My good buddy and fishing partner, Brian Wildish (a.k.a. BWild), had
planned a trip to Lake Billy Chinook for the weekend of March 14th.
We usually plan these trips weeks, if not months, in advance due to
each others hectic schedules and simply pray they work out
weather/wind wise.  A few days before we would leave our Western
Oregon homes for the rocks and junipers of scenic Central Oregon, NOAA
forecasts were predicting good chances of rain/showers and pretty
sustainable winds in the 15-25 mph range.  Brian and I knew it would
be at least 4 to 5 weeks until our next opportunity to fish the high
lakes so we went ahead with our plan and prepared accordingly.  Friday
night we headed over Mt. Hood and beat the snow that would blow in
that evening.  We camped at Perry South C.G., unloaded the boat in the
dark, got camp quickly setup, then hit the sack with dreams of Big
Bulls screaming our drags in the morning.
Saturday morning couldn't come quick enough with the uncomfortable
sleeping arrangements we had made in the back of my Dodge pickup
canopy.  There is always that slight adrenaline rush from the
excitement of getting the lines in the water at first light too.
BWild and I got a good start to the morning and quickly saw lots of
nice arcs within a few minutes from camp.  We lowered out gear to
their depths and fished for a good hour or so with no takers.  Since
we had taken my boat and I was the captain, I made the executive
decision to head for the island.  We arrived around 8 a.m. and began
trolling the shallows.  The wind was picking up and we were thinking
it might have been a mistake to get so far from camp with the wind
whipping out of the west.  The waves were building, so I aimed the
trolling path around the east side of the island.  With thoughts of
wind and waves creeping into my uncomfortable state of mind, the
doubling over of my 8' 6" steelhead rod quickly snapped my attention
back to fishing!  I grabbed the rod out of the holder, gave a quick
set jerk, and hollered to BWild "FISH ON!!".  Brian acted fast and got
his gear in quickly.  I could tell from the get-go that this Bull had
some serious weight to it.  My rod was bent over tight and it was a
battle of give and take.  He would take a run, and then I would gain
some slack.  After 10 minutes or so, we caught a glimpse of the beast
as he swam past the boat then quickly bulldogged directly under my 15'
Alaskan Smokercraft.  Bulls seem to be famous for this, and I love
that about them.  He bulldogged and tugged some more with a few quick
short runs.  Finally the Big Bore Bull surrendered to Brian's net job
and the high fives ensued.  WOW!  What a fish!!  And the first one of
the day to boot.  I told BWild right then and there that this trip was
so worth it, and that every fish from here on out was icing.  The big
bruiser was just THICK from head to tail.  We both thought he was over
10lbs. at first, but after looking at the length we noticed he was
less than 30" for sure making the 10lb. mark much more difficult to
achieve.  Sure enough, the big male measured 27 inches and weighed in
at 9.5 pounds.  My second biggest bull ever.  We took some pics, then
filmed the release on BWild's underwater camera.  Sure is a neat
feeling watching a huge trout like that swimming out of your grasp
back home to their little sanctuary.
Bwild and I quickly got back at it.  The next couple hours were pretty
productive as it was clear the bulls were feeding up prior to the
nasty front pushing up and over Mt. Jefferson in the distance.  I
caught a 21", 4lb. bull at 30 feet deep.  Brian got on the scoreboard
with an 18" and later around noon caught a chunky 19.5", 3lb. bull at
50 feet deep.  That would prove to be the end of the bite, as we
didn't catch another fish the rest of the day.  About 30 minutes
before Brian caught the 3 pounder, we did have a pretty good fish
story happen to us.  While trolling along in a little cove we came
across, BWild's rod slammed down hard and started dancing!  Brian
jumped at the response and set the hook.  I asked if I should kick the
motor in neutral and if the fish was still there.  He said he wasn't
for sure and that something didn't quite feel right.  Brian kept the
line tight and stayed on what we thought was a fish.  Next thing I see
is three to four HARD tugs of the pole and BWild saying "WHOA!!".  I
quickly kicked the boat in neutral and then to my dismay I hear Brian
say "NO!", I think I lost him.  Did he come off?, I asked.  No, I
think I lost everything!  Sure enough, Brian reeled in his gear and
the monster bull had broken off the whole works.  His 12lb. test
leader was shredded too.  We were pretty baffled by that one.  Maybe
the bull took the line and wrapped it around a rock shelf or log.  I
guess we'll never know, but we sure would have liked to got a look at
that Beast!
Sunday was slow from the start and got slower as the day dragged on.
Sometimes you just have those gut instincts that it just ain't
happening!  It felt like one of those mornings.  We tried hard
anyways, and fished down by the island all morning until 11 a.m.  With
a long drive up and around Mt. Hood through The Dalles ahead of us, we
made the decision to pull the plug.  BWild and I both agreed it would
have been nice to catch a few more, but with a Bull just under the
10lb. mark we would be riding high heading home.  Sure is good to see
some nice FAT Bulls coming from Lake Billy Chinook this year.  I'm
sure glad we got to partake in the action too!
Can't wait to do it all again next time.
Take care Dan,
R.D.
"Browns - Coyotes of the Fishing World!"