BY ERNIE COWAN
BRIDGEPORT — It’s not easy being Number 2 and Eastern Sierra brown trout angler Tom Gunther is shooting for number 1.
Bridgeport’s Twin Lakes are legendary as brown trout waters; in fact, the 26.5-pound state record was set at Upper Twin Lake in 1987.
But just three years ago, Gunther reeled in a 22.63-pound whopper that earned him second place for the largest brown from the lake, and now he’s almost daily on the water looking for what he believes could a brown topping 30 pounds.
His fight to land that monster took about 12 minutes.
He deployed a spot anchor when he hooked up, but it swung the boar around, tangling the lines from his two rods.
“It was a bit of a fiasco for a few minutes until I got the rods untangled and by that time he had already taken 200 feet of line,” Gunther said. “When I did get it to the net, I thought maybe 19 pounds and had to wait until the boathouse opened at 7 a.m. to certify the 22-10.”
Catching a trout that size would excite anyone, and Gunther was now hooked on hunting for big browns.
“It’s like a potato chip. You get one and you want another one,” he said.
Most anglers would be thrilled with a 6-pound brown, like the one last week, along with several 5-pounders.
“But the locals have been talking about 30-pound fish in this lake after some monsters were sighted by divers several years ago during an accident recovery,” Gunther said. “I used to be a trout fisherman, but now I only fish for brown trout,” he said.
And he’s serious about the effort, which he said involves constant learning. When he retired in 2023 as a California State Parks superintendent, he purchased a motorhome and a boat and decided to focus on his goal, starting with a new job working in the Mono Village Boat House at Upper Twin Lake. That first year of retirement turned out to be the best so far, when he landed the 22-pounder that now hangs in the boat house.
“I start work at noon, so that gives me the mornings to be out on the lake,” he said. “What I’m metering and seeing out there are bigger browns than the record.”
When I caught up with Gunther late in the afternoon last week, he had already been out for the day and had landed a 4-pound brown with his downrigger trolling at 50 feet.
“That doesn’t always happen. Most of the time it’s just a boat ride, but even a 6 keeps you motivated,” he said.
And Gunther doesn’t mind sharing his secrets. Many anglers are super-secret about what lures and techniques they use, but not Gunther.
He considers lure maker Allan Cole a mentor and swears by AC lures known as iconic, handcrafted, big game swimbaits.
“That’s the only thing I use,” he said. His favorite being a black and silver pattern that mimics the kokanee found in Upper Twin that are favorite food sources for the browns. He generally fishes with two rods, with the second rigged with a brown trout pattern plug.
He calls “perseverance” his most important tactic.
“Those 10-pound or bigger browns don’t come easy, so you have to stick with it,” he said.
He’s often on the water well before other anglers and that’s often when he gets a nice hook-up like that beautiful 6-pounder last week,
“I watch the sunrise time. Last week it was 6:01 a.m., so I was in the boat by 4:30 and fishing at 5:01 with is the legal start time at one hour before sunrise,” he said. “Frankly, it surprises me that I am often all alone out there.”
Being all alone also gave him a good idea from naming his boat, “The Game Changer.”
“The light went on that no one was out there and I wall all alone and that would be a game changer,” he said.
His next secret to success to vary trolling speeds, depth and lures, and to be out early and late trolling about 100 yards offshore where there is a steep dropoff running parallel to shore. And, while a big brown can show up at any time, historically the trophy fish show up early in the season and during the final few weeks of the season in late October or early November. There are several reasons for this, starting with feeding frenzy as the browns bulk up to prepare for spawning when they stop eating.
As autumn water temperatures cool, males become very aggressive and territorial, meaning they are more likely to strike large flies, plugs or streamers offered by anglers. This not to feed, but pure aggression as they defend territory or nesting sites. Big browns are also naturally nocturnal, but as fall brings shorter days, lower sun angles and cooler water, the big fish feel more comfortable moving into shallow water during the day.
That’s all good news for brown baggers, and generally it’s that final week of the season when you see them on the water. It’s often a race with calendar as the dedicated army of brown hunters hope for the prize before the season closes on Nov. 15.
When Gunther is not on the water fishing, you will find him in the Mono Village Boat House where he is eager to teach anglers about the best knots, fishing techniques, or point out the hot spots. For the majority of visitors just want to catch fish, and he’s happy to help make that happen.
Before work, it’s a daily ritual for Gunther to connect with a new state record brown trout.
They are out there, and he plans to be on the water until the end of October.
“I would like to say it will happen this season, but I’m in my third year and not yet. I dream about it and would like to prove it,” Gunther said.
