Brambles Son's Gerrard

[Brambles]

After fishing 2-3 days per week for May, June, July, August, Catching my 17 pounder on Sept 2nd. Taking Sept, Oct and first half of November off for hunting...Resuming fishing mid Nov, Dec, Jan and now February. My kids and I have literally logged hundreds of hours on the lake.

i had a few dandies get away from us. My wife got a 12 pounder on Boxing Day. Not bad considering her first day in the boat was rewarded by a 29" 6lb bull trout and her second day boated the 12 lb gerrard!!!

February 2nd was shaping up to be like most other days... Slow fishin

Sausages are cooking on the BBQ in the back, we're in the cabin doin our thing....when..I see a bald eagle swoop down and scoop something off the water. I get the kids attention so they can watch.
the eagle can't lift it so it drops it, flies in a circle and grabs at it again but again couldn't keep a grasp of it and drops it.

A female or juvenile tries to steal it and gets pushed off by the big male eagle. I turn the boat and head to intercept the victim floating on the water. Wondering how big the fish was so that an eagle couldn't lift it..

as I get the net ready to net the fish........I see it was a damn bird....weird looking thing too. Never seen anything like it...

i snap some pictures and go text my buddy who was just getting on the water the pictures wondering if he knew what it was.

i head back in the cabin to steer the boat..just chillin and relaxing....Tyler my 6 year old asks if he can go outside to look at the "duck".

"Whatever buddy, have at it"........ He opens the door an starts. yelling......."DAD...DAD....DAD.... The noise....The noise. Not knowing what he hell he was talking about I run out back and quickly try to figure out what was going on.... BBQ isn't on fire....check! Boat isn't sinking...check! Starboard Rod and Downrigger rod ... Check!
Port rod.....holy f&$@..... Zzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeee......rods buckled over and screaming at a medium pace.

i get the rod outta the holder and feel lots of head shaking and some decent weight....

Tyler grab the rod....feels like a 10-12 lb rainbow...

he takes the rod and does exactly like we've practiced...rod tip up, reel down....rod tip up....reel down.

I radio my buddy that were hooked up, he's about 400 yards away and puts the hammer down on his jet boat to get front row seats..

Tyler is doing a great job for a 6 year old...as the fish gets closer i strattle the transom and get a look at the fish...holy crap Tyler he's a monster.....fish see's boat and zzzzzeeeeeeeeeee.

Back and forth,..........back and forth ...Tyler works the fish......finally by standing on the outboard bracket and hooking the transom with one Leg I lean as far as I dare and net Tyler's prize.

Tyler I think you just caught a bigger fish than your dad....he was bouncing, hooting and hollering when that slab landed on deck.

I was shocked when we weighed him at 16 lbs, I thought it woulda gone 18-20 by the size of the tail. So I measured it and sure enough.....35" long.....an absolutly exceptional fish that woulda weighed 25 lbs if it had been feeding like normal.
In fact it coulda very well been a $10,000 fish if we had caught it a week later at the Family Day 2nd annual fishing derby as its judged by length not weight!!

im a proud Dad, the little guy put in the hours and fully deserved it. I said...you will probably catch heavier fish but you"ll go a lifetime before you catch a fish longer than 35"

[Brambles]

After the photo's and lunch we were continuing to fish when I seen a bald eagle only 30 yards above he boat... I quickly let out a eagle whistle and I seen him look down at me.... I grabbed the "Duck" and held it above my head....I could tell I had his attention......I gave it a good lob overboard and the eagle went straight into a dive and grabbed it and flew away...turns out the "duck" was a "Western Grebe".

[OutWest]

Awesome stuff, Brambles. What a way to get the kids "hooked". There's been some dandies pulled outta there this year. Congrats!

[Dannybuoy]

Beauty !! good write-uo too . Cant wait to get do more fishing on that lake myself !

[Brambles]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/51f13cebe8ccac73887cf7872c96f29c_zpsb2ed658c.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/51f13cebe8ccac73887cf7872c96f29c_zpsb2ed658c.jpg.h tml)

[Brambles]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/e0aa1be02207916d338bf6d833ffb8de_zpse77f122d.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/e0aa1be02207916d338bf6d833ffb8de_zpse77f122d.jpg.h tml)

[Brambles]

Anybody see the peeping Tom ....

[pnbrock]

Holy smokes that's a pig!!! Now I wanna fishing trip with you guys. Hopefully your son the guide will be available to show me how it's done. Well done

[Brambles]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/image_zps87155008.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/image_zps87155008.jpg.html)

[Brambles]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/image_zps32332984.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/image_zps32332984.jpg.html)

[Brambles]

Holy smokes that's a pig!!! Now I wanna fishing trip with you guys. Hopefully your son the guide will be available to show me how it's done. Well done

I Definitly owe you some excitement....however fishing is slow right now..... Long waits in between fish.....sometimes many days even.
Hopefully spring will stir up some voracious feeding.

[MB_Boy]

Nice fish Brambles and little Brambles!

Being largely a saltwater guy now and have only caught small bows up in Clearwater area, are the Gerrards always that dark?

[Fella]

Wow awesome fish!! Congrats to "the mighty fisherman"!

[Brambles]

Nice fish Brambles and little Brambles!

Being largely a saltwater guy now and have only caught small bows up in Clearwater area, are the Gerrards always that dark?


No, they vary in color from dark to chrome depending on certain things. the males darken up during the spawn and both males and females darken up if they've spent lots of time down deep. Odds are by the minuscule size of this guys stomach, and lanky profile he was probably lying somewhat dormant in the deep.



my 17 lb from September

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/Brambles77/Gerrardsolo_zps0724e141.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Brambles77/media/Gerrardsolo_zps0724e141.jpg.html)

[wrenchhead]

Those are some dandy fish! Cangrats to the little guy for winning the battle!

[bighornbob]

Anybody see the peeping Tom ....

Yah I saw him. Maybe if you took the padlock off the door he could join you guys on deck. I guess that's how you child mind in the West Kootenays:):)

BHB

[coach]

I guess that's how you child mind in the West Kootenays:):) BHB

I always knew Kootenay guys were secretive about their hunting spots - but keeping the kid behind a door so he can't see where you're fishing.. that's getting pretty ridiculous! :-D

That fish is a brute! Congrats to you and your son, Brambles.

[GoatGuy]

Great stuff, way to go!

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Yah I saw him. Maybe if you took the padlock off the door he could join you guys on deck. I guess that's how you child mind in the West Kootenays:):)

BHB


Other kid is just serving time. Once he logs enough hrs on the water he'll be invited into the loop;-).

Very cool, Jeff!!
Great fish and even more great it that the boy reeled him in all by himself!! Awesome!!

SSS

[kennyj]

Nice fish!s Great fishing story too. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
kenny

[358mag]

Great job there Brambles , was that a catch + release Gerrard or a eater ??
Nice to see you have the little one's out in the boat having a great family day on the water .

[dmace]

Great job fella's !! Love to see the kids out ! What do you use for those gerrards ? plugs ? bait ? Is there a better time of year ? I hope to combine a hunt and a fish up that way in the next couple of years .
Tight lines
D

[WKCotts]

Elk smokies on the grill??

[Sitkaspruce]

Nice job Jeff and kids!!!!

Great looking boat as well!!! Those old hand crank Penns bring back some old fishing memories!!!

Great to see the kids getting out fishing.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

SS

[srupp]

Awesome GErrard...congradulations to all involved!

Cheers

Steven

[Brambles]

Great job there Brambles , was that a catch + release Gerrard or a eater ??
Nice to see you have the little one's out in the boat having a great family day on the water .


I clubbed it faster than a baby seal!

although I did have mixed emotions about it after I measured the length and realizing the fishes true potential, It was my son's first big rainbow and I couldn't make him throw back something we've worked soooo hard for. Plus we really enjoy the eats!!!

[Brambles]

Great job fella's !! Love to see the kids out ! What do you use for those gerrards ? plugs ? bait ? Is there a better time of year ? I hope to combine a hunt and a fish up that way in the next couple of years .
Tight lines
D

plug, bucktail, apex, flasher hoochie etc etc. you pass it by the right fish in the right mood and they've all caught fish. I think March April and may are suppose to be good depending on water temp. This will be my first spring on the lake targeting the big ones.

gotta find new moorage in March as my spot is only temporary for winter and fills up in spring.....sooooo if any kootenay members have or know of a private dock close to Balfour....I'm looking

[Ourea]

I clubbed it faster than a baby seal!

although I did have mixed emotions about it after I measured the length and realizing the fishes true potential, It was my son's first big rainbow and I couldn't make him throw back something we've worked soooo hard for. Plus we really enjoy the eats!!!


Good job with the kids Brams.
Love the smuggler in the cockpit....
Great stuff.

[Brambles]

I always knew Kootenay guys were secretive about their hunting spots - but keeping the kid behind a door so he can't see where you're fishing.. that's getting pretty ridiculous! :-D

That fish is a brute! Congrats to you and your son, Brambles.

Nobody but Tyler can understand what the little goon says anyway LOL. He can tell all my secrets and you'll just look blankly and say WTF did he just say? LOL


Yah I saw him. Maybe if you took the padlock off the door he could join you guys on deck. I guess that's how you child mind in the West Kootenays:):)

BHB

I'm surprised he got up from the table watching his movie on the DVD player to even pay attention to what we were doing...lol


Other kid is just serving time. Once he logs enough hrs on the water he'll be invited into the loop;-).

Very cool, Jeff!!
Great fish and even more great it that the boy reeled him in all by himself!! Awesome!!

SSS

Funny thing is that mere seconds after the strike I was feeling the fish out when my buddy called me on the radio. Tyler said, I can hold the rod for you dad if you wanna go get the radio.....At that point I'm like....F#$K yeah buddy this is your fish now.... Seeing the excitement in his eye's at that moment was only bested by the look on his face when the Rainbow started peeling line and his eye's were as big as saucers.. Great times with my little goons..

[BlacktailStalker]

That's awesome, good day.

[knockturnal]

I'm hopefully going to get out in the spring with my dad for some Gerard action. Never caught one before but I figure now is as good as any time to giver a shot. I'm guessing you are fishing in the Balfour area?

[Rattler]

Nice work Tyler! Where was one like that on the weekend eh.....

[Bc Deer Hunter]

What a beautiful fish! Big congrats to you and your son, surely a catch that will never be forgotten!!

[OutWest]

In fact it coulda very well been a $10,000 fish if we had caught it a week later at the Family Day 2nd annual fishing derby as its judged by length not weight!!

im a proud Dad, the little guy put in the hours and fully deserved it. I said...you will probably catch heavier fish but you"ll go a lifetime before you catch a fish longer than 35"

Awesome stuff! And yes, would have been a $10 000 fish. Winner went 34 5/8. Regardless, that's a fish of a lifetime and a great moment for you guys!

[yama49]

Awesome way to spend the day with your sons..Tell the young man congrats... I was wondering about the little fellar, and the padlock

[huntinnut]

Congrats to your son!

[huntinnut]

I would look farther south than Belfour these days with what's going on in the lake. The better looking fish have mostly been caught in the south end for a while now. There's speculation that there is maybe more kokanee down this way these days. We caught a 17lb 6 rainbow and a 15lb 4oz bull that were both in great shape in December, and heard rumors of a 25lb rainbow recently caught, and I know that the guy fishes from Boswell. The last two times I've gone it's been really slow though.

[markomoose]

Very cool fish adventures!!!!!

[Brambles]

I would look farther south than Belfour these days with what's going on in the lake. The better looking fish have mostly been caught in the south end for a while now. There's speculation that there is maybe more kokanee down this way these days. We caught a 17lb 6 rainbow and a 15lb 4oz bull that were both in great shape in December, and heard rumors of a 25lb rainbow recently caught, and I know that the guy fishes from Boswell. The last two times I've gone it's been really slow though.

I've heard you Creston guys were doing pretty well, I've only gone down that far once, I don't know the area real well but with the new fishfinder it will be easier!
i'll give it a try, thx