Show r rr rs tl t. t 4 f t s T Iv 11 l r r It t i f c V Ya i t s IG r I t Y t t r tr r r I ROBERT BRINGHURST LaVerne California holds the 33 pound 1 10 0 ounce German Brown Trout that he hooked on the Fl Flaming ming Gorge Reservoir last Friday morning The catch Another super fish was Looked hooked at Flaming Gorge last Friday by a Californian Robert Bringhurst of LaVerne Calif caught a 33 pound 10 ounce German Brown Trout in Sheep Creek Bay Friday at am a.m. Bringhurst's brown trout breaks Charles Keefers Keefer's record of 31 pounds and 12 ounces Keefer Dutch John hooked his l w record brown trout was 40 and 4 3 inches inches inches in in- ches long and 25 inches around The fish was weighed at the Manila Post Office The Californians Californian's German Brown Trout was caught on a pound 10 test line with hand- hand painted gold Rapala The lure had three hooks and was painted l like a rainbow trout Bringhurst was trolling fast when the record fish struck He was fishing with his father and 1 brother brother- Bringhurst was fishing in about 80 feet of water It took him ten minutes to reel in the fish The Californian caught four German brown trout while fishing at Flaming Gorge Thursday Friday and Satur Satur- day The four fish averaged about 20 pounds each The record was confirmed by bythe bythe bythe the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources The came to Flaming Gorge to go after the world record w set a new world record for a German Germon Brown Trout Photo courtesy of Jim gumbo Californian ion hooks iT 1 33 lb lOoz world record brown trout By Jim The morning of March 4 was no different than most others at Flaming Gorge Reservoir A slight wind blew from the west and created a slight chop on the surface of the lake Low floating clouds scudded across the northern Utah sky and spit a afew afew afew few menacing snowflakes into the frig frigid water Water- J Bob and Jim Bringhurst rose at 5 o'clock in typical fashion They boiled a quick pot of coffee in their camper wolfed down a afew afew afew few cookies and hurried to their boat It was their fifth morning at Flaming Gorge Reservoir They didn't know it then but they would remember that day for the rest of their lives Jives The Bringhurst brothers are firemen for the Los Angeles County Fire Department Practically all of their free time is spent fishing but not in the conventional manner Bob and Jim are specialists and have no interest in leisure fishing A lifetime of angling has honed their interests to one narrow pursuit that of the brown trout The along with their father Joe have been fishing exclusively for big brown trout in California for over a dozen years They learned much in their outings and revised their techniques until they learned how to consistently catch the big elusive trout It was ho no surprise that they should journey to Flaming Gorge in quest of its mammoth brown trout After all the famous reservoir was making headlines in magazines and newspapers throughout the theland land Huge browns were being taken out of the Gorge and records were being shattered with amazing frequency So it was that Bob and Jim climbed into their frost covered boat well before daylight on Friday March 4 They wiped off the icy seats coaxed the sluggish 40 hp outboard to life and cast off from the shore of Sheep Creek Bay It happened at am a.m. Jim was changing line on his reel when Bobs Bob's rod bowed sharply with the strike of a hefty fish Jim quickly dropped the reel reeland reeland reeland and killed the motor Bob snapped the rod back hard and andset andset andset set the hook firmly into the fish But nut there was no reason to get excited Up until then over the thelast thelast thelast last 4 days they had landed 5 browns browm from 7 to 17 pounds There was no indication that this fish would be bigger Bob played the fish for 10 minutes Except for a brief glimpse at the taU tall of the trout when it was first hooked they hadn't seen it at all The fish fought stubbornly and deep and they had no idea how big it was Suddenly the trout appeared along the gunwale of the boat and turned on its side Jim sucked in his breath and gasped in utter disbelief My God Godl he exclaimed I think we did it Seconds later late Jim skillfully boated the tired trout The next hour passed in a blurry state of confusion The brothers raced to the boat ramp with the giant brown trout Joe ran from the camper when he heard the excited shouts of his sons Ie e stared in amazement at the in incredible fish that lav on the sand its huge flanks heaving in dying gasps Bob quickly weighed the fish fishon on a small hand scale The scale only went to 28 pounds and the trout bottomed it easily That was the first indication that the fish might indeed be a record They loaded the trout in their car and sped for Manila to weigh it on official scales Time was crucial since fish lose weight immediately after being removed from the water They arrived to find every store closed in Manila It was too early Finally after what seemed like hours a service sta station tion opened for business The owner had a scale Ie that was used to weigh propane tanks but wasn't certified to the exact ounce Bobs Bob's heart skipped a befit beat when the fish was laid on the scales It registered almost 34 pounds A grocery store open opened d for business down the street so Bob took the fish over to try their scales The was unbearable unbearable- unbearable they they HAD to know for sure surel But the scales in the grocery store only registered 30 pounds When they placed the fish on the tray it quickly hit the bottom of the scale They met the moment of truth when the Post Office opened This time the scales would handle the huge trout Bob Dob and Jim watched anxiously as the fish was carefully placed on the certified scales The air and mood were tense as the postmistress post mistress made the official announcement 33 pounds 10 ounces The brothers were ecstatic A Anew Anew Anew new worlds world's record brown trout would make the history books In a few short days the entire nation would learn of the giant fish To 10 be sure the catch was no stroke of luck The were prepared for big fish and knew how to catch them In the first place they completely convert Rapala lures by sanding sanding san san- ding the factory finish off and repainting them so they look like rainbow trout They dont don't use the small that are commonly used on the lake but use the bigger size 13 models that are no longer manufactured lured They troll differently than many anglers Rather Bather Ra ther than trolling slow as is recommended recommended mended they move along at 4 to 5 miles per hour After 4 trips to Flaming Gorge Bob nob Jim and Joe are convinced that Sheep Crt Creek k Bay Day is the place to fish That's Continued on Page 12 m Record brown trout w w Continued from Page 1 1 1 where they had their best luck but they admit that there are big fish throughout the lake I asked the if they would return to Flaming Gorge in the future since their mission was accomplished Sure replied Bob were coming back in 3 weeks to catch another world record We drive 19 hours stop non-stop to fish the lake and we love it Weve We've fallen Inlove in inlove inlove love with Flaming Gorge and well we'll come back as often as we can Theres There's only one word to describe that kind of altitude attitude dedication Top from Flaming Gorge are arc 29 pounds 8 ounces Verl Hanchett September 21 1974 31 pounds 12 ounces Charles Keefer January 25 1975 30 pounds 0 ounces Dino DeGrandis April 15 1976 33 pounds 10 ounces Bob Bringhurst March 4 1977 |