MONSTER TROUT kayak partner!

[jims]

I'm heading to the Great Lakes towards the end of October to fish for giant browns for 2 weeks. The past 2 years I've caught browns and rainbows/steelhead up to 19 lbs and am pretty confident this will be the year I'll break the 20 lb barrier. I'm trying to find a partner to share expenses and the experience. I usually fish long days and am pretty hardcore. If this sounds like something you may be interested in please email me at [email protected]

[jims]

I just got word that a buddy of mine doesn't plan to go this year so I'm still searching for someone to tag along. I will actually be fishing on the Wisconsin side. If anyone is seriously interested I can send pics from the past couple years that will make your eyeballs pop!

[earplug]

Can I take a nap in the afternoon?

[jims]

Earplug, you can take a nap when ever you want....but may be a little disappointed if I catch a 25 lber while your asleep! If the fishing is slow during the day I may try taking a nap and fishing at night. The BIG browns may be on the prowl after the sun goes down and everyone has left the water!

[lvrider]

Did the big ones tow you around? Do you fight the fish by pedaling while reeling them in?

[jims]

The biggest browns I caught towed me around a bit! I can stand up in my PA so that makes it really nice for fighting and landing the big ones. I also have a super big Frabell net with long extension that speeds up the process. When the biggest ones make runs it's nice with the Hobie because I can hold my rod and peddle to keep up. I'm not exactly sure what the guys with paddles in their hands do with rods while trying to follow over-sized fish?

I caught several kings and they tugged me around a lot as well. In fact, I had a pretty large crowd watching me along a bike trail fight a king for around 25 minutes. I don't know how many times I stood up to fight him and got back down to peddle and follow him! When I finally landed him they clapped and gave out a roar! It was pretty funny!

The monster rainbows/steelhead are actually tougher than the browns because they are like torpedos once they hit. I usually loose a lot more steelies that I hook than I catch. Some of the biggest browns tended to head to the bottom and are fairly tough to pull up...but the steelies tend to be super active with jumps, runs, and leaps. Probably the biggest brown I had on last year took a giant run that just about spooled me. I couldn't keep up with him and he snapped my line. You know where I'll be fishing this fall! I've seen 30 lb browns caught in that particular area....so you never know!

[chadfish]

Sounds like fun, wish I had time to join ya!

[earplug]

Cutting to the chase, what is this going to cost. Lodging and food etc.

[jims]

The biggest expense for the trip is gas getting out there. I brought my truck last year so I could bring my kayak. My truck gets around 15 mpg and its 1200 miles 1 way. If I drove 3000 miles round trip that would be 200 gallons of fuel so around $350 each if we split gas. I flew out there with a buddy a couple years ago and it was $200 each for plane tickets plus car rental for a week.

Last year I stayed for 2 weeks. Part of the time I slept in my truck camper and the remainder of the time I stayed in a hotel. Hotels there were around $50/night. I found some great internet hotel deals last year that were 1/2 price on a super nice hotel. I should have quite a few nights free from pts I've saved from staying elsewhere. If someone else went along and split 14 nights @ $50 it would be around $350 each. There is license, meals, gear, etc. It would probably be around $700 each if 2 of us went for gas plus hotel. Obviously if we camped out it would be cheaper. That's pretty cheap for a 2 week trip...and chance at mondo trout! The guides in the area charge around $350/day for each fisherman!

I've invested a lot of time and $ researching the area, tying flies, painting lures, where to go, and what to use, etc. Obviously you may need to buy additional gear that works for fishing that particular area. There is specialized gear that helps..plus a lot different lures, flies, etc that I don't use here in Colo.

I expect to have an incredible time this year! I've learned from my past trips and have figured out new methods and hot spots each year. If you know anything about giant brown trout it can be feast or famine....so it takes a lot of knowledge to figure them out....and I've done pretty darn well! If you are seriously interested and want to know more of the specifics please send me an email: [email protected]

[iron chef]

He Jim,

Glad to see you are at it again, wish I could go but need to save the time for the May trip, have fun... Salmon weights are improving this year, in the 25# class for 3 year olds already, action as of now is still 3am-dawn & dusk, into the dark out of Port Washington...mooohahahahah

Bryan