Caribou Gear

Backpacking the Beartooths

Coop

Well-known member
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
360
Location
Helena
My wife and I try to get into the Beartooths on backpacking trips a couple times each summer; but with life happening, this is the only opportunity we will have this year. It was only a three day trip, but was absolutely worth every step. Especially when you have great friends to share it all with. I have never been in the mosquitoes like we were in this weekend either, but when you are catching 19-21 inch brookies that are topping out around 4lbs...who cares! Not to mention the great views. The first two fish are two that one of my good friends caught, and the final one is the wife with a beaut.
Beartooths '18 (1).jpg
Beartooths '18 (2).jpg
Beartooths '18 (3).jpg
Beartooths '18 (4).jpg
 
Wow! I spent a lot of time in the Beartooths surveying lakes and backpacking. Out of the thousands of fish we sampled, none were that big. Nice little honey hole there. The Beartooths are incredible. Hope you can make it more often.
 
We were delightfully surprised with the fishing...we hadn't actually planned to camp at this lake, or even take a look at it, but I guess dumb luck is better than the fishing reports sometimes!
 
So how old would a Brookie that big, in a lake that high be anyway?

I am not totally sure. But for perspective, stocked lakes up there are usually on a 7 to 8 year cycle. By that time, most of the previous planters had died out if the lake wasn't self-sustaining with good spawning ground. Brookies didn't have the same spawning limitations that the cutts and rainbows did and could self-sustain in most lakes. It seems like the biggest contributing factor to size was food. Best indication of age was the size of the head, unless you wanted to analyze scale samples. I am guessing those fish are eating good, and the heads look pretty big, making me think they are at least 5 years old. Someone who knows more than me could probably give a better answer. I might be way off in my thinking.
 
I am not totally sure. But for perspective, stocked lakes up there are usually on a 7 to 8 year cycle. By that time, most of the previous planters had died out if the lake wasn't self-sustaining with good spawning ground. Brookies didn't have the same spawning limitations that the cutts and rainbows did and could self-sustain in most lakes. It seems like the biggest contributing factor to size was food. Best indication of age was the size of the head, unless you wanted to analyze scale samples. I am guessing those fish are eating good, and the heads look pretty big, making me think they are at least 5 years old. Someone who knows more than me could probably give a better answer. I might be way off in my thinking.

I will say that I checked the records, and this lake has a self sustaining population; which almost makes the size of these fish even more impressive...or at least their genetics.
 
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