Bull Trip II

My good buddy, Dan, was in town for the holiday last week. We went back up to the Metolius for a couple hours. I hooked one big fish that came unbuttoned after I had technical difficulties involving the build up of ice in the rod guides. I use a versa-tip line on my 6/7 wt, which means I can change out the first 12 ft or so of fly line with sinking tips, etc. Well the connection is a slim knot, but not smooth, so when the ice built up, the line would not come in any closer than that 12 feet, plus another 12 ft. of leader and tippet, so my fish, which had been on the line for about 5 minutes, was just not going to get any closer than about 24 feet away unless I could get the ice out of the guides. Usually we just dip the rod in the river, which is warmer than the freezing cold air and the ice melts. I tried this technique with big fish on and as soon as the rod tip was below about chest level, "plink" - fish off. Was a big'n for sure though. Probably bigger than the 25 incher caught last week. Anyway, a couple of hours later I hooked and landed a 21 inch bull trout that fought surprisingly well for its size. Got to love hooking nice sized fish on home tied flies! The best part about this trip was that we did not hook a single white fish or rainbow. We love the rainbows and the whitefish have saved many-a-day from the skunk, but the fact that there are no smaller fish in the holes likely means that the bigger fish have moved back in. Oh Betty!!!!! We have until about March to fish for the big bruisers, so if anyone wants to come out, the time is upon us. In April the bows begin their spawn and most of the big bullies drop back. By May all the big bull trout are back down in the deep water of the reservoir and won't be seen again in the river until next year. Come on out for some seriously Tight Lines!