The One That Got Away

Most often I am not too disappointed when I don't land a fish but every so often you have that fish on that you really would like to admire up close. I went up to that same hole that I landed the rainbow (on the bugger) from and on my first cast my indicator went zooming under. It was funny but for some reason I had a good feeling about the first cast. I just felt it was in the perfect spot and apparently it was. As soon as I hooked up with this fish I saw him up near the surface for a second and I could tell it was a rainbow! I get excited about rainbows on this river because it is mostly a brown trout haven. I quickly started thinking that this might be the same fish I hooked into last time up. The only difference was that this fish was going ballistic. Multiple times he ran me out into the current. When he would near the surface he would dive back down to the depths. He ran upstream and downstream too. It was a game of back and forth and up and down. The rainbow I landed on a previous trip was a great fighter but this fish had tremendous spirit that I had not seen for a very long time. If it was the same fish he may have put on a few ounces in the higher flows, or maybe it was that he was hooked in the lower jaw instead of the upper. Anyhow, after about five minutes or more I finally had him next to me. I thought he was worn out so I grabbed the leader above him. He suddenly pulled some last minute antics by giving violent head shakes and he threw the hook. I had a feeling that he would get off for some reason. I think it was fitting because this fish really had the will to survive and he used every last bit of instinct to elude me. Maybe that is why fishing is so appealing, having the chance to be connected through rod and line to something so untamed and beautiful. I just wish I could capture the beauty this time on my camera!

After that experience I did not have any more luck with my nymph rig. There was a decent PMD hatch which had some fish looking up so I put on a dry fly. My first or second cast I had a fish on that leaped and got off. Then a cast downstream produced the same result, on and off. Then a cast even further downstream resulted in a fish to my hand.

On the way back to the parking lot I wanted to get a look at a gravel bar and as I stepped into a slight depression near the bank I saw a lot of little fish spook out of the area. This little depression seemed to be a river by itself, only everything was shrunken down several sizes. There were little fish rising occasionally so I started making short casts up the depression and had a beautiful tiny brown on after a few casts. It was a great way to spend a few hours on a hot summer's afternoon.



Journal Notes:
Flow- 510 cfs
Hatches- PMDs
Successful flies- black zebra midge, parachute PMD