Getting Bigger

Fishing is all about having fun which should mean just getting out and enjoying the time on the water. Sometimes I just want to catch some big fish though. This summer I've been hoping to find a good brown out feeding. So far it hasn't happened but the fish I'm catching keep getting larger, slowly but surely. I've been consistently catching rainbows up to around 10 inches with some slightly larger, and last night I caught a better than average brown.

It was around sunset and I was on the last pool of the day. I leisurely fished my way up through the pool, catching a couple smaller rainbows before getting up to the head of the pool. An overhanging tree limb was in my way but I decided to force the issue. There was a rock with a deep slot up against the far bank which just looked fishy. Carefully I checked behind me for trees before picking up my line. The forward cast was perfect as I punched it far up under the branches to the upper end of the good lie. Suddenly there was a swirl as something took the dry and it was game on. The brown gave my 3 weight rod a good workout running up and down the pool but in the end I prevailed. Carefully I snapped a quick picture as the 11 inch brown came to hand, then I gently picked him up and held him facing the soft current. Apparently the fish still had some energy and after a couple seconds, he bolted back to the shadowy depths of the pool called home.