# Is it true? A guy caught a 36 inch trout?



## Hdfisher427

Just spoke to a guy that owns a house in Matagorda, he says that someone caught a 36 inch trout at the foot of the old swing bridge.

Anybody else hear that? He says that got pics, if that's true and he entered Star it could be over except for the lower coast!!!!!!!!

Incredible!!!!!!


----------



## Blk Jck 224

Hmmmmm...I'd sure have to see it to believe it.


----------



## Mike77015

Very possible right there. Isnt Matty considered upper coast with the STAR?


----------



## davidking

i heard it ran 11 lbs


----------



## davidking

Blk Jck 224 said:


> Hmmmmm...I'd sure have to see it to believe it.


X2


----------



## Silverspoon

X3 on seeing it to believe it!

Over except for the lower coast! Right! I suggest everyone stop fishing now and just concede! 

This tournament is only in it's 3rd day and you are ready to award the prizes for the upper coast for a 9.51 lb trout, a solid fish no doubt, and rumor that there is a 36" that has been caught? The state record was less than 34" and was caught in February as I recall. This tournament is far from over! BTW, I hope you don't take this as me bashing you for your comments, that was not my intent whatsoever. I, for one, am not throwing in the towel until the tournament officially ends!


----------



## Down South Lures

I have heard stories like this before. Matagorda has the potential to produce a trout of that size, but man that is a big trout. I heard a similar story a few years ago from Capt. Tony David in Port Isabel. He said he was at a boat launch (can't remember which one) and saw a guy fileting an extremely large trout. Capt. Tony went to see the fish and measured it after it was missing filets. He said it went 36 inches long. Furthermore, he said the guy caught it from the bank with shrimp and a popping cork. I would have at least snapped a photo or something....


----------



## corykj

there are people down in riviera, tx that fish for a living and they say that it isn't uncommon to catch one 'market trout' (>32") per year. they say that people who throw lures will never catch them....

i think capt. les cobb's buddy, craig west, caught one a few years back that was pushing 35" or 36" in the middle of summer, but was just shy of wallace's record at the time.


----------



## reelthreat

corykj said:


> there are people down in riviera, tx that fish for a living and they say that it isn't uncommon to catch one 'market trout' (>32") per year. they say that people who throw lures will never catch them....
> 
> i think capt. les cobb's buddy, craig west, caught one a few years back that was pushing 35" or 36" in the middle of summer, but was just shy of wallace's record at the time.


Craig sure can tell some fishing stories! He is one hell of a fisherman and the first time I fished with him he put me on my largest trout (at the time). He said he and Les have caught multiple fish in the 36" range and that they both could have the record if they choose to.

Good fishermen, yes, good story tellers, even better.


----------



## KIKO

*Big trout*

That was probably my buddy Gilbert L. form Alamo. He said that while he was cleaning his big trout a guide was jealous and mad he had fillet it. LOL He caught the fish on on frozen shrimp on back of the old Walmart in Port Isabel in 2004-2005. Tha fat boy probably ate the state record.

next time i see him i'll see if he's got pics of it. I think there was one.



Down South Lures said:


> I have heard stories like this before. Matagorda has the potential to produce a trout of that size, but man that is a big trout. I heard a similar story a few years ago from Capt. Tony David in Port Isabel. He said he was at a boat launch (can't remember which one) and saw a guy fileting an extremely large trout. Capt. Tony went to see the fish and measured it after it was missing filets. He said it went 36 inches long. Furthermore, he said the guy caught it from the bank with shrimp and a popping cork. I would have at least snapped a photo or something....


----------



## trophytroutman

id have to see it on a check it stick to believe it.


----------



## GCC

OK maybe it's 7'9" now.


----------



## fire_chair

My cousin caught one in Rockport, won't say where exactly, that went a little over 34". She was super skinny, only about nine pounds. He laid her on the ice chest to grab the camera and she self-released. 
We camped at the Freeport Jetty Memorial Day weekend probably 10 years a go and I saw a guy bring a trout off the jetty that had to be pushing four foot. My jaw dropped when I saw that fish.


----------



## catchysumfishy

fire_chair said:


> My cousin caught one in Rockport, won't say where exactly, that went a little over 34". She was super skinny, only about nine pounds. He laid her on the ice chest to grab the camera and she self-released.
> We camped at the Freeport Jetty Memorial Day weekend probably 10 years a go and I saw a guy bring a trout off the jetty that had to be pushing four foot. My jaw dropped when I saw that fish.


Hmmm...4'..REALLY NOW????


----------



## Primer

catchysumfishy said:


> Hmmm...4'..REALLY NOW????


 Tarpon maybe.


----------



## coachlaw

My dad caught a 36 plus in Grand Bayou in La. back in about 1987. We filleted it. DOH! Stupid coonarses.

Oh, we were fishing for reds and it was on a dead scrimp under a cork.


----------



## NOGUIDEREQUIRED

:rotfl:


catchysumfishy said:


> Hmmm...4'..REALLY NOW????


Better Puff Puff Pass on that... We went from 36" to 48".. WOW..


----------



## NOGUIDEREQUIRED

Hdfisher427 said:


> Just spoke to a guy that owns a house in Matagorda, he says that someone caught a 36 inch trout at the foot of the old swing bridge.
> 
> Anybody else hear that? He says that got pics, if that's true and he entered Star it could be over except for the lower coast!!!!!!!!
> 
> Incredible!!!!!!


*I heard it was LEE WARMKE, fishing with dead shrimp under a popping cork!:cheers: LMAO!!*


----------



## poncho n' lefty

The trout in matty measured 35 7/8, 10 and a half pounds, I saw the pics, they will be posted on 2cool soon!


----------



## Hdfisher427

Did this guy enter the Star Tourney?


----------



## The Machine

talking 36", Ive got a snook its on my camera phone, if you all want to see it let me know need to get permission from the person, should be ok< I think


----------



## Solid Action

corykj said:


> there are people down in riviera, tx that fish for a living and they say that it isn't uncommon to catch one 'market trout' (>32") per year. they say that people who throw lures will never catch them....
> 
> i think capt. les cobb's buddy, craig west, caught one a few years back that was pushing 35" or 36" in the middle of summer, but was just shy of wallace's record at the time.


This is true. Craig caught a 36" trout years ago on a broken back topwater at Black Bluff. I have seen the mount on his wall. The head on that fish looks like a gar it is so long. He had a guy a few years ago catch a 35" trout on topwater. One hell of a fisherman he is.


----------



## willsoonbfishin

That's a biggun.......if it's true.


----------



## Rippin_drag

whatever yall are all smoking i want some! LOL


----------



## Worthy 2 Keep

I once caught a fish thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssss biiiig!!!!!!


----------



## fishnstringer

*My shoulders are getting sore reading this and trying to keep up with the story!*

And I wonder why most people think fishermen are liars?


----------



## jeff.w

Anyone know this guy?

Dustin, this looks like you, but we know it ain't! lol


----------



## Gilbert

that's a big arse minner


----------



## spotsndots

NOGUIDEREQUIRED said:


> *I heard it was LEE WARMKE, fishing with dead shrimp under a popping cork!:cheers: LMAO!!*


The fish was bigger than the fisherman???


----------



## Capt. Dustin Lee

jeff.w said:


> Anyone know this guy?
> 
> Dustin, this looks like you, but we know it ain't! lol


Maybe, Maybe not lol:mpd:


----------



## DM3

The guys name is Bo Patrick of Bishop, Tx


----------



## jregmund

that has got to be bo... he fishes out of rivera most of the time i think


----------



## jregmund

huge trout!!!


----------



## speckledred

Wow big fish or little fisherman. Heck of a catch.


----------



## willsoonbfishin

poncho n' lefty said:


> The trout in matty measured 35 7/8, 10 and a half pounds, I saw the pics, they will be posted on 2cool soon!


Where are the pictures? Just sayin'.


----------



## topwatrout

I wonder if this is going to be the same story as the galveston fish. Couple guys caught a 9 plus lb trout and weren't in STAR tourni. Do we know if this guy is in the STAR? Cause if he is...well the middle coast guys are going to have to try pretty hard


----------



## reelthreat

topwatrout said:


> I wonder if this is going to be the same story as the galveston fish. Couple guys caught a 9 plus lb trout and weren't in STAR tourni. Do we know if this guy is in the STAR? Cause if he is...well the middle coast guys are going to have to try pretty hard


The leader board is still clear for trout upper, middle and lower... there has been one tagged red caught though


----------



## Hdfisher427

reelthreat said:


> The leader board is still clear for trout upper, middle and lower... there has been one tagged red caught though


Anybody know where the tagged red fish was caught? 
Where do they put them in? Is it a secret?


----------



## Lat22

corykj said:


> there are people down in riviera, tx that fish for a living and they say that it isn't uncommon to catch one 'market trout' (>32") per year. they say that people who throw lures will never catch them....
> 
> i think capt. les cobb's buddy, craig west, caught one a few years back that was pushing 35" or 36" in the middle of summer, but was just shy of wallace's record at the time.


I know guys down here who catch monsters while bottom fishing with dead bait. They don't have any concept (nor do they care) of what makes a "trophy" trout. It's just another keeper that goes into the ice chest with the rest of them.


----------



## SpeckReds

Over the years I have seen some big trout caught in that spot. Most of the time on dead bait fished on the bottom. The guys catching them just take them home and eat them.
A couple of years ago I was waiting on a barge and walked over to talk to an old man fishing there. He was using a big steel leader with orange beads, clips, big weight, and 2 hooks throwing dead bait.
I asked if he had caught any fish. He said a couple. He opened the cooler and had 2 Giant trout in there. I asked what they weighed. He did not know or really care. I went to my truck got my digital scale and asked if I could weigh them.
One was over 9 and the other over 10.
He was taking them home to eat.


----------



## JJGold1

To me the pic that was posted is not a Speck but is a Weakfish, commonly found on the east coast.


----------



## surfspeck

Wrong....thats a speck and do you honestly think they have "bubbas" like that on the east coast, I didnt think soo :texasflag!!



JJGold said:


> To me the pic that was posted is not a Speck but is a Weakfish, commonly found on the east coast.


----------



## Grande Venado

Craig West = giant trout catching machine!


----------



## rangers57

the pic posted wasnt the fish they are talking about, that pics been around awhile. My money says it was caught by........Brad Luby


----------



## ROBOWADER

*This picture has been around a while*



jeff.w said:


> Anyone know this guy?
> 
> Dustin, this looks like you, but we know it ain't! lol


I saw this pic several years ago on this website.


----------



## jeff.w

ROBOWADER said:


> I saw this pic several years ago on this website.


ya, wasn't trying to confuse anyone. i've had that pic on my pc for a few years. i still oogle at it every once in a while :rotfl:


----------



## pelochas

LOL so we still have no pic!


----------



## tunchistheman

ok so if thats not the pic what did the trout in the pic measure and weigh?


----------



## artofficial

That is a really old pic. Been around the net a while.


----------



## saltwater_therapy

*big trout*

A trout of similar size to the one mentioned here came out of east bay about this time last year. a week or two before the star tourney though.
it was photographed and released. i've seen it.


----------



## Hdfisher427

SpeckReds said:


> Over the years I have seen some big trout caught in that spot. Most of the time on dead bait fished on the bottom. The guys catching them just take them home and eat them.
> A couple of years ago I was waiting on a barge and walked over to talk to an old man fishing there. He was using a big steel leader with orange beads, clips, big weight, and 2 hooks throwing dead bait.
> I asked if he had caught any fish. He said a couple. He opened the cooler and had 2 Giant trout in there. I asked what they weighed. He did not know or really care. I went to my truck got my digital scale and asked if I could weigh them.
> One was over 9 and the other over 10.
> He was taking them home to eat.


Where was it caught? Which side of the new bridge?


----------



## spotsndots

I heard they were trolling hellbenders with spec rigs (white and yellow) 24" behind the hellbender.


----------



## Hdfisher427

spotsndots said:


> I heard they were trolling hellbenders with spec rigs (white and yellow) 24" behind the hellbender.


Sorry, where is hellbenders?


----------



## Reel Bender

true or not that fishing hole will be swamped with people soaking dead shrimp.


----------



## topwatrout

Reelthreat,

I jsut saw that apparently this isn't even the fish that was caught, but if it was. They update the leaderboards every week, not every day. A teenager caught a 7 plus in galveston 2 days ago but it's still not on there.


----------



## Lat22

They guys I know who catch these monsters have never even heard of the STAR tournament. They just don't care. All they want is fish to eat. I fished this area this morning and was rewarded with one mullet. That's it. :rotfl:


----------



## rcw

I believe Bo's trout in the picture was 33" but don't remember the weight. I saw it wrapped in a towell before it was taken to the taxidermy and it was a donkey for sure! He's the closest person to a trout whisperer that I know!

And, I don't doubt for a second that there is a 36" trout swimming around Baffin right this very second!


----------



## texedd

Bo did catch that fish and so did Craig West...i have seen Craig's Fish it was 36" and weighed 13-2, caught in 1996, it wasnt black bluff either, but close to there...weakfish my arse


----------



## fishingtwo

*sounds like*

we both know a little secret:fish:


----------



## bsartor

Hdfisher427 said:


> Sorry, where is hellbenders?


At academy in the freshwater isle......not a fishing spot:biggrin:


----------



## juanpescado

topwatrout said:


> Reelthreat,
> 
> I jsut saw that apparently this isn't even the fish that was caught, but if it was. They update the leaderboards every week, not every day. A teenager caught a 7 plus in galveston 2 days ago but it's still not on there.


I thought the trout had to be 8 lbs or higher to get on the board...


----------



## cfred

The teen division is 6 lbs.


----------



## juanpescado

cfred said:


> The teen division is 6 lbs.


10-4


----------



## jan1

Do recall Craig West at a number of fishing conventions displaying a trout that measured at least 35 inches. Huge fish. Did fish with him one time down in Riviera.
Caught fish, too, although nothing over 26 inches; Craig did catch that fish. Is he still guiding?


----------



## Red Tuna

My friends Jimbo and Pokey caught these 2 nice trout a while back...I think they were 49" and 52". They were also caught on dead shrimp fished on the bottom under the ol' pier.


----------



## Nocturnal

Silverspoon said:


> The state record was less than 34" and was caught in February as I recall.


FYI-

The state record is 37.25" and 15.6lb. Bud Rowland currently holds it...

The world record out of Florida is 39.5", 17.7lb.


----------



## deke

Nocturnal said:


> FYI-
> 
> The state record is 37.25" and 15.6lb. Bud Rowland currently holds it...


That is debatable......


----------



## corykj

deke said:


> That is debatable......


yup... that's what the record book says, but i don't recall ever seeing numbers on the fish...


----------



## Nocturnal

deke said:


> That is debatable......


Apparently not..

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboa...php?env=SW&age_group=all&list=0&browse=Submit


----------



## yakfinaddict

corykj said:


> yup... that's what the record book says, but i don't recall ever seeing numbers on the fish...


WWWWWOOOOOOO!!! Wait, wait, I've been fishing for ten years now and have NEVER seen numbers on fish, where are they located? Around the dorsal or pectoral fin? LOL, j/k, the TWPD website has the numbers on there but on a fly rod, WOW! If it's true that would be a catch of a lifetime.


----------



## Grande Venado

Supposedly, here's a pic of the 37" trout Bud Rowland caught and released.


----------



## deke

Nocturnal said:


> Apparently not..
> 
> http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboa...php?env=SW&age_group=all&list=0&browse=Submit


Not debating that TPW has that listed, I'm debating the validity of the record. It was not weighed and certified like the rules clearly stated, they took his word for it. Alot of people don't agree with this, I am one of them.


----------



## Findeep

It was weighed and measured under IGFA (International Game Fish Association) guidlines. Some folks did not agree with it (it being the 
Texas Record) but I tell you what... I dont think it ever crossed his mind to kill that fish from what I read...that the intensions from the beginning were to release it. He knew what needed to be done for the IGFA and that was it. I read an article years back when it happened and TP&W said that if it is a record for the IGFA than it can stand as a Texas record. There has to be a IGFA certified scale, witnesses, pics, and measurements if I am not mistaken. Bud Rowland holds a few IGFA for Speckled Trout on fly rods. No I dont know the man...I just read alot about him when his catch went public.

The record holder before Bud was Jim Wallace. I have had a chance to meet him and have seen what he can do with a corky...amazing. Plus he is a pretty cool dude.

my .02


----------



## Findeep

*Gunning for Gator Trout* 
*by Capt. Scott Sparrow* 
an unedited version of an article that 
just appeared in theJuly/August 2003 issue of 
_Fly Fishing in Salt Waters_

On May 23, 2002, Bud Rowland from Port Isabel, Texas was doing what he loves best -- sight casting to giant spotted, or "speckled" sea trout. 
 "I was drifting along," Rowland recalls, "and all of sudden, alongside me were two huge trout." He also spotted a smaller trout along with the two big fish. 
 One of the big trout looked to be about 30 inches long, but the other was clearly 35 inches or more. Using his favorite big trout fly -- his own Numero Uno -- he presented to the largest fish. "It landed about six or seven inches from her nose," he said. Rowland expected the small trout to rush forward and grab the fly, but instead he watched the biggest trout slowly swim forward. "She just opened her mouth and engulfed that fly, and started moving," he reports. "I set the hook and the rest is history." 
 A few minutes later, Rowland landed the largest speckled trout ever taken on a fly rod, and the third largest speck ever taken on fishing tackle of any kind -- a 37 1/4 inch, 15 lb., 6 oz. fish that later was certified as the new IGFA 16 lb. tippet class world record. Realizing the significance of his catch, he waved down two fishermen, who gladly photographed him and the trout, and witnessed the weigh-in on a certified Chantillon hand scale. And then, as Rowland went to release the fish, the incredulous onlookers offered to rescue the trout from an obscure old age by offering to buy it: They thought she deserved, at least, to be mounted. But Rowland released her anyway. "I release nearly all of my big trout anyway, and now her genetics can continue in our bay system," he said. 

Florida and Texas fly fishers continue to monopolize the IGFA's world records in the open division -- with fish from 8 1/2 pounds to over 15 pounds. If records mean anything, the Lower Laguna is currently the premier venue for trophy specks, claiming five out of seven of the tippet class world records. Bud Rowland alone claims three of the five Lower Laguna records -- the 4 lb, 6 lb and 16 lb records -- and would have racked up a fourth world record in May of 2001 if he hadn't released a 10 lb. trout before weighing it, believing that it must have been too small to qualify.


----------



## cloudfishing

I cannot believe I read this whole post and still no pichure


----------



## Findeep

This is the Corpus News paper how his fish became state record. I apologize that I hijacked the thread...Mainly stemming off the "debateable" thread.

http://www.caller.com/news/2009/apr/30/state-says-released-catches-are-no-longer-just/?printer=1/

hope the pic of the 35 7/8" Trout comes out that is a pig for any area. Hope he was entered in the STAR.


----------



## Poon Chaser

heard the same thing...live bait.


----------



## waterspout

Hdfisher427 said:


> Sorry, where is hellbenders?


----------



## o_brother

Amazing, over 77 replies and 20K views and still no pic. of the new monster.....


----------



## SJAdventures

This is the photo that was sent to me. The text said 36" 18lbs.


----------



## calixtog

That trout pic has been making the rounds. It's a big fish, but no record. I've called both Mark Fisher at TPW and the local IGFA representative, and they've not heard of an 18 caught recently.

By the way, if the Rowland trout was good enougg for the IGFA, I see no reason why it can't be certified as a state record. No one simply took Rowland's word on the fish. The IGFA did an extensive review of the application, interviewed the witnesses, re-certified the hand scale and and examined all photographic evidence. They were satisfied with the evidence and declared it a record. TPW really had no choice to go against precedent.

I find it ironic that people doubt Rowland's fish because he RELEASED it. How often does everyone lament that these trophies are killed and never released. "They're to valuable to be caught once," and all that.

I also know Bud. I've known him for 20 years now. He can tell a good story like any other angler, but I'll vouch for him on this one.

Cg



SJAdventures said:


> This is the photo that was sent to me. The text said 36" 18lbs.


----------

