Landon Mayer isn’t the first to write a book specifically about catching giant trout. Difference is, he’s caught twice as many as the other guys, which goes a long way toward explaining how to do it.
The 27-year-old Colorado Springs native began fly-fishing at age 9 and guiding at 18. Along the way, he came to specialize in big fish, which presumably is a lot better than targeting little ones.
Mayer reveals his secrets in a tandem book and DVD release titled, appropriately, “How to Catch the Biggest Trout of Your Life.”
If the title doesn’t grab you, the contents will. Dramatic color photos of immense specimens caught by Mayer and his clients, mostly in Colorado, give the reader instant motivation to join the ranks of big-trout hunters. Mayer neatly combines this with the practical information to make this possible.
“I wanted to get as much detailed information as possible into the text while keeping it in layman terms, simple to understand,” Mayer said, explaining an approach that highlights elements of the chase in crisp segments, each flowing logically to the next.
“I believe some of the other books on the subject are too generalized,” Mayer said. “I try to help (readers) understand every aspect of catching a big fish: behavior, timing, presentation, landing, reviving.
“When I’m guiding, I determine the skill level of each client and direct my approach to the individual. I try to do the same with the book.”
Mayer achieves this in part with inserts subtitled “Author’s Tip,” a brief directive that takes the reader to a core solution of a problem that may be the difference between that lifetime fish and failure.
He particularly stresses the importance of sighting fish, the primary element in making a stealthy and precise presentation. While the book aims chiefly at large fish, the same tactics generally apply to most fly-fishing situations.
Mayer has taken many of his trophies in the South Platte, a river whose typically low flows require a high degree of stealth. Because many big-trout opportunities are tied to migration, he stresses the role timing – both of seasonal and daily nature – plays in locating a trophy.
Whether the book helps put a lunker in your net will be determined largely by the degree to which you apply it – both in its technical lessons and your resolve to seek out the places where they can be found.
“Some people think catching a trophy trout is a lifetime chance,” Mayer said. “I hope with this book that will become a lifetime of chances.”
The DVD, which includes battle footage with many of the same delicious fish, most in Colorado, also features a section with Boulder’s John Barr, who details the strategy behind his highly successful fly patterns.
Both book and DVD cost $29.95 each, $25 each when buying both. They’re available in most fly shops or through madtroutmedia.com.
