Buster the Steelhead. Photo By: Louis Cahill
I love it when I luck up and catch a big male trout, steelhead, salmon, or char. There’s something about big gnarly kype jaws that fascinate me.
For starters, males always seem to sport more vibrant colors than hens, especially during the spawning season. In the wild and according to my catch rates, there seems to be a higher ratio of females to males in most watersheds. If you really want to know what gets me fired up when I land a big male, it’s the fact that every male specimen I catch seems to have its own unique face and features, just like all of us. It probably sounds weird, but I always find myself trying to imagine what the fish would look like if it was a person. The big kype always turns into a big smile, and the shape of the snout ends up being the shape and size of the person’s nose. For no rime or reason, it happens like clock work before I release every bruiser. God bless all the kype jaws swimming around out there. They always make my guide day a little extra special and rewarding when they show up.
Am I alone here in how cool I think kype jawed fish are?
Keep it Reel,
Kent Klewein Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
U R not alone when it comes to Kype love. I caught this crazy looking Atlantic a few yrs back whos Kype drew a crowd (not a very good camerman). http://bentrodmedia.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/the-search-for-freak-nasty/
Did you just make a reference to that religious group that dosen’t put up a christmas tree? AKA Dave’s people. Sorry but the new south park was on last night so I couldn’t resist.
Charlie,
The Freak Nasty term is going to start getting used. That is too funny man. Thanks for taking the time to provide us a definition and reference point to spark our imagination. Depending on your taste it could be bad or good, ha.
Hope all is well cuz
Kent
DUDE nice fish but stop holding it with your hand covering the tail ffs!!! LOL! Louis will drown you if you do that when hes taking photos…
Kent, you’re not alone. Everyone wants to land a big hook jawed fish. However, with that said, this made me very nervous:
“when I land a big male, it’s the fact that every male specimen I catch, seems to have its own unique face and features, just like all of us. It probably sounds weird, but I always find myself trying to imagine what the fish would look like if it was a person.”
That’s freak nasty. There are those who fish a lot and there are those who FISH a lot. You my friend, FISH a lot!
That fish is awesome, btw….
Richard,
I said it may seem weird, LOL. Its really just me being amazed at the fish’s beauty and pureness i guess. And yes that was a beast of a steelhead, we were all stoked to get some photos of it.
Kent
I’m pretty sure this steelhead wasn’t caught on the swing, so it dosen’t count.
Charlie,
That was your slow day on the river, wasn’t it 🙂
Oh no, here we go. This goes along with Louis’ post. It only counts if it came out of a western river and was a sea run fish. Did this come out of the Great Lakes? Kidding of course. Having never caught a fish that big on a fly rod, I’d be pooping myself if that thing took my fly…. on the swing of course…
But yes, Kent, fish are cool. Whether it’s a small brookie from Yellowstone or a huge hook jawed chromer, when you look at their coloring and markings, it’s pretty awesome. Ducks are the same with the markings in their feathers.
I wouldn’t know, I’ve never freaking caught one… they look cool in pictures you guys post though lol.
i love the way they look, but i live in the south and for the most part all my fly fishing is done in saltwater so i know nothing about what it’s like to catch any kype jawed trout.
and is the “if wasn’t caught on a spey rod then it doesn’t count” stuff real? hahaha. sounds like people in my area telling me i’m a pussy for fly fishing
I’m with you on this one Kent, and what a fish. The big brown I got last summer had a huge hooked jaw and blunted nose. Thanks for sharing that one.