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ENTRY#: L-00003

Troutzilla!

Now it all started innocently I suppose at the end of the 1999-fishing season. You know the attitude; floating down the Lower Owens of California without a care in the world. Right about this time, say late October-early November, not many folks were fishing the Owens. The season was over and most just assumed 'no more fishing allowed.' But this is not the case in the Owens Valley where fishing is allowed year-round. Now in a deep pool - a secret pool for your protection - floating nose upstream, waited the biggest fish anyone had ever seen. So big, it earned the moniker 'Troutzilla.' It might seem like this is getting close to being a tall tale, but I have seen pictures and can vouch for its authenticity. So floating nose upstream in a secret pool was the biggest Hen Rainbow Trout anyone had ever seen. A monster fish measuring 25-inches long and very fat.
A fish of dreams!

The locals had heard of such a fish, and some even claimed they had heard of folks who had caught the monster. But each story ended with Troutzilla spitting out the hook before anyone could reach for a net. One day, once all the stories were done being told, one man stood up and calmly announced he had seen the fish and had even hooked it himself. And, although he couldn't prove the truth of the moment, he swore he would hook her again. Everyone agreed the man was probably a fool and they all shuffled out of the tackle shop grinning. But each day from that moment on, the men sitting outside of Barrett's Outfitters or Brock's Fly Fishing Specialists would see the man whiz by with his drift boat in tow and usually one would ask the other, "There goes Tom. Wonder if he's caught old Troutzilla?" And then they would laugh.

So anyway, the days soon marched off past turkey day and off toward St. Nick day and still no word on if Troutzilla had been caught, let alone found. That is, until a bright afternoon found Tom Loe, Jimmy Toy and Bill Becher all sitting in Tom's drift boat floating below the Wild Trout Area on the Lower Owens. It was a beautiful day. Very comfortable for the month of December and the group had all caught more than 60 fish between them. Catch and release, catch and release. This routine continued on for quite a while, until Tom turned the boat into a pool, dropped anchor, and whispered to the other two men, "She's here." Who's here, was the obvious reply, and Tom went on to explain all about the monster super-sized hen rainbow named Troutzilla and how she frightened smaller fish away so she could sit and feed on the tidbits floating her way in this deep pool. Silent, mean and very happy with her surroundings. "Guide hype," Bill said to Jimmy and the two men set out to humor Tom by casting out into the area where the current meets the still water of the pool. They stripped in a couple feet of line, let it sink, and stripped it in again. "She's pushed off the little fish and is waiting in there," said Tom, as he turned the boat around. "More hype," whispered Jimmy and Bill. Jimmy cast out again, and as the fly landed, his rod made a sudden twitch and dove toward the water. "That's her," shouted Tom, "That's Troutzilla!" For the next few minutes a fight to finish was underway. Jimmy would reel in a little line, and Troutzilla would dive deep. The tip of the rod would bend into the water as the monster fish tried to pull Jimmy in. Finally after time caught up with itself, the fight was won. There sitting across a 21-inch fish net lay a 25-inch fish, tagged by the Department of Fish and Game as a trophy trout and very much a keeper.

So in the end Tom was proven right and everyone congratulated him on making history. Of course, none of the praise came about until after he produced photos. And what became of Troutzilla? She was revived and released back into the deep pool of the Lower Owens to fight another day.

Bill
Harlem, NY

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