Was out on the water with my buddy this weekend. He ended up nailing this beautiful 10lb hookjaw! The lucky part wasn't catching the fish, but me catching the whole thing on video. Here's a picture of it, it's a beauty. Click on this link to see the video!
VIDEO
http://www.norcalangler.net/video/archive/video.php?file_name=John10lbhook.wmv


http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/5915-johnhook2.jpg
www.norcalangler.net

http://www.norcalangler.net

Attachment #1, (.jpg file)

Nice brown!

I keep telling myself that I would like to spend some time chasing that "other 10+" but can't seem to drag myself away from the bass.

Gorgeous fish!

Learn how to handle a trophy trout man. C'mon!

Looks like Hell Hole to me.

A little rough on the handling.

Off the top, congratulations. That's a trophy brown trout any day of the week. I think it's very cool you guys released the fish too. Not many people do release those big browns.

I gave some thought to the fish handling aspect of it. I could see how a big brown could be a hard fish to deal with in the boat. One because they like to twist around a lot, two because you're probably using a lure with three treble hooks on it, and three because that lure with all the hooks is probably not completely inside the fish's mouth.

On the one hand I was thinking that if you wanted to release a big brown, the way to net it would be using a cradle like guys use for musky and pike:

http://www.lakesuperiorstore.com/store/images/Fishing/nets/6494820%20cradle%20net.jpg

On the other hand, your lure would probably get hopelessly snagged in the cradle as the fish thrashes around. The same would probably be true of any of the finer mesh nets, which are so much better for catch and release fishing.

I know when I bought my first big net, the Promar net with the grey mesh, the mesh was so fine that I had to give up on it because hooks would get tangled every single time. I use the black mesh on the Promar net now and still get some tangles, but bass tend to just lay in that net and not move because they feel well supported (as opposed to nets with wide mesh where bass will twist and turn because the mesh is cutting in to them).

Here's a pic showing the grey and black mesh versions of the Promar Grande Halibut/Salmon release net

http://www.americanmaple.com/relaunchpromar/images/ln-501-b.jpg

As far as weighing a fish like that goes, boy I don't know... I don't think trout handle being weighed by the jaw or through the gill very well. My only thought would be to weigh the trout in the net and subtract the weight. Or maybe, after removing the hook, put the fish in a cradle and weigh it from there? I don't see any real easy way to weigh and release a big brown like that.

In any case, you guys are obviously on the right track. I suspect that trophy brown fishing is a lot like trophy bass fishing in that a small group of people is catching the majority of the big browns. Maybe next year you'll catch the same fish you release this year and validate that your release methods are working. Maybe you'll never see them again which could be an indication that it's time to try some other release methods. At least what you guys are doing is a step in the right direction, and I applaud you for that. Big browns are awesome fish.

Good post Rob...

By the way... you had to give up on the grey mesh after Gladiator mission number 2. Nets don't last long after breaking out the scissors.

I do like the black meshed promar nets though. Still grab hooks but it's managable.

heh, I forgot about that. You were catching too many fish, it kept screwing up my net :)

My thought in making the post above was that rather than harp on these guys who went out of their way to take video of a big brown, post it here, and release the fish, let's discuss some real things that could be done to catch and release big brown trout more effectively.

Handling a big brown trout is without a doubt harder than handling a big bass. Bass are tough and have a conveniently large jaw to grab hold of. Trout are not very tough, they're hard to grab by the jaw, and they like to twist and roll around. Since c-n-r fishing for trophy browns is not very common, or at least not very talked about, these guys are in some ways pioneers in this area.

I know that of the thousands of fishing articles I've read in the past 15 years, I've never read one specifically talking about how to catch and release big browns. So a possible positive outcome of this post could be that maybe some guys who are familiar with how to handle and release big browns will chime in with some practical advice. That would be a much better outcome than some posts making a one sentence comment criticizing these guys.

Let's push this forward.

I'm confused. What did he do to handle it wrong. Actually between the pictures and weiging it, he had it back in the water to catch it's breath, that's edited out of the video because from the time I neeted it until then the camera was all over the place. That's actually John's 5th brown over 10lbs here in California. He's let all of them go except for 2 which he kept for the wall. The boga grips are a great way to handle it as apposed to sticking your hand through the gills which I see most people doing now adays. If someone has some better ideas and ways to handle it let me know. Most people wouldn't have even released that fish, and John did it without a second thought, so like the previous person said, perhaps constructive criticism or suggestions rather than insult would probably be the better route. To the sarcastic one, have you caught enough trophy trout to know what it is like trying to net them and get them out of the net? Just food for thought. Thanks to ALL who replied, I hope you enjoyed either way. - Cameron

http://www.norcalangler.net

I dont mean any harm. My comment was an honest one and not sarcastic at all. My goal was to hopefully stimulate some constructive criticism- which is exactly what has happened.
As for the my view on the video, well I will just be honest and say that I (along with many experienced fly fishermen) feel that this fish was handled improperly and that boasting about it with a broadcasted video to the tune of Rage is a bad example for the people who view it. I see the same thing all the time, and hopefully others can agree that more people out there need to become more educated in regards to fish handling, especially when they are dealing with a big fish like this one. The first thing wrong here is the fish in the boat, flopping around. I think most of us know that this is harmful to a fish, so I wont go into that. Investing in a large RUBBER net (rather than mesh), and remove the hook in the water is a good way to easily solve this problem.
The second issue that I had with this was the way the fish was lifted by the boga. Its just like when you handle a big bass. Holding them from their lip in a vertical position causes a lot of damage to the fish. Again, I wont go into that. Instead of this, cradling the fish so that uniform pressure is applied all along the fish as you lift it horizontally out of the water works well to help limit stress.
If you have to use the scale then make sure you do it quick and smoothly, but remember that many times (at least in my experiences), a trout's size is measured in length and girth rather than by weight. I know it is nice to know how much it weighed, but length is the most commonly used method of measurement when refering to a trout amongst us fly guys out there.
Anyways, when you release these fish it is important that you do not let them go too soon, especially if it just put up a hard fight. Instead of moving the fish back and forth really quickly, just cradle the fish in the water without moving it. This way the fish can regain some strength. Moving the fish back and forth in a quick manner does two things for the fish. As you move it foward, the fish's gill correctly function as they normally do. But, the second you bring the fish backwards, you are basically drowning the fish. In the end, the fish gains nothing from this.
If you are in a stream, just point the fish up current and let it breath, all the while putting the least amount of pressure on the fish's body. If you are in a boat, either point the fish towards where you are drifting or kick the trolling motor on a little so that water flows along its gills. In both situations, keep the fish in your control until you feel its tail begin to gain strength and pulse. This is the fish saying, "Okay dude I am ready to go now".
The next tip is just what I do, and it is up to you if it helps or not. Once the fish feels like it wants to swim away in good shape, gently wave its tail side to side a few times as if you are imitating its swimming motion. To me this sort of wakes the fish up and makes it feel like it has a chance to escape your grasp.
Once again I just felt that this video demostrated a rather harsh method for catching and releasing a trophy trout. Regardless, quality fish man.

Oh and yes I have caught plenty but with flies only.

Like Camron stated that is my 5th brown over ten and the third that I released, along with many in the 6-9 pound range topped by putting a guy on a 20 3/4 pounder. I assure you that the cradle would not work!! if you could get the fish in it at all the 3 hooks on our lures would hang in the mesh and would really tear up the mesh and the fish. The best way I have found to land a brown quickly is steady even pressure and getting it in the net on the first pass, miss it and the fish will go crazy, that cradle would spook it and landing it would take much longer, causing more stress on the fish. I think that the way we did it in the video with the big net and boga grip is the best way, less stress on the fish and less chance of getting a hook in the hand. And I know first hand that the fish do fine after we release them. I caught a 12# the first week of jan 06 and Camron's brother Justin caught the same fish in April and it was a bit heavier and in fine shape. john

"If you don't know what your talking about keep your mouth shut"
- MY MOM -

k

That is a true trophy for California. Way to go John. I fished with John a couple of times and have been on the lake with him many of times. John and his father are good people. I don't think that fish is ten pounds according to the boga grip reading on the video but it is a solid nine pounder. A bass fisherman friend on mine pointed that out to me. I went and got my boga and sure enough it was a dead on solid nine pounder which is a trophy anywhere.


http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/5922-boga_grip_scale_002.jpg
here is what the scale reads and their boga says on the video

and here is what ten pounds reads



http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/5923-boga_grip_scale_001.jpg

Keep up the good work John and get out and fish more

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Sorry guys but anyone who actively uses a boga knows that is a 9 pound fish. Sorry guys. Nice fish though but not a 10 pounder. I caught a still frame of the video. Here it is...


http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/5924-9pounderfalse10_1.jpg

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Since everyone is posting pictures of each other maybe buff would like to tell you about the picture he sent me on my cell phone a while back. I saved it just for a special occasion and I think it's getting close. Maybe I'll just email it to the person who needs to see it along with all his other emails and phone records! Keep it up and you'll see where it gets you. If he's your friend you'd learn when to close that big hole in your face.

http://www.norcalangler.net

yea, I made a mistake. I read the boga wrong. I the excitment and my rush to get the fish back in the water as fast as possable I just took a quick look at the scale and read it wrong. I didn't do it to mislead anyone like I have been acused of on other sites that my good friend "buff" has posted on. Why would I have let Camron show the boga in the video if it wasn't a mistake. It just kills some people when someone else catches a nice fish. john L4T

"you don't have to put out someone else's fire to stoke your own"
-heard it somewhere

that was an excellent fish and nobody here is taking that away from you but being a brownbagger I am sure the president wants to keep all his fish on his list legit. I was just letting you know that the boga wasn't reading ten pounds,and after seening all the pictures you taking with the boga grip I was sure you knew how to read it. We were the first ones to congratulate you too. The was no harm meant I just wasn't sure if you knew what the scale read or not. Now go catch another one you are an excellent angler. keep up the good work.

Scotty