The Curmudgeon

[Driftless]

The Curmudgeon

Written By: Len Harris

Photos by: Len Harris

Curmudgeon

definition:

cur·mud·geon

Function: noun

Etymology: origin unknown

1 : a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old male trout

- cur·mud·geon·li·ness /-lE-n&s/ noun

- cur·mud·geon·ly /-lE/ adjective

A typical life expectancy of a small stream trout

varies. If a trout finds a good stream or "home" and

it has the necessary cover and forage, a trout could

live to an age of around 12 years.

Five years ago I found such a "home". I walked

around the bend in a stream and it was before me. It

is a *WOW* hole. A *WOW* hole is one that totally

screams out "Large Trout Home".

The top of the hole has a current line for oxygen and

feed source. The hole itself is an old farm field

bridge that has caved in ages ago. The boulder at the

base of the bridge causes a severe step drop in depth.

A step drop is where the depth of a hole goes from 2

feet to 8 feet deep in about 2 feet distance.

The rest of the hole has some cover on the left and a

couple ambush points for The Curmudgeon to attack his

prey. The hole is about 8 feet deep in the center.

This allows the trout stay in this hole year round.

I scouted the hole from downstream in a crouched

position for a short time. It was March and the

vegetation was limited. I watched the water. I saw no

obvious feeding action.

This hole was so far off the main roadway it

screamed Large Trout. It was way too far of a walk for

the casual angler.

I thought for a long time how to attack this hole.

The water was cold in March, so any possible large

fish would be in the slow moving deep water. I needed

to make a cast way up into the current to hide the

splash of my cast.

I was worried that a smaller fish might spook the

hole first and I would not have a chance at The

Curmudgeon. I figured if i was going do it...It would

be on the first 5 casts.

I casted for an hour at the hole with not even a

whisper of a fish in the hole. From my experience, I

learned that Old Male Trout are very territorial. When

they are really old they chase ALL other trout out of

the hole. They are Crusty and Ill Tempered.

After the hour I decided to walk out into the hole

and carefully map the bottom for structure. The best

way I knew was to actually wade the entire hole. I

started at the edges and worked my way to the fast

water funnel. The fast water funnel end was clearly

over my waders so I poked my pole into the depths.

Something flew out of the depths and did a circle in

the hole and then stopped on the other far side of the

hole.

From the wake the fish made in its circle..It was

obviously a Big Fish. I had thrown the kitchen sink at

this fish and had not even gotten a bump.

I visited this hole annually for five years. About

ten times each year. I varied my casts. I varied time

of day and night. I even sat on the hole in the middle

of the night with a chub tail and a night crawler. I

caught NO trout.

Last fall I was talking to a friend about The

Curmudgeon. He asked what I had tried so far. I told

him all of the tricks I tried. He asked me if I had

ever tried to ANGER the trout. Make it so angry it

would hit out of anger. I had my friend tell me what

he meant by that.

He said that an Old Trout that big would be

territorial and if i casted in and ripped the

presentation through the hole at 100 miles an hour...I

might anger it enough into hitting. I had tried

everything else...So what the heck.

Second cast.....was bringing it as fast as I

possibly could. It slammed it. It went deep and

hunkered down on the bottom. After a change of

direction battling it, I got it to the top of the

water. I was not disappointed. It was well worth five

years of hunting this fish.

I dubbed him ***The Curmudgeon*** and sent him on his

way.

[OnAFly]

That's a heck of a nice brown. I know exactly what you mean about getting old trout out of deep holes. Between the Kinni and the Rush, I've yet to do it. Was it on a fly?

[trailratedtj]

hellava fish!

[magic_minnow]

that is one helluva story & fish. Good job!!

[DonBo]

WOW! Great fish.

[tweedlap]

Sweet story.

tweed

[wooduck26]

Whoa! Thats a HAWG!..........great fish, great story!