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Earlier
this month, Brian Wildish (a.k.a. BWild) and I made the drive over Government Camp past Mt. Hood to the aqua blue waters of
Lake Billy Chinook Reservoir to give the Metolius Arm a try for some Bull Trout action. We were hoping for a repeat of last year’s success and much to our liking, LBC did not disappoint!
Saturday morning came fast but not fast enough for either of us. Of course we were stoked to hit the water
at first light pumped full of adrenaline but for myself it was all I could do to keep from speeding up the clock. See
my air mattress (a.k.a. flattress) lost all its air within the first hour of the night and let me tell ya that sleeping flat
on your back on top of a rubber truck bed mat is not the comfiest of nights! LOL! Finally the alarm sounded around
5 and it was time to get the water boiling for coffee. With the coffee made and boat loaded with gear, we left the Perry
South boat dock for the long ride to Chinook Island. My 15 horse Merc only goes so fast and we figured about a 30 minute
boat ride. Legal was upon us and it was time to wet some lures as we pulled into our starting point. Our plan
was to flatline the shallows to start the morning then go out a little deeper as the day wore on. Within the first 15
minutes, our plan of attack was rewarded with the sudden takedown on BWild’s rod. Brian hollered “I got
one”, and I quickly cleared my gear and kicked the boat in neutral. Brian was saying this feels like a good fish
and I was grinning with excitement at what today’s possibilities might be! As the fish slowly worked towards the
boat, it stayed deep and bull-dogged hard. This was a good sign as I waited patiently with the net and headlamp on.
Soon the fish gave up the fight and in one big scoop was ours! WOW………nice fish Brian! We both
looked at each other and said “Hell Yeah!”. After a couple of high fives, we got some pictures and measurements.
At 25-1/2 inches and 7-1/2 pounds, we had our first Bull to the boat. It was a legal keeper size too, but BWild set
the male bull free to grow bigger.
| Brian Wildish (aka Bwild) starts the trip right!! |
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| A 25-1/2, 7.5 lb bull trout!! Released to go get bigger! Way to start of Bulls on Parade II |
After
a couple more passes in the same area, we moved out to a little deeper water and soon found more fish eager for our artificial
offerings. Brian hollered “Fish On” and as I was reeling in my gear, “SLAM”, I got hit too.
Sweet…….a Double! Brian netted his own fish first and with it still in the net managed to scoop mine up
too. Haha! We snapped off a few pics of this unique catch in the net. Both fish were a little over 5 pounds
each, but just under the 24 inch mark.
| DOUBLE WHAMMY for RD and Bwild!!! |
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| (2) 5+ lbers to the net, both netted by Bwild!! Awesome! |
After releasing
them, we quickly got back to fishing. For the next hour or so, we managed a few more smaller fish from dink size up
to 4 pounds. Around 8 a.m., as the boat traffic increased around the island there, the bite slowed considerably.
BWild and I both knew it was time to bounce so we headed for an area that had produced for our good buddy, Eric Cole, on the
Opener. Eric was gracious enough to share some info with us surrounding his epic opener trip and for that we thank him
very much! For the next three hours, we could not make a single trolling pass without catching a bull or missing a takedown.
| RD with a 6 lber! The first of Many!!!!! |
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It
was incredible and probably ranks right up there with most amazing hot bites I’ve ever gotten into. We focused
on the 30’ to 50’ water column and pounded our lures back and forth through a 300 yard run.
| Bwild gets himself a 6 lb Bull trout!!! |
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There were
6-1/2’s, 6’s, 5.5’s, & multiple 5’s that came to the net. A couple were just over the 24
inch mark, but we just got pics and turned them loose to get bigger.
| A 6.5 lber for The Coyote! |
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| The Bull Trout Bite was ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!! |
BWild and I kept telling each other, sooner or later we have got to get
a BIG one on, don’t we!?!?!? You never leave fish to go find fish, so we worked and pounded away hoping that any
second the big one would hit.
Around 10:15,
the good Lord blessed me with a hard strike. I quickly grabbed the rod from the holder, but it was too late! The
fish was no longer there, so out of instinct, I quickly gave a hard rip and let the lure flutter back. As it did, I
felt the fish return and pickup the lure. Just as soon as I felt it, I jerked back as hard as I could and the rod doubled
over! I hollered out to BWild “Fish on! He came back and slammed it!”. Instantly, the
rod was loaded up big and line was slowly but steadily peeling off the reel with a medium drag setting. This fish was
surging and felt super heavy compared to the 5 and 6 pounders we had been catching up until that point. Brian actually
had a 4lber on at the same time. Hahaha! Another double. He quickly got the fish in and released it and he
was dumbfounded at how little of line I had gained on this bull. I was too, and a good 15 minute battle ensued.
Finally the bull was getting close as I just got into my 12lb. fluoro-carbon leader. With only about 75 feet to go,
we were both anticipating with great excitement what this beast might look like. The big guy stayed really deep and
bull-dogged directly below the boat for a few minutes. I would gain line almost to the point where we might catch a
glimpse, then he would take another run down to the 60 foot depths we had drifted over. This repeated a few times before
we were finally able to get our first look at this bull. The dingy, dull, green and brown colors soon appeared out of
the crystal blue waters of the Metolius arm and BWild gasped with a “It’s a monster, R.D.”! Just stay
on him and don’t give him any slack. I followed suit and stayed on top of this fish as he made a few circles around
my Smokercraft. The big bull surfaced several times but was still hot and full of fight. I just kept praying the
hooks would stay embedded in the big guy until we could safely secure him in our rubber net. Sure enough, the beast
slowed down and Brian did a great job scooping him home! After 7 years of coming to LBC, I had no doubt that God above
had just blessed me with my new personal best bull trout! The tape measure confirmed it with an overall length of 30
inches and a girth of 17 inches. After subtracting out the 5-1/2 pounds of net weight, the male bull weighed a solid
12-1/2 pounds! What a dandy bull!
| This is what it's all about right here!!! |
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| RD with the biggest bull of his life!!! 12.5 lbs, 30 inches! Congratulations, RD!!! WOOHOO!! |
I was shaking
with adrenaline from the epic battle that had just ensued and from the excitement of landing my best ever bull trout.
After some whoops and hollers, BWild and I filmed the release of this old guy swimming back home. After that fish, we
knew the rest of the trip was all gravy from there on out. I still think about that fish and what a smile he brought
to my face. And I thank Nathan Bettencourt, owner of Bettencourt Baits, for coming out with his Assassin lure that fooled this old guy. Definitely a bull trout that I will never forget!
We continued
to fish hard despite just landing a trophy bull trout. I caught another 5 pounder about 30 minutes later in the same
stretch of water. But after that, the bite slowed significantly. The wind started to pick up huge, and it was
white capping pretty good west of the Island. Brian and I made the call to head closer to Perry South and it was a good
decision. Waves were building pretty good as we motored back. Nothing too serious, but it was time to get out
of there in my little boat. We fished through the powerful wind gusts and drummed up a few bulls back closer to camp.
Nothing of size, but we talked to our good buddy, Josh Wedding, and they had boated back to back double digit bulls within
an hour of one another! The first being a 28-1/2” bull weighing 10-1/2 pounds and the second being a near twin
of mine at 30” and 12-1/2 pounds! Way to go Wedding!!! We called it an evening and headed in
for some grub and cold ones. Nothing like a warm campfire, cold beer, and pics to look back over after one of the most
successful days on Lake Billy Chinook ever for either of us. We ended the day with 22 bulls landed. All were released.
Sunday came just as
early and hard as Saturday. I was stiff and sore from the same air “flattress” I slept on, but knew it was
all worth it, as I was still riding that high from catching my personal best bull the previous day. Our plan of attack
for Sunday was to basically repeat what we did on Saturday. As luck would have it, we started off the morning with a
bang, as BWild got on the board with a nice little 4 pounder to the boat. Not 15 minutes later, he hooks up again down
by the island and this time line starts ripping off his reel! I give out a chuckle and ask if this one feels good.
Brian nods and says “Yep, this feels like the best one I’ve had on all weekend!” As the excitement
comes over me, I reel even faster to get my gear in the boat. I stand with net by my side and headlamp on. Just
like the previous morning, this fish is staying deep and ripping off line peeling runs. BWild and I are both anxious
and impatient as we wait to catch our first glimpse of the bull appearing from the dark early morning waters of the Metolius.
After a good 10 minute battle involving multiple loopty loops around the boat and line peeling dives, the big bull appears
on the surface. We both know it’s a good bull. Brian does a great job staying with her every move and soon
the big bull is ours! At 26 inches and 8-1/2 pounds, BWild has his best bull of the trip in net.
| 8.5 lbs and 26-1/2 inches!!! |
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| A great Bull Trout for Bwild! His biggest of the Trip!!! |
A few hours
later Brian and I worked the area over that had produced for us the previous day. It continued to produce as BWild put
a 6-1/2 pound bull just under 24 inches in the boat and I nailed a fat 5 pounder around 23 inches long.
| Just another 5 lb Bull Trout!!! |
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| RD and Brian were in bull trout bliss!! |
| Bwild with a 6.75 lber just shy of 24" |
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| We got this guy on video putting up a scrappy fight!!! |
The
waves were once again getting big from the west wind, so we headed back to Perry South. We fished up there for an hour
or so with a few little ones to show for our efforts. However, we did lose a huge bull that had popped the line out
of the downrigger clip and pinned the rod so hard in the holder that it took Brian all his effort to get a handle on the rod.
When he did grab hold, the fish was peeling line and Brian squealed with excitement knowing this was the one! Just as
quick as it had happened, the line went limp and Brian reeled up what was left of being sawed off. Whatever was on the
other end of the line quickly disposed of our 15lb. leader. Time to go a little heavier on the rigging next time!
We
had to get back home after that thrilling tussle, but we were plenty satisfied with our trip. In 1-1/2 days of fishing,
we brought 34 Bulls to the boat and nearly 150 pounds of bull trout
weight for the weekend!! Here is a video compilation of what we did for Bulls On Parade - II !!! Most were caught with Lymans and Assassins in koke patterns. Very few were caught with bait. Bwild even tried out a new lure for Nathan Bettencourt, the
Assassin's Blade and caught a 18 - 20" bull on it's first pass. Here's a video clip of the Assassin's Blade. Pretty sweet lure.
It
was just an incredible epic trip that neither BWild or myself will ever forget! Thank you Lord and Thank you LBC for
the memories!!!
Until
next time,
R.D.
“Browns – Coyotes of the Fishing World!”
| Bwild Fighting the 8.5 lb Bull Trout! |
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| Some Mule Deer on the Shore in the Early AM |
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| Cool Picture of Two Eagles Scouring LBC's surface! |
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| Just another tangle with an LBC Bull Trout! |
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| Another cool shot of Bwild's 8.5 lber |
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| A Cool Angled Shot of RD's 12.5 lb Bull Trout |
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| Snowy Drive Home Outside of Gov't Camp |
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| Little bit of snow never hurt anyone, right?!? |
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| Bulls On Parade II was a huge Success!!! |
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| THANK YOU LBC!!! Hope to see you sooner rather than later!!! |
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