22lb 7oz trout caught

hi guys, just thought i would show you guys this....









caught by a pike angler by mistake on chew valley resevoir. what a fish! we are all in total shock. weve seen loads of double figure browns caught by pike anglers but none as big as this one. im in total shock

is it a natural or pellet fed???

massive all the same!!!!

we have never stocked anything that size. the biggest we stock is around 12lb. this fish is pretty much a ferox. it is also very likely to be a triploid so will continue to feed throughout the winter.

borntofishforcedtowork wrote:we have never stocked anything that size. the biggest we stock is around 12lb. this fish is pretty much a ferox. it is also very likely to be a triploid so will continue to feed throughout the winter.

iam the same brad,just think if it carries on eating through the winter i may take the double squid baits to chew valley:lol:

Triploids are sterile fish, bred that way to stop them polluting natural fish stocks. A Ferox trout is one that's turned into a solitary hunter/predator, just like a pike, rather than following usual trout feeding habits.

P.S. Damn fine Trout by the way - about 18 pounds heavier than my best brownie

many thanks Martyn. all is now clear.

so a triploid is a eunuch and a ferox is a beast

Why would it be a triploid? The lifespan of a brownie and the available food (stockies and coarse fish) would let it get that big as a natural) and it hasn't really got the kype and teeth of a true ferox.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=ferox+trout&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1R2GFRC_enGB327&biw=1360&bih=619&tbm=isch&tbnid=pwZt0whHKUnq2M:&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrian_valentin_murphy/galleries/72157622616904662&docid=D4ljw9AUmW0kMM&imgurl=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2636/3920758536_ac9438a6b7.jpg&w=500&h=375&ei=xqutTv2lGcqx8gPcov3CCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=932&vpy=253&dur=1750&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=131&ty=107&sig=114042891150035525082&page=1&tbnh=119&tbnw=157&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:0

Fish that size have been found dead at Farmoor...and they never stocked them bigger than 2lbs. I devoted quite a time to trying to catch a live one..never got a double though. Eight inch lures on a lead core by the valve tower was the best tactic....had one that pulled the rod under the boat before shaking the hook...a take I'll never forget!!

Absolute stonker whatever - wish I'd caught it!! - thanks for sharing!!

WOW That is a f*****g monster!

GmacP, it could well be just a large natural brown. One things for sure though, this fish has been primarily feeeding on fish rather than your usual buzzers, nymphs ect etc. Im sure it would have been caught if it had just been caught on small insects/larvae by trout anglers if its diet wasnt fry. Also the fish was caught on half a bluey!

Although not a true ferox, you can see my point now. This fish undoubtly fed on fry. Mooching about on the bottom. Also not all ferox trout have large kypes or are dark in colouration.

Alot of the large browns caught do turn out to be triploids. There were a small amount stocked during the anniversary to entice the trout anglers to fish. These fish were browns and 4lb +. As i understand it, the biggest was 8lb. It could well be one of these fish.

Good god, what a fish, and a brownie as well. where was it caught?

Do you know what it was caught on? it is the time of year for big trout now.

I have not been all year so might dust off my fly rod now and give it a go.

Nice fish

borntofishforcedtowork wrote:GmacP, it could well be just a large natural brown. One things for sure though, this fish has been primarily feeeding on fish rather than your usual buzzers, nymphs ect etc. Im sure it would have been caught if it had just been caught on small insects/larvae by trout anglers if its diet wasnt fry. Also the fish was caught on half a bluey!

Although not a true ferox, you can see my point now. This fish undoubtly fed on fry. Mooching about on the bottom. Also not all ferox trout have large kypes or are dark in colouration.

Alot of the large browns caught do turn out to be triploids. There were a small amount stocked during the anniversary to entice the trout anglers to fish. These fish were browns and 4lb +. As i understand it, the biggest was 8lb. It could well be one of these fish.

I agree totally - i was just wondering why it would be a triploid but I get it now!!

The bluey bait doesn't surprise me at all as a lot of the large brownies caught at Farmoor during the pike season were caught on deadbaits and I am sure dead stockies etc form part of their diet.

I used to love fishing for the browns hitting the fry at Farmoor...great big bow waves and some beautiful fish....got severely told off for putting a six pound plus fish back by another angler...he couldn't believe I'd done it but I only ever kept the rainbows...

Still can't believe the fish...it is gorgeous and I am still going greener every time I look at it!!

tbh, i love my fly fishing and just like you, seeing a large trout chasing your minkie/fry pattern cant be beat i reckon. i love dry fly fishing but there is something about seeing trout chasing fry that just does it for me. i now alot of guys on rutland and gratham fish on the rudder. they get alot of big browns by all accounts.

if was a trip fair enough but was under the impression that it tends to be a more male charistic the kype jaw, especially when they become precocious, a trip being both sexs but inferitile. could be slightly more male or more female. trout of all sizes will lake live prey they are predators after all, in a water like chew a fish could go for years with out ever be seen or even hooked.



it is a monster none the less

I think my inspiration was Steve Parton writing about fishing Queen mother with lead core lines and six inch flies...his description of an 8lb brownie hitting the surface like a polaris missile from forty feet down takes some beating...

I used to fish Farmoor from from the bank either with a six foot brook rod, 3lb line and size twenties fishing the margins - my best bag was six fish for 23.5lb (and not a stockie amongst them - all full finned beauties)and I'd only walked half way round. None of them was hooked more than six foot from the edge and all of them hit the backing - powergum was a must!!

The other rod was a ten foot 10 weight that I built on a fibatube blank and used to hurl a lead core shooting head 50 plus yards with a six inch lure (with the the wind behind me) - the feeling when it just locks up solid on the retrieve is amazing. One afternoon there were a few guys nicely spaced out along the bank fishing their buzzers under floats...not catching anything in the afternoon sun. there was a nice sized gap between a couple of them so i had a few casts with a big white floating lure on the lead core...the crash as the line hit the water was enough to break their concentration but the sight of a 5lb rainbow torpedoing out of the water attached to my line ruined it totally...the three fish of similar size, though none quite as big, during the next half hour probably put them off nymphing for life....However the best Farmoor brown I remember was taken by one of the regulars fishing a buzzer one evening...it weighed over 11lb and the cast is still in the lodge!!

Wow.... what a lunker That really is a fish of a life time, imagine if it had been caught on a fly that would have been an epic battle. Must admit it does look like it could be a triploid, at this time of year when diploids are starting to colour up developing a belly full of eggs the triploids tend to stay the same. It's also quite silver which i have found a lot of the triploids i have produced look like as the mature.
The trout farm i work for has stocked chew valley in the past but never fish of anywhere near that size

to add to this....ive just been out on blagdon helping to reduce some of the pike numbers. had a 11lb rainbow on a spinner. will post pics when my mate sends me them!

I just went greener...if you ever need a hand removing the overweight fish I'd be only to happy to help!!

just one of the very few perks of my job. stripping fish this month.....yucky!

wow a beast!

heres a pic of the 11lb trout i had recently...



just trying to get the pic of the perch now..

and heres a half decent perch...