20 pound brown caught and released

[Gabe Cross]

After seeing that fish for months living below Charlie's Rainbow Trout Resort's dock (near Norfork Dam), Patrick Murphy (resident guide, helper, and fisherman) hooked into something really big last Thursday while pitching a Zig Jig (http://zigjig.net) during rising water. The fish tried to tangle up in every boat motor on the dock, and a friend finally helped him land the pig from a boat. Although some thought the big brown would have weighed more, this behemoth weiged 20.5lbs. and was 34.5 inches long. After very carefully monitoring the fish during some photo sessions, she was released back into her home for someone else to agaonize over (Patrick was borderline "obsessed" with trying to hook that fish for awhile...I think he had given up hope when it finally struck). I will post a picture once I get my hands on one.

Gabe

[brownieman]

I have just joined this site...been reading back thru some of these posts.

A few yrs back I had (maybe) the same fish roll my plug...figured it at that time to go 15 or so.

There used to be a huge rainbow around that area also...we caught her on a dead minnow one time.

We didn't measure or weigh her, hate to take em out of the water...wasn't that long of a fish but man she was a real fatty...probably 13 or so...saw both these fish on the same trip.

Hadn't fished the North Fork much at that time...learned a valuable lesson.

We motored up from the confluence of the white and N. fork...didn't know to recognize how fast the water falls when they stop generation from the dam...had to walk a 24' river jon about 3 miles back down to where we put in...couldn't believe how fast the water level fell...learned from the old school of hard knocks...no better teacher, lol.

[shawncat]

Yea brownieman,there's some pigs that hang around those cleaning docks.On both the White and Norfork.Man do I miss that old world record dock at McC ellens.You would see some big trout snatching guts next to the cleaning table if you could get them in the water before the cats[feline]could get them. :=D:I never tried it in a 24ft,but a white river john 20ft works.I will drive down praying for running water.Rent a boat from Roses or Norfork[confluence]run up to the dam.Float and fish [motor running]to the end of Long hole.Repeat till they shut the water off and float down.You'll probably get your feet wet going thru the C&R but I've made it thru dry[once].The only real danger is when you float past the waders to the right of the island in the C&R,there's only about a 4ft passage way thru there.Just don't make any eye contact like your in prison. [just kidding]Don't go left of the island or you may get stuck on that big boulder I was stuck on for 20 minutes last time.[your right that water does come down fast]If you think the water goes down fast your right ,but it comes up fast too and is much more dangerous[not kidding]Thanks for posting that old post, brought back memory's.I remember reading that post and heading out the next day

[brownieman]

hey shawncat...memories for me too...bad and good, lol.

when we had to drag my jon back down that river at least we got to see what we had to avoid when runnig up it so it was a good/bad thing all in one.

If I remember right a couple miles up it the is a place (think the locals called it "The Hole") where there is a rock ledge that streches all the way across the river...place has torn up many a boat and motor so I was told by some of the local guides.

My old river jon had a motor jack and an 18 horse on it...there was one spot that you had to shoot thru to get by that ledge...wicked spot...least I knew where I had to hit it at to make it thru due to our ignorance of the river (walking my jon 3 miles or so back down stream)

aaah yes...thoses were the days

later my friend

[Bill Anderson]

You're right about big trout hanging around those docks...in the past I've taken some 4 and 5 pound rainbows right out from under Rose's docks during low water. I was wading past and just let a wooly bugger drift under the dock and stripped it out. The water wasn't 2 1/2 feet deep and people on the dock could not believe it when I took those big trout right at their feet while they were standing there. There are some Moby Dick size trout living under the railroad bridge near there too.