Hey Rick,

This was a day in late September on Wickiup Reservoir in the unpredictable conditions of the Oregon Cascades. The water levels were really low at 22% capacity making it hard to get the boat in.

I pulled up to Gull Point boat ramp to find the gate closed so we ran up to the north ramp to try and launch from the mud. We did get the boat in and started top lining with one of our favorite lures, a Strike King jerk bait.

While we worked the shore lines hard, we noticed there were few boats out. The spawn was probably turning off some of the browns. We decided to work a run near the boat ramp because the weather conditions were so bad and we were not dressed that well. The wind, rain and hail made it tough to control our lines.

After passing a point, Peter hooked a small brown and was fighting it when my rod gets hit by a big fish at the same time! We had a double going!

The brown made a long run which was exciting as he kept burning line off the reel. Peter worked his fish in quickly and we were trying to keep the lines apart. The wind made everything hectic and blowing the boat all over in the shallows.

I started working the fish in and a few minutes later had him beside the boat. He made one last burst and then jumped. Peter netted the brown and we could see that he was a big hookjaw pushing 10 LB. in beautiful, fall spawning colors!

We took a few photos and then put him back. He was a great fish on a slow nasty day. We didn't have much luck the rest of the day. This was one of the biggest browns from Wickiup that season.

I would love to have the big hookjaw hanging on my wall. Thanks for taking a look!

Jackson Stall