BIG BONNEVILLE TROUT BY JOHN BERRY

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how excited I was to catch an eleven inch Bonneville Cutthroat. The Bonnevilles are a recent addition to our fishery. Our local Trout Unlimited organization, Arkansas White River Chapter # 698, has an ongoing project to introduce these trout to the White and Norfork Rivers. The idea was to introduce another self-sustaining trout species to our waters to complement our brown trout.

TU obtained the Bonneville trout eggs from Wyoming and brought in Dave Whitlock to initiate the project. Beginning four years ago, the eggs were planted in Catch and Release Sections of the White and Norfork Rivers in order to create a spawning ground for them, on an annual basis. The idea of another self-sustaining species in our waters is very appealing to me.

Right after I had caught my eleven inch Bonneville, someone came into Blue Ribbon and showed me a photo of an eighteen incher. I was really impressed. I had no idea that they had gotten so big in such a short time. I decided to go after a big one!

Last week I had a day off. My wife, Lori, had gone to Memphis to care for her parents who had both just gotten out of the hospital. I was home alone with some free time on my hands. I decided to drive over to the Ackerman access on the Norfork and give it a try. It was cloudy and cold (around 39 degrees) with a ten to fifteen mile an hour wind out of the north that sent the wind chill plummeting. The water was on the bottom. I was surprised to only see one vehicle in the parking lot. A bit of solitude really sounded nice to me.

I waded far upstream into the Catch and Release Section, with the idea of fishing my way out. I did not rig my rod until I got where I wanted to fish. I arrived at a deep, fast run a few hundred yards below where TU had planted the Bonneville trout eggs. I took a few minutes to rig my rod with a size fourteen hare and copper with ruby midge dropper. My first fish was a fat fourteen-inch rainbow. Then I landed an eighteen and then a seventeen and a sixteen.

I had planned on moving downstream but the fish were good sized and fighting well. If I was going to catch fish like this, I would stay where I was. I doubled down and continued fishing the run. I was rewarded with an incredibly fat twenty-one-inch hook jawed male rainbow. I was feeling pretty good about the day but I was hoping for a big Bonneville.

A few casts later I hit pay-dirt. It was a big trout that was pulling line out at a prodigious rate. I was almost in the backing and I thought I was on a good-sized brown. I fought it for several minutes before I got a good look at it. It was a cutthroat for sure. It had bright red fins, vivid red slashes under its chin, big spots and a faint pink stripe. It was a Bonneville cutthroat.

I deftly worked it into calm water so that I could take a good look at it. It was flawless! While not as fat as some that I had seen photos of, this one was a smidge over eighteen inches. I had accomplished my goal. Unfortunately, I had left the house without my phone, so I was unable to take a picture. I figured that was OK because I knew what happened. I began fishing my way out. I picked up a few small fish and ended the day with about a dozen trout. I didn’t catch numbers but I had some real quality.

The Bonnevilles are doing well thanks to the effort of TU. Do not forget their fundraiser Saturday Night at the Elks Lodge in Mountain Home, Arkansas.