that was with my other fishing partner, Brian Wildish (a.k.a BWild) when he caught his 12-1/2lb. hen out of East Lake.  Dan had a huge grin on his face and was saying this could be the one Coyote!  We both knew this was a BIG brown, and my heart was racing with excitement.  Ten minutes or so had gone by and we had yet to even see this fish.  It was holding deep and would occasionally give a headshake or two.  My 9 foot ugly stick was heavily loaded as Dan shot a little video clip of me fighting this hawg.  Finally I was gaining line and knew the fish was close.  I hear Dan yell "Oh my God, R.D., this could be your 10!!".  I stay focused and just keep pressure on the big fish while constantly checking my drag.  Then I catch a glimpse and my legs start shaking from the adrenaline rush!  I've never prayed during a fish fight before, but I found myself calling out to the Lord on this one.  I SO badly wanted to land this fish that could possibly be my biggest brown ever.  15 minutes into the battle, and we could tell the big hen was getting worn out.  She would swim by the boat and start to lay on her side.  Dan would start with the net, she would see it, and then right herself and power off on a line peeling run down 20 feet deep!  It was amazing and the BEST brown trout battle of my life.  My heart was pounding with excitement, but I knew I had to stay cool and keep everything tight.  She did this at least five more times where she would swim a big circle, come by the boat, and then power off.  FINALLY, she came in on her side, and Dan scooped her right in the net!  We hooped and hollered and high-fived.

I instantly knew this was a Personal Best brown for me, but was not quite sure if it would hit the magical 10lb. mark or not.  Dan weighed the big female with my boga grip scale, and it read 8-1/2 pounds on the money.  She taped out at 28 inches too.  Just a beautiful specimen.  Big head and shoulders, but you could tell that she just wasn't thick enough towards the tail to make that magic mark.  In NO WAY was I disappointed!  I thanked the big guy upstairs and counted my blessings to have landed such a magnificent trophy.  Dan got some really great pics of me with this old girl, and then videotaped the release.  I bet by the end of summer this girl with have put on enough weight to break the 10lb. barrier.  What an EPIC fish, fight, and day I will never forget!  What a fitting finish to the day, as she would be our last brown on Saturday.

Sunday was also a great day of brown trout fishing.  It was all Dan during the morning hours with beautiful twin looking 3lb. browns coming to the boat.  Dan had four of them to the boat before I had gotten the skunk off.  One of them being a very handsome male.  We seized this opportunity to grant the wishes of our children with "Daddy please bring me back a fish".  We kept three of them that were all a half inch or so under 20 inches for the kids and the BBQ.

Around 10:30 a.m., I hooked up and landed a really long skinny female that appeared to be spawned out.  She was almost 25 inches long, but only weighed 4 pounds.  Dan and I decided to call it a trip at noon.

And what a trip it was!

Until next time,

R.D.

"Browns - Coyotes of the Fishing World!"