This trip had been planned for several years, but we just couldn’t ever put it all together. When we discussed it this year and knew that the ice was now off, my buddy and I both jumped at the chance to spend another weekend fishing for trophy Browns.

The only factor not considered was the spring snow storm that really limited what the fish were doing. We did happen to catch the leading edge of the storm that dumped up to 3 feet of snow in some areas of our state. The leading storm edge has always been a good producer for us no matter where we were fishing for Brown Trout and this was no exception. After trying several different lures including some killer hand painted patterns, I put on an 8 inch skinny AC Plug which Allan Cole and thrown in for good measure on my last order. I will be perfectly honest here in that it was tough to tune, but after about 30 minutes of tuning and testing, I finally got it in the water, three minutes later I had a Rainbow Trout and 5 minutes after that I got slammed by a big Brown Trout. She made a predictable early run and then swirled on the surface for a couple of times all the while rolling on the line trying to dislodge those Owner hooks. I finally worked her close to the boat where she decided to run under the boat., but mistakenly changed tactics and came back to me…..my partner runs a mean net, and she never had a chance.

We hollered and high fived after weighing her on 2 scales at 13 lbs and 13 ounces. This fish made me a member of the Brown Bagger Club so my buddy thought it fitting that I be pictured in the hat….lol hope you all enjoy my fish, she will make an outstanding mount.

John Krmpotich