Most of the bull trout that I've encountered down here in Steveston are between 1 and 2lb. Every now and then, a large fish that weighs 5lb or more would swim among these little guys. There seems to be a gap in the weight range, because fish in between these two size classes are uncommon. Since the fall salmon season opening, I have found 24 bull trout at the end of my line. Although it has been a blast catching them, every single fish has been in the light weight class. The big ones are still swimming out there, undisturbed, somewhere. It would be nice to find one before the season ends. Last night I mentioned to Nina that I was going to find a 8 pounder today.
Well, almost.
The wind was blowing hard from the east this morning. The tide was very high by 11:00am. Combining the two together resulted in poor fishing condition at some of the more favourable spots due to the amount of debris accumulating in the area. I picked out a couple of sheltered spots to work the spinners. After not finding a fish in an hour, hope was fading away fast. I fished the area at the far side of Garry Point Park, where a slough enters into the mainstem Fraser River. I missed a good hit at one point, which raised some hope because they would usually come back for another attempt. A few casts later, it indeed came back again. I hooked it just several feet from shore as usual. At first I thought it was a snag because there was no movement, but a few seconds later the head began to shake violently. The fish surfaced and I was shocked by how long it was. At last the beasty bull has showed itself. The game was not over yet because it began heading into the deep. The ultralight rod was pushed to the limit so I could only wait for it to tire itself out. It came into the landing net with ease after a few minutes.
Although long, this fish was rather snake-like, which is very common for this time of the year. If this fish was caught in spring, it would almost be twice as heavy. I estimated it to be around 5lb. Unfortunately I was fishing alone once again and the length of the fish made taking good photos rather difficult.
Heavy rain moved in at 1:00pm, but I managed to squeeze in one more fish before ending the outing.
Both fish were taken on a 1/8oz green bladed spinner. Another short and relatively productive outing.
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Topic: Tidal Fraser River, November 2nd 2008: Beasty bull, at last! (Read 2855 times)