Big Fish

All of us enjoy catching a large fish every now and again.  My preferred catch is the brown trout but of course I will not turn down catching other species and it is even better when they are large.  A month or so ago, I stopped to sample a small meadow stream I had never fished but that showed great potential.  I'll admit, I have a soft spot for meadow streams.  Perhaps this is because we don't really have such a thing back in Tennessee (at least not trout streams) and the novelty is what appeals.  Then again, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I normally catch some really nice trout on meadow streams.  Regardless, I was doing some quick scouting to see if I would want to return.

Mostly I was just covering water.  If good fish are present, you can usually at least spook one or draw one out from an undercut with the right techniques.  It wasn't until I threw in a bend pool well downstream of where I accessed the water that I saw the large shadow swirl on my fly.  Quickly, but without much hope, I threw it right back for another try.  Amazingly I had the same result but the fish again missed the hook point.  On the third try, I started ripping the small streamer back in my direction and this time there was no doubt.  A big rainbow had hammered the fly and proceeded to run around the small stream in every direction it could think of.

Chasing up and down the bank, I finally beached the tired trout in the shallows.  The fish was not a brown trout but you won't find me complaining when they are this big...