AURORA RESERVOIR — Ray Brown wasn’t exactly fishing for religion.
The devout Mormon from Castle Rock is plenty secure in his faith. And when he pulled the winning rainbow trout from a favorite fishing hole at Saturday’s $10,000 Aurora Reservoir Trout Tournament, he couldn’t help feeling like a higher power was at work.
“In 15 years, I never won anything but a gift card from Eagle Claw for being the first truck in line,” Brown said. “I never imagined catching a $10,000 trout.”
Brown’s 3 1/2-pound trout placed first out of a record 848 registered contestants at the 20-year-old event, netting him the top prize of 10 grand. It’s a lot of money for a fish. And the obvious choice for a lot of fishermen reeling in that kind of loot might be buying a new boat from which to fish.
Brown’s decision on what to do with the prize was a bit more unusual, but still rock solid.
“I’m going to get my dad’s headstone. He’s been gone since 2004, and we haven’t been able to afford his headstone,” Brown said without hesitation. “For seven years, I’ve been thinking, ‘If I ever win it, that’s what I’m going to do with the money.’ Today my prayers were answered.”
It seems fitting at this family-friendly fishing tournament attracting about 100 junior entrants that the winner should dedicate the purse to the man who introduced him to the sport. While only a handful of competitors went home with a prize, those who brought their children received ample reward of their own, measured over the course of a lifetime.
“My youngest son comes back to fish with me here every year,” said last year’s winner, Ted Greenman of Golden. For the record, Greenman went for the boat.
This year’s junior champion, 3-year-old Grai Ridgway of Salida, isn’t likely to forget the experience anytime soon — at least not before he figures out how to use his new iPod. His trout weighed in at just under 2 pounds, a worthy adversary for a guy half the length of his fishing rod.
“You should have seen him reeling it in,” mom Amber Owens laughed afterward.
In a reservoir stocked annually with some 4,000-5,000 rainbows and known to produce large fish among a wide range of species, tricky fishing conditions contributed to a relatively small take of trout in Saturday’s contest. According to DOW district wildlife manager Travis Harris, Aurora is the only lake in Colorado known to produce three different state records (channel catfish, white sucker and smallmouth bass), and trout larger than 5 pounds are not out of the question when the bite is on.
Brown landed his 19 1/2-inch, 3 1/2-pound fish on a live orange minnow set three feet below a bobber at about 8:30 a.m. The fishing went cold for most bait fishermen shortly thereafter, along with the weather.
“There was a midge hatch that really shut down the bait fishermen,” said Harris, an 8-year volunteer at the tournament. “The fly guys caught the most — about a dozen between two of them. But nothing big enough to go on the board.”
At the tournament’s inception 20 years ago, fish quantity was considered more valuable than quality, because everyone was chasing a tagged trout. The prize fish was caught the first year, but everyone went home empty handed after increasing the purse to $25,000 the next year. It’s been a big fish contest (determined by weight) every year since, said tournament organizer Justin Clark. That way someone always wins. The entire purse is paid through registration fees.
For a guy like Brown, who doesn’t have a high-paying job and has been entering the tournament for 15 years, the $30 entry fee is well worth the price of admission. He fishes Aurora Reservoir a few times a month on average anyway, and showed up at 1:30 a.m. Thursday to check out conditions before the contest.
Once again, his was the first in line.
“I just did the same routine I do every time I come out here to fish,” Brown said. “I did read a little bit of the Bible last night.”
After praising the Lord one more time, he adds, “Now, do you know what the winning Powerball numbers are?”
