This is my fish story, it's absolutely true, believe it or don't.
Back in the mid-seventies, before many of you were born and I was in my twenties, I was in Eastern Oregon out by Prairie City doing a precommercial thinning contact in the Malheur Natl Forest. There was a small stream that fed into the E. Fork Malheur River and off of this some ranchers had dug a ditch to bring water to a holding area for their cattle. I had to step over this ditch to get from our camp area to the thinning unit. One day as I was stepping over I saw something shoot up the ditch. I started sneaking up on the ditch to see if I could get a look at what it was. I got closer each day before the beasty took off. I eventually got to where I could straddle the ditch and look down at a 19" Eastern Brook Trout! Day by day over a period of two weeks I gradually got closer and closer till I was straddling the ditch bent over with my arms extended and my fingers just above the water. I could see the lunker just sitting in the current drifting back and forth as morsels came right to him. I was in position, my fingers close enough to feel the icy water. He drifted and went for a morsel and I lunged and grabbed his ass with both hands, lifting and tossing him into the woods, where I was able to collect my prize. Most delicious solid pink meat!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.