Biggest Trout

Tales from the Backyard… I had just bought my 6 yo son his first fishing outfit, you know the one: Rod, reel, line, hooks, and bobber all in a 3 foot plastic package.  Saturday was the big day and we were going early.  Then I heard “can I come” from three different people, my 1^st wife’s sister was visiting, they wanted to lie on the bank and sun themselves.  We got out about 11, so much for early.  We stopped and parked the car by a bridge over the Wood River and crossed the fence.  I put on a worm and cast the little poles line into the water.  Immediately I got a hit from a small trout and reeled it in.  Removing the hook, I somehow pulled out the fishes gullet, so just cast that back into the water.  Reeling it in slowly (all the time my son is yelling “I want to Fish”) I snagged the bottom so I told him when I get it loose he can have “his” pole.  I carefully pulled in line by pumping the rod very slowly and the big log was coming with the current towards shore.  This fishing hole was a big eddy and the log just went by with the current to where the main current was.  I expected it to the catch the currant and swing back to the eddy again and make a circle back to me.  It began moving upstream, now a little thing like that gets your attention.  It made big circles with and against the current several times and finally came to the surface across the river. I shouted “hey look, a small sturgeon” and they all came running down to the shore.  Then it opened its huge mouth, Sturgeons don’t have mouths that can open that way.  My legs began to shake.  This was the largest trout I had ever seen.  Shacking now all over and being a lot more careful, I managed to get it to shore about 15 minutes later where-in the hook straightened out and came out of its mouth, the rig flying past my head.  I threw the pole and dove off the bank and landed on top of the fish and scooped to the higher bank in one fell swoop.  A little over 10 lbs, still the largest trout I have ever caught, and on a 3 foot $1.98 fishing outfit.