Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at 11 pm! The lightning bugs were out in good number as I made a half mile hike into a river fishing spot that I have not yet visited this season to pursue big brown trout during the continuing giant mayfly hatch. When you step across a one foot deep snapping turtle crossing trench that has been there for years you know that you are getting close...
The insect hatch got underway right on time (about 10:05 pm) and lasted until 11:30 pm. Small fish came out first and made a rapid and feisty amount of surface commotion as they took their "aqua seats" at the river's dining table. It was not long before the grand daddy sized fish came out to follow.
I had a couple of large fish feeding within a 300' stretch of river in front of me, with only 2 specific places where I could safely enter the river. The first fish was stubborn, and after working on it for 25 minutes with 8 different fly patterns, including a mouse, I gave up on it. I had to assume that somebody else had recently caught this guy and he was being extra cautious. Time to move on!
The second fish was 200' upstream, so I climbed back onto shore,walked along a foot trail and entered the river from the next entry point. There is 15 feet of knee deep muck to get thru, but a nearby cedar sweeper provides a series of nice hand holds to use until solid bottom is reached. I made my way up current as slow as possible, taking 6 inch steps against the swift flow of the river in an effort to minimize the wake from my Gore-tex clad body.
The hatch was a dazzling spectacle tonight, and streams of mayflies were floating down in massive "slicks" along both sides of the river, which is about 70 feet wide at this point. It was classic blanket hatch...which can actually be tricky to fish! The trout have a ton of alternative "real" flies to consider aside from your own synthetic offering in the mix.
As I neared the rising trout my steps became 3 inchers, and I was still 30 feet to one side. After 15 painfully slow minutes I was in a perfect position to make the first cast. The fish kept rising at steady 20 second intervals so I had a good sense of her rhythm. The bright moonlight highlighted the exact feeding location for me. This first cast would be deliberately short, so as not to risk spooking this brown. By the third cast I was right in the sweetspot and sure enough..."thloop", down goes my fly into the waiting gullet of this trout.
The size of a rise can be deceiving with respect to what lies below. I had a hunch this was a big fish, but I was in for a real treat on this one. My line went taught and like a mini underwater zip line customer this brown went on a frenzied series of drag screaming runs that sent a chill up my spine and echoed off the trees in the still of the night air. I ended up needing both hands to keep the rod under control during the entire fight, as well as turning my body to stay facing each line burning pathway she chose to follow in an effort to escape. This was not a "one handed" trout!
After a tenacious battle, I managed to tire her out enough to bring her towards my waiting net...and then I quickly switched on my headlamp with the side of my left thumb. Uh oh...she is way to big for the net. I had brought a knife to the gun fight...as they say. Normally on a fish this big I would just gently wade back to shore and kneel for the release and a few snapshots, but this would not be possible from where I was standing waist deep in the river.
I decide to try and nest her between the upstream side of my legs and cradle the small net over her. What happened next was not pretty...and I did not want to cause any injury to this beautiful brown trout in the process.
Upon lifting the 9-1/2 foot 7 weight fly rod completely vertical, she quickly seized the opportunity to do several clockwise rolls, followed by several counter clockwise rolls. The next thing I knew she had managed to "pop" the fly right off the small Fast Snap device that I use for quick fly changes during this particular insect hatch. We were both dumbfounded at the success of her efforts! Almost as if time stood still, she tiredly hung in front of me... suspended in animation for a brief moment and then sped away leaving me in a state of complete shock.
The fish won, but I have a memory burned into my inner cranium that I will never forget as long as I live!
Rolled into the driveway at precisely 11:57 pm, took a shower, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling until 3:30 am before my mind could shut it all down and process what had just happened!
Oh yeah...I'll be back out there. I love this time of year!
PS. Since I did not take a photo of this fish while I had it nestled up to me, some of the following photos are from my archives and are included to help finish painting the visual picture of last night. I hope you don't mind!
The moon was going to be close to full this evening...and bright!
A few of my favorite "giant mayfly" patterns. All of these got wet tonight....
This is the fly that hooked tonight's big brown trout, and was in her jaw in the same way.
This is a 23" brown from a past season, and she barely fit in my small net...so that is the limit of capability for the "baby" net!
As Crocodile Dundee would say "Why, that's not a real net...this is a real NET!" The small net fit's onto a magnetic "robin egg" sized clasp on my neck strap. The larger net is what I use when fishing from a canoe, kayak or drift boat.
Nice story of a great encounter!
fishyaker wrote:
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at 11 pm! The lightning bugs were out in good number as I made a half mile hike into a river fishing spot that I have not yet visited this season to pursue big brown trout during the continuing giant mayfly hatch. When you step across a one foot deep snapping turtle crossing trench that has been there for years you know that you are getting close...
The insect hatch got underway right on time (about 10:05 pm) and lasted until 11:30 pm. Small fish came out first and made a rapid and feisty amount of surface commotion as they took their "aqua seats" at the river's dining table. It was not long before the grand daddy sized fish came out to follow.
I had a couple of large fish feeding within a 300' stretch of river in front of me, with only 2 specific places where I could safely enter the river. The first fish was stubborn, and after working on it for 25 minutes with 8 different fly patterns, including a mouse, I gave up on it. I had to assume that somebody else had recently caught this guy and he was being extra cautious. Time to move on!
The second fish was 200' upstream, so I climbed back onto shore,walked along a foot trail and entered the river from the next entry point. There is 15 feet of knee deep muck to get thru, but a nearby cedar sweeper provides a series of nice hand holds to use until solid bottom is reached. I made my way up current as slow as possible, taking 6 inch steps against the swift flow of the river in an effort to minimize the wake from my Gore-tex clad body.
The hatch was a dazzling spectacle tonight, and streams of mayflies were floating down in massive "slicks" along both sides of the river, which is about 70 feet wide at this point. It was classic blanket hatch...which can actually be tricky to fish! The trout have a ton of alternative "real" flies to consider aside from your own synthetic offering in the mix.
As I neared the rising trout my steps became 3 inchers, and I was still 30 feet to one side. After 15 painfully slow minutes I was in a perfect position to make the first cast. The fish kept rising at steady 20 second intervals so I had a good sense of her rhythm. The bright moonlight highlighted the exact feeding location for me. This first cast would be deliberately short, so as not to risk spooking this brown. By the third cast I was right in the sweetspot and sure enough..."thloop", down goes my fly into the waiting gullet of this trout.
The size of a rise can be deceiving with respect to what lies below. I had a hunch this was a big fish, but I was in for a real treat on this one. My line went taught and like a mini underwater zip line customer this brown went on a frenzied series of drag screaming runs that sent a chill up my spine and echoed off the trees in the still of the night air. I ended up needing both hands to keep the rod under control during the entire fight, as well as turning my body to stay facing each line burning pathway she chose to follow in an effort to escape. This was not a "one handed" trout!
After a tenacious battle, I managed to tire her out enough to bring her towards my waiting net...and then I quickly switched on my headlamp with the side of my left thumb. Uh oh...she is way to big for the net. I had brought a knife to the gun fight...as they say. Normally on a fish this big I would just gently wade back to shore and kneel for the release and a few snapshots, but this would not be possible from where I was standing waist deep in the river.
I decide to try and nest her between the upstream side of my legs and cradle the small net over her. What happened next was not pretty...and I did not want to cause any injury to this beautiful brown trout in the process.
Upon lifting the 9-1/2 foot 7 weight fly rod completely vertical, she quickly seized the opportunity to do several clockwise rolls, followed by several counter clockwise rolls. The next thing I knew she had managed to "pop" the fly right off the small Fast Snap device that I use for quick fly changes during this particular insect hatch. We were both dumbfounded at the success of her efforts! Almost as if time stood still, she tiredly hung in front of me... suspended in animation for a brief moment and then sped away leaving me in a state of complete shock.
The fish won, but I have a memory burned into my inner cranium that I will never forget as long as I live!
Rolled into the driveway at precisely 11:57 pm, took a shower, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling until 3:30 am before my mind could shut it all down and process what had just happened!
Oh yeah...I'll be back out there. I love this time of year!
PS. Since I did not take a photo of this fish while I had it nestled up to me, some of the following photos are from my archives and are included to help finish painting the visual picture of last night. I hope you don't mind!
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at... (
show quote)
Great story Yaker, Beautiful photos , Pretty Brownie ! Thanks for sharing !👍🤙
fishyaker wrote:
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at 11 pm! The lightning bugs were out in good number as I made a half mile hike into a river fishing spot that I have not yet visited this season to pursue big brown trout during the continuing giant mayfly hatch. When you step across a one foot deep snapping turtle crossing trench that has been there for years you know that you are getting close...
The insect hatch got underway right on time (about 10:05 pm) and lasted until 11:30 pm. Small fish came out first and made a rapid and feisty amount of surface commotion as they took their "aqua seats" at the river's dining table. It was not long before the grand daddy sized fish came out to follow.
I had a couple of large fish feeding within a 300' stretch of river in front of me, with only 2 specific places where I could safely enter the river. The first fish was stubborn, and after working on it for 25 minutes with 8 different fly patterns, including a mouse, I gave up on it. I had to assume that somebody else had recently caught this guy and he was being extra cautious. Time to move on!
The second fish was 200' upstream, so I climbed back onto shore,walked along a foot trail and entered the river from the next entry point. There is 15 feet of knee deep muck to get thru, but a nearby cedar sweeper provides a series of nice hand holds to use until solid bottom is reached. I made my way up current as slow as possible, taking 6 inch steps against the swift flow of the river in an effort to minimize the wake from my Gore-tex clad body.
The hatch was a dazzling spectacle tonight, and streams of mayflies were floating down in massive "slicks" along both sides of the river, which is about 70 feet wide at this point. It was classic blanket hatch...which can actually be tricky to fish! The trout have a ton of alternative "real" flies to consider aside from your own synthetic offering in the mix.
As I neared the rising trout my steps became 3 inchers, and I was still 30 feet to one side. After 15 painfully slow minutes I was in a perfect position to make the first cast. The fish kept rising at steady 20 second intervals so I had a good sense of her rhythm. The bright moonlight highlighted the exact feeding location for me. This first cast would be deliberately short, so as not to risk spooking this brown. By the third cast I was right in the sweetspot and sure enough..."thloop", down goes my fly into the waiting gullet of this trout.
The size of a rise can be deceiving with respect to what lies below. I had a hunch this was a big fish, but I was in for a real treat on this one. My line went taught and like a mini underwater zip line customer this brown went on a frenzied series of drag screaming runs that sent a chill up my spine and echoed off the trees in the still of the night air. I ended up needing both hands to keep the rod under control during the entire fight, as well as turning my body to stay facing each line burning pathway she chose to follow in an effort to escape. This was not a "one handed" trout!
After a tenacious battle, I managed to tire her out enough to bring her towards my waiting net...and then I quickly switched on my headlamp with the side of my left thumb. Uh oh...she is way to big for the net. I had brought a knife to the gun fight...as they say. Normally on a fish this big I would just gently wade back to shore and kneel for the release and a few snapshots, but this would not be possible from where I was standing waist deep in the river.
I decide to try and nest her between the upstream side of my legs and cradle the small net over her. What happened next was not pretty...and I did not want to cause any injury to this beautiful brown trout in the process.
Upon lifting the 9-1/2 foot 7 weight fly rod completely vertical, she quickly seized the opportunity to do several clockwise rolls, followed by several counter clockwise rolls. The next thing I knew she had managed to "pop" the fly right off the small Fast Snap device that I use for quick fly changes during this particular insect hatch. We were both dumbfounded at the success of her efforts! Almost as if time stood still, she tiredly hung in front of me... suspended in animation for a brief moment and then sped away leaving me in a state of complete shock.
The fish won, but I have a memory burned into my inner cranium that I will never forget as long as I live!
Rolled into the driveway at precisely 11:57 pm, took a shower, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling until 3:30 am before my mind could shut it all down and process what had just happened!
Oh yeah...I'll be back out there. I love this time of year!
PS. Since I did not take a photo of this fish while I had it nestled up to me, some of the following photos are from my archives and are included to help finish painting the visual picture of last night. I hope you don't mind!
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at... (
show quote)
Awesome tale Yaker. I felt like I was there, watching it unfold. Thanks for sharing.
Nice shots, beautiful fish!!
OJdidit wrote:
Nice story of a great encounter!
Thank you OJ! Looking back I think it was a mistake to hold the rod up vertical and cradle it under my right forearm. That line angle back down to the fish certainly did not help...but who am I to argue against fate! A lesson learned!
Jarheadfishnfool wrote:
Great story Yaker, Beautiful photos , Pretty Brownie ! Thanks for sharing !👍🤙
Thank you Jarheadfishnfool! I woke up at 5 am and just stayed up...still playing last night's "video" back and forth thru my mind! What a blast...but all I have for a memory is what I observed over those few brief moments....
Fredfish wrote:
Awesome tale Yaker. I felt like I was there, watching it unfold. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Fredfish! That particular fish may be really leary over the days ahead, but I'll go back over the next several nights to give her a try. I feel bad about having left a fly stuck inside her mouth. I know they will decay pretty quickly, but it still takes a while. That is the first time I've ever had a Fast Snap come undun while fly fishing. They are very reliable, even on big fish.
Now and then, when flicking spinners on an ultra light rig for brook trout, the rapid quivering that a small fish can do has uncoupled the lure...but even that is very rare for me.
kandydisbar wrote:
Nice shots, beautiful fish!!
Thank you kandydisbar! My best memories of fishing tend to come from snapshots...especially as time goes by!
Great story and great piece of writing! You should consider writing a book! I don’t know about everyone else but I was “hooked” from the get go and was living vicariously through your writing! I felt your excitement about the entire evening and have also found myself staring at the ceiling during the wee hours recalling the events of a days outing as well. Thanks for sharing!
BgofishH wrote:
Great story and great piece of writing! You should consider writing a book! I don’t know about everyone else but I was “hooked” from the get go and was living vicariously through your writing! I felt your excitement about the entire evening and have also found myself staring at the ceiling during the wee hours recalling the events of a days outing as well. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you BgofishH! Glad you enjoyed the telling of my outing last night. I almost found it "theraputical" to compose! I kept thinking..."what did I do wrong?"...but then realized that not every hook up results in a 100% wrap up when it comes to fishing.
Like most of us that fish...I've lost many a fish when they were right at hand and was fumbling for the net or jaw grabbers when being out alone. In this case...I wish I could have somehow stuffed her into the net but she would have been sticking out like a surfboard in a VW Beetle!
flyguy
Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!
fishyaker wrote:
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at 11 pm! The lightning bugs were out in good number as I made a half mile hike into a river fishing spot that I have not yet visited this season to pursue big brown trout during the continuing giant mayfly hatch. When you step across a one foot deep snapping turtle crossing trench that has been there for years you know that you are getting close...
The insect hatch got underway right on time (about 10:05 pm) and lasted until 11:30 pm. Small fish came out first and made a rapid and feisty amount of surface commotion as they took their "aqua seats" at the river's dining table. It was not long before the grand daddy sized fish came out to follow.
I had a couple of large fish feeding within a 300' stretch of river in front of me, with only 2 specific places where I could safely enter the river. The first fish was stubborn, and after working on it for 25 minutes with 8 different fly patterns, including a mouse, I gave up on it. I had to assume that somebody else had recently caught this guy and he was being extra cautious. Time to move on!
The second fish was 200' upstream, so I climbed back onto shore,walked along a foot trail and entered the river from the next entry point. There is 15 feet of knee deep muck to get thru, but a nearby cedar sweeper provides a series of nice hand holds to use until solid bottom is reached. I made my way up current as slow as possible, taking 6 inch steps against the swift flow of the river in an effort to minimize the wake from my Gore-tex clad body.
The hatch was a dazzling spectacle tonight, and streams of mayflies were floating down in massive "slicks" along both sides of the river, which is about 70 feet wide at this point. It was classic blanket hatch...which can actually be tricky to fish! The trout have a ton of alternative "real" flies to consider aside from your own synthetic offering in the mix.
As I neared the rising trout my steps became 3 inchers, and I was still 30 feet to one side. After 15 painfully slow minutes I was in a perfect position to make the first cast. The fish kept rising at steady 20 second intervals so I had a good sense of her rhythm. The bright moonlight highlighted the exact feeding location for me. This first cast would be deliberately short, so as not to risk spooking this brown. By the third cast I was right in the sweetspot and sure enough..."thloop", down goes my fly into the waiting gullet of this trout.
The size of a rise can be deceiving with respect to what lies below. I had a hunch this was a big fish, but I was in for a real treat on this one. My line went taught and like a mini underwater zip line customer this brown went on a frenzied series of drag screaming runs that sent a chill up my spine and echoed off the trees in the still of the night air. I ended up needing both hands to keep the rod under control during the entire fight, as well as turning my body to stay facing each line burning pathway she chose to follow in an effort to escape. This was not a "one handed" trout!
After a tenacious battle, I managed to tire her out enough to bring her towards my waiting net...and then I quickly switched on my headlamp with the side of my left thumb. Uh oh...she is way to big for the net. I had brought a knife to the gun fight...as they say. Normally on a fish this big I would just gently wade back to shore and kneel for the release and a few snapshots, but this would not be possible from where I was standing waist deep in the river.
I decide to try and nest her between the upstream side of my legs and cradle the small net over her. What happened next was not pretty...and I did not want to cause any injury to this beautiful brown trout in the process.
Upon lifting the 9-1/2 foot 7 weight fly rod completely vertical, she quickly seized the opportunity to do several clockwise rolls, followed by several counter clockwise rolls. The next thing I knew she had managed to "pop" the fly right off the small Fast Snap device that I use for quick fly changes during this particular insect hatch. We were both dumbfounded at the success of her efforts! Almost as if time stood still, she tiredly hung in front of me... suspended in animation for a brief moment and then sped away leaving me in a state of complete shock.
The fish won, but I have a memory burned into my inner cranium that I will never forget as long as I live!
Rolled into the driveway at precisely 11:57 pm, took a shower, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling until 3:30 am before my mind could shut it all down and process what had just happened!
Oh yeah...I'll be back out there. I love this time of year!
PS. Since I did not take a photo of this fish while I had it nestled up to me, some of the following photos are from my archives and are included to help finish painting the visual picture of last night. I hope you don't mind!
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at... (
show quote)
Good morning, yaker, and thank you for the great story. I think you are very lucky to get as far as you did with that trout, especially in waist-deep water. Waist-deep water is very hard and tricky to navigate in if you are in any current. You could have lost the fish, the rod & reel, or heaven forbid, your life. There would not be a second time for me, even in my prime, 40 years ago. (MHO) Good luck!
flyguy wrote:
Good morning, yaker, and thank you for the great story. I think you are very lucky to get as far as you did with that trout, especially in waist-deep water. Waist-deep water is very hard and tricky to navigate in if you are in any current. You could have lost the fish, the rod & reel, or heaven forbid, your life. There would not be a second time for me, even in my prime, 40 years ago. (MHO) Good luck!
Thank you Flyguy! Glad you enjoyed what I was trying to convey from last night! What a thrill! When it comes to "hex season" I go to great lengths to catch these rascals! I do wear a wading belt, but I most definitely agree that "tipping over" in deep water is never any fun. For a moment I thought about making a lunge for that fish with the small net, but figured it was not worth losing any gear or getting submerged in the effort! That trout beat me fair and square at the game!
fishyaker wrote:
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at 11 pm! The lightning bugs were out in good number as I made a half mile hike into a river fishing spot that I have not yet visited this season to pursue big brown trout during the continuing giant mayfly hatch. When you step across a one foot deep snapping turtle crossing trench that has been there for years you know that you are getting close...
The insect hatch got underway right on time (about 10:05 pm) and lasted until 11:30 pm. Small fish came out first and made a rapid and feisty amount of surface commotion as they took their "aqua seats" at the river's dining table. It was not long before the grand daddy sized fish came out to follow.
I had a couple of large fish feeding within a 300' stretch of river in front of me, with only 2 specific places where I could safely enter the river. The first fish was stubborn, and after working on it for 25 minutes with 8 different fly patterns, including a mouse, I gave up on it. I had to assume that somebody else had recently caught this guy and he was being extra cautious. Time to move on!
The second fish was 200' upstream, so I climbed back onto shore,walked along a foot trail and entered the river from the next entry point. There is 15 feet of knee deep muck to get thru, but a nearby cedar sweeper provides a series of nice hand holds to use until solid bottom is reached. I made my way up current as slow as possible, taking 6 inch steps against the swift flow of the river in an effort to minimize the wake from my Gore-tex clad body.
The hatch was a dazzling spectacle tonight, and streams of mayflies were floating down in massive "slicks" along both sides of the river, which is about 70 feet wide at this point. It was classic blanket hatch...which can actually be tricky to fish! The trout have a ton of alternative "real" flies to consider aside from your own synthetic offering in the mix.
As I neared the rising trout my steps became 3 inchers, and I was still 30 feet to one side. After 15 painfully slow minutes I was in a perfect position to make the first cast. The fish kept rising at steady 20 second intervals so I had a good sense of her rhythm. The bright moonlight highlighted the exact feeding location for me. This first cast would be deliberately short, so as not to risk spooking this brown. By the third cast I was right in the sweetspot and sure enough..."thloop", down goes my fly into the waiting gullet of this trout.
The size of a rise can be deceiving with respect to what lies below. I had a hunch this was a big fish, but I was in for a real treat on this one. My line went taught and like a mini underwater zip line customer this brown went on a frenzied series of drag screaming runs that sent a chill up my spine and echoed off the trees in the still of the night air. I ended up needing both hands to keep the rod under control during the entire fight, as well as turning my body to stay facing each line burning pathway she chose to follow in an effort to escape. This was not a "one handed" trout!
After a tenacious battle, I managed to tire her out enough to bring her towards my waiting net...and then I quickly switched on my headlamp with the side of my left thumb. Uh oh...she is way to big for the net. I had brought a knife to the gun fight...as they say. Normally on a fish this big I would just gently wade back to shore and kneel for the release and a few snapshots, but this would not be possible from where I was standing waist deep in the river.
I decide to try and nest her between the upstream side of my legs and cradle the small net over her. What happened next was not pretty...and I did not want to cause any injury to this beautiful brown trout in the process.
Upon lifting the 9-1/2 foot 7 weight fly rod completely vertical, she quickly seized the opportunity to do several clockwise rolls, followed by several counter clockwise rolls. The next thing I knew she had managed to "pop" the fly right off the small Fast Snap device that I use for quick fly changes during this particular insect hatch. We were both dumbfounded at the success of her efforts! Almost as if time stood still, she tiredly hung in front of me... suspended in animation for a brief moment and then sped away leaving me in a state of complete shock.
The fish won, but I have a memory burned into my inner cranium that I will never forget as long as I live!
Rolled into the driveway at precisely 11:57 pm, took a shower, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling until 3:30 am before my mind could shut it all down and process what had just happened!
Oh yeah...I'll be back out there. I love this time of year!
PS. Since I did not take a photo of this fish while I had it nestled up to me, some of the following photos are from my archives and are included to help finish painting the visual picture of last night. I hope you don't mind!
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at... (
show quote)
Great story Yaker!
This is one that will be burned in your memory for the rest of your life and drive the fishing passion that we all have!
Your story has me ready to go back and give her another shot!
Good luck and be safe!!!
fishyaker wrote:
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at 11 pm! The lightning bugs were out in good number as I made a half mile hike into a river fishing spot that I have not yet visited this season to pursue big brown trout during the continuing giant mayfly hatch. When you step across a one foot deep snapping turtle crossing trench that has been there for years you know that you are getting close...
The insect hatch got underway right on time (about 10:05 pm) and lasted until 11:30 pm. Small fish came out first and made a rapid and feisty amount of surface commotion as they took their "aqua seats" at the river's dining table. It was not long before the grand daddy sized fish came out to follow.
I had a couple of large fish feeding within a 300' stretch of river in front of me, with only 2 specific places where I could safely enter the river. The first fish was stubborn, and after working on it for 25 minutes with 8 different fly patterns, including a mouse, I gave up on it. I had to assume that somebody else had recently caught this guy and he was being extra cautious. Time to move on!
The second fish was 200' upstream, so I climbed back onto shore,walked along a foot trail and entered the river from the next entry point. There is 15 feet of knee deep muck to get thru, but a nearby cedar sweeper provides a series of nice hand holds to use until solid bottom is reached. I made my way up current as slow as possible, taking 6 inch steps against the swift flow of the river in an effort to minimize the wake from my Gore-tex clad body.
The hatch was a dazzling spectacle tonight, and streams of mayflies were floating down in massive "slicks" along both sides of the river, which is about 70 feet wide at this point. It was classic blanket hatch...which can actually be tricky to fish! The trout have a ton of alternative "real" flies to consider aside from your own synthetic offering in the mix.
As I neared the rising trout my steps became 3 inchers, and I was still 30 feet to one side. After 15 painfully slow minutes I was in a perfect position to make the first cast. The fish kept rising at steady 20 second intervals so I had a good sense of her rhythm. The bright moonlight highlighted the exact feeding location for me. This first cast would be deliberately short, so as not to risk spooking this brown. By the third cast I was right in the sweetspot and sure enough..."thloop", down goes my fly into the waiting gullet of this trout.
The size of a rise can be deceiving with respect to what lies below. I had a hunch this was a big fish, but I was in for a real treat on this one. My line went taught and like a mini underwater zip line customer this brown went on a frenzied series of drag screaming runs that sent a chill up my spine and echoed off the trees in the still of the night air. I ended up needing both hands to keep the rod under control during the entire fight, as well as turning my body to stay facing each line burning pathway she chose to follow in an effort to escape. This was not a "one handed" trout!
After a tenacious battle, I managed to tire her out enough to bring her towards my waiting net...and then I quickly switched on my headlamp with the side of my left thumb. Uh oh...she is way to big for the net. I had brought a knife to the gun fight...as they say. Normally on a fish this big I would just gently wade back to shore and kneel for the release and a few snapshots, but this would not be possible from where I was standing waist deep in the river.
I decide to try and nest her between the upstream side of my legs and cradle the small net over her. What happened next was not pretty...and I did not want to cause any injury to this beautiful brown trout in the process.
Upon lifting the 9-1/2 foot 7 weight fly rod completely vertical, she quickly seized the opportunity to do several clockwise rolls, followed by several counter clockwise rolls. The next thing I knew she had managed to "pop" the fly right off the small Fast Snap device that I use for quick fly changes during this particular insect hatch. We were both dumbfounded at the success of her efforts! Almost as if time stood still, she tiredly hung in front of me... suspended in animation for a brief moment and then sped away leaving me in a state of complete shock.
The fish won, but I have a memory burned into my inner cranium that I will never forget as long as I live!
Rolled into the driveway at precisely 11:57 pm, took a shower, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling until 3:30 am before my mind could shut it all down and process what had just happened!
Oh yeah...I'll be back out there. I love this time of year!
PS. Since I did not take a photo of this fish while I had it nestled up to me, some of the following photos are from my archives and are included to help finish painting the visual picture of last night. I hope you don't mind!
Oh yes...it was hot and humid last night...even at... (
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Ah, yes. The one that got away! Great story. I’ve heard of hatches so thick they show up on weather radar and makes the roads slick!
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