A happy coincidence. A water body so rich in habitat and so successful in the propagation of a healthy aquaculture that competition soon became the concern of the managing agency. Their solution was to introduce the mighty hybrid made of one part: the voracious Brook Trout and, the other part from the aggressively pugnacious Brown Trout. They poured the adolescent critters into the lake and set the product of their playing God to work and, suffice it to say, their super engineered prototype did exactly that. Titans compete with no one, as these brutes have come to serve as testimony. A derby is put on every winter atop the hardwater that accumulates upon that lake in the shorter days of the winter. Drunken hicks (AKA God’s people) from across the west show out in monolithic numbers to zip their sleds across the snow packed ice, only to drill a hole and pull a giant from the depths. While plenty of “native” species are still caught, none triumph in size comparatively, year over year, like these monsters of Frankenstein. The state record is predicted to be beaten in the next 5 years.
As for me, I’m more of an enthusiast for open water. Below the dam which holds back the wrath of nature, filled to the brim with Rainbow Trout and their relatively new roommates, my wife and I throw the feathers of the waterfowl we harvested in the previous season at the wandering bends of the resulting river. There we often link up with tremendously obese Bows, Cuttys and the abomination of their interspecies mingling which, has come to be known in these parts as “CutBows.”
On occasion however, we run into a Tiger and, the only thing we can surmise is that a few were caught up in the current of the spillway when they were still pups. What a delightful benefit of man’s hubris – these predatory kings of freshwater – who pack a Tyson-like punch and an athleticism that would challenge Bo Jackson’s best day on the diamond.
Author’s Note:
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story and all the content associated with it. As an avid sportsman, I hope that this tale inspires you to get outside to enjoy the wild with the ones you love most. I write these stories as a hobby and with them come certain accountabilities. The details of my stories are purely based on my recollection alone and in no particular way do they reflect a chronologically factual, indisputable timeline of events. They are in no way intended for official use or as a reference for official purposes. These are simply tall tales meant to entertain the tired mind; best served with a clear evening, a warm fire and, a strong whiskey.
That’s all for now, my friends. If you enjoyed this content and would like to see more like it, I can be found on Instagram by searching “Authentically Wild Out West” and on YouTube by searching the same phrase. Until the next campfire, stay safe out there and look after each other.
Authentically Wild Out West 