Brook trout are my favorite of all the trout species, even if they are by far the smallest. He lived in Billings Heights and wasn’t overly friendly until I mentioned Starnham, his father, and the “fish.” He agreed to meet me at a City Brew coffee shop in west Billings and he came in carrying a large file folder.“That sounds like an appropriate scientific name,” I said. Spiderwire line and saltwater hook held fast and I followed the fish upstream, holding the rod high. June is the time of year the critters would swim across the creek now and again—maybe to visit relatives or colonize the other side. The picture was different from every giant, fake-fish postcard I’d seen before. I really didn’t have a plan if I hooked this fish, but much of my life was based in that mindset, so what the hell. That’s what the fisheries guy used to tell me.
He was a bent, older man dressed in the faded Wranglers and belt buckle of the modern cowboy.He leaned closer and said, “Didn’t know we had any of those left. There is something unique about Beauvais Creek as well, but we’re not sure what it is. She ushered me into the living room and as she did she said, “Don’t be fooled by appearances. Well, compact in the context of a 350 pound fish.“So this Mullen guy,” I asked Will, “you say he studied the fish and sought to keep their existence a secret?”“Yeah.
The 80 lb. A few we got out of the Bighorn not far downstream from the creek’s mouth. Then, taking another dip of Copenhagen, he called for Laura. A person is usually gazing up at the trout with a look of amazement, and the caption reads something like, “They grow them big out west.” Created with technology long before Photoshop, the amateurish attempt at deception brings a smile.It was in the spring of 1993 that I came across one of these big-fish cards at the general store in St. Xavier, Montana, a tiny town near the banks of the fabled Bighorn River.
I want to learn all I can.
My systematic approach to scanning the water had given way to watching a herd of antelope about a mile in the distance. As near as we can tell, these trout are genetically unique, different from most trout species. Just where and how were you catching these fish of this size?”“Most of ‘em we caught right down here in the crick, Beauvais Creek I mean. Might not have to use the tractor on those guys.”“So what happened to the research data Richard collected on these fish? And fish.
Laura will take it away if she sees it, so this is our little secret.” Will Starnham slipped the can under a magazine on the coffee table.“So, let me get this straight,” I said. "I named it 'The Batman' because when Derek showed it to me in the moonlight its dark colours are similar to that of those from the batman show in the 80's. But apparently, the largest Brown trout is able to reach 130 centimetres as long as the environment is right. It felt as if I’d snagged bottom and I leaned back on the weight, bending the rod nearly double. About 100 feet upriver we saw a gigantic boil in the turbid water, and my heart skipped a beat. Tom’s appearance had changed markedly and not for the better.