Henderson fisherman reels in biggest brown trout, new boat

As a general rule, half of an ounce isn’t much. Perhaps the weight of a half slice of bread. Then again, there are times when half of an ounce means everything. Such was the case in late April when Allan Cole of Henderson placed a rather large German brown trout on the scale at Rick’s Sport Center in Mammoth Lakes, California.

Big browns are nothing new for the 74-year-old Cole. He has reeled in more than 40 browns that have tipped the scale at more than 10 pounds. A fitting record for the man who founded the Brown Baggers Fishing Club in 1974. To qualify for membership, one must catch at least two brown trout weighing 10 pounds or more.

Perhaps that’s because catching the first brown in that size class might be attributed to being in the right place at the right time, but a second fish is indicative of a particular level of skill.

Though Southern Nevada is home to a host of competitive bass anglers, including some from the professional ranks, Cole very well might be the most widely known. Not only does he specialize in catching big fish but also in designing and making lures that catch big fish. Cole holds the Nevada state record for striped bass, a record he set with a 49-inch, 63-pound, 0-ounce fish at Lake Mohave in March 2001.

Cole’s lure is the one that carries his initials, the A.C. Plug. Each one is still handmade by Cole. He tried mass-producing the lure overseas, but didn’t like the quality of the final product. There is something about a handmade lure that can’t be replicated by machines. You can expect to pay well for these lures, but some anglers believe you get what you pay for.

On April 30, Cole and his 40-year-old son, Eric, launched their boat on Lower Twin Reservoir, a body of water located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains southwest of Bridgeport, California. They were there to participate in the inaugural WON (Western Outdoor News) 395 Big Fish Sierra Trout Opener, a fishing derby touted by organizers as “the most all-encompassing trout fishing derby in the history of the Sierra’s opening weekend.”

The derby included all public waters from Lone Pine to just north of Bridgeport. Because of the area’s size, organizers provided four weigh-in stations at strategic locations.

“We were fishing, and it’s snowing and blowing,” Allan Cole said. “My kid caught a 6-pounder early. Then at 9:30, my rod goes off on one of my lures. I catch a 9-pound, 9-ounce and some change!”

Appropriately enough, Cole caught the big brown while trolling one of his handmade lures on leaded line. He had the fish weighed at Lower Twin Marina, where it tipped the scale at 9 pounds, 9.7 ounces – unofficially. Not a bad start to a big-fish tournament. It looked as if Cole was well on his way to taking home the top prize, a 15-foot Gregor with a 9.9 horsepower Mercury outboard motor and an EZ Loader trailer. The package was valued at $10,000.

Then on Sunday morning Cole was surprised to learn his big brown was in a battle for first place with a 9-pound, 9-ounce rainbow trout caught by angler John Montgomery on Convict Lake. As the tiebreaker, derby officials decided to use the anglers’ time of tournament registration. As one might imagine, Cole wasn’t too excited about that.

“At first I thought, ‘Hey, that’s not fair. A tie is a tie. Flip a coin or something,’” Cole said. “We’re talking about a $10,000 boat here.”

Then the younger Cole suggested to the official that his dad should have the opportunity to weigh his fish on the same scale as Montgomery. When the official agreed, the Coles made the 55-mile trip to Rick’s Sport Center, where Allan placed the fish on the scale and put an end to the battle of the browns. The fish weighed in at 9 pounds, 9.5 ounces, one half of an ounce heavier than Montgomery’s fish.

“That’s really something. That’s being lucky, huh?” Allan Cole said.

Yep, one half of an ounce lucky.

Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His “In the Outdoors” column, published Thursday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own. He can be reached at intheoutdoorslv@gmail.com.