While this trout was no state record cutbow, it was an absolute beast, and caught on a small creek where fish of this size are not known to be.
While not weighed or measured with tape, this fish was around 26 inches long and was right around 8 pounds.
This was a lucky fish. I pulled off of the road in our A-Lodge adventure van so the girlfriend could take a nap in the back while I tried out this small stream for a little over an hour.
After discussing with a local guide, this fish could have come from a few nearby larger bodies of water and made its way into this stream where it was landed.
The average fish in this stream is 8-12 inches long, and I was fishing 6x line with small barbless hooks. After fishing a great little hole with around 15 fish to net, this big beauty came swimming along feeding near the bottom. I knew that with the right drift, this fish would take, and i’d be in for an absolute ride.
Eventually, it took a rainbow warrior and a 15 minute fight ensued with a couple misnets (as you can see the net could not hold the fish), but this fish was landed.
Luckily, this fish was landed, and released safely back into the water. Shoutout to the kind gentlemen that helped me net this fish!
Max DesMarais is the founder of hikingandfishing.com. He has a passion for the outdoors and making outdoor education and adventure more accessible. Max is a published author for various outdoor adventure, travel, and marketing websites. He is an experienced hiker, backpacker, fly fisherman, backcountry skier, trail runner, and spends his free time in the outdoors. These adventures allow him to test gear, learn new skills, and experience new places so that he can educate others. Max grew up hiking all around New Hampshire and New England. He became obsessed with the New Hampshire mountains, and the NH 48, where he guided hikes and trail runs in the White Mountains. Since moving out west, Max has continued climbed all of the Colorado 14ers, is always testing gear, learning skills, gaining experience, and building his endurance for outdoor sports. You can read more about his experience here: hikingandfishing/about