A Swift Kick to the Gonads

You should be looking at a photo of a 6 lb rainbow right now. But you aren't, because I screwed up. 

But let's start from the beginning. I was not totally sure what I was going to do. It has cooled off significantly and I was not convinced that stillwaters were going to fish well. I finally decided to go to the Salmon. For the first few hours I struggled but caught a few nice fish. In about two hours I got a trout slam. 

Eventually I went back to an area I fished on Thursday, a stretch of water that I know is holding some giant rainbows. I decided to nymph it, as I thought that would be most likely to produce a big fish. The fly of choice was a big red zebra midge. I began working every inch of the water, every spot I know typically hold fish. I went to make a few steps upstream and made a cast directly up, into a trough that usually has aw few average sized fish. I didn't even set the hook. A massive fish took the fly and bolted upstream. It jumped and I got a clear look at what I had stumbled upon- a steelhead sized rainbow. I was streamer fishing most of the day so of course I was using my 8 wgt. This fish got my into my backing going up stream. I just couldn't believe it. Since when to stocked trout fight like salmon? The fish decided to weave in and out of the rocks near the shore. It didn't hang me up, fortunately. Suddenly It came right at me, tail walking like a tarpon. I stripped like mad to keep up with it. It made a sudden turn, jumped, then began tail walking all the way across the pool. The line caught up, I didn't yield to the fish, and the hook pulled loose. I am shaking right now just thinking about it. On the river, I was pissed. I swore and jumped around and hit the water. Why did I not think harder? That one could have been mine. It was beautiful, silvery and bright, nothing like that ugly slob I caught on Thursday. It also would have beaten my personal best by over 6 inches, easily. And it was my fault this time. Some losses just happen. This time I knew what I did and it was stupid. I tried to keep fishing. I caught a fat rainbow that any other time would have made me very happy. But today it was just aggravating. I didn't loose any small or average sized fish, only the monster.

I reserve the right to be upset about this until I catch something that heals the wound. I know this will happen again, probably thousands of times, but I just can't help it. The image of that fish jumping, of it cruising through the shallows, the sound it made when it tail walked... that will be burned into my  brain for a while.