Big Trout and Mice

When I went to sleep last night I wasn't sure I would even fish today. The forecast didn't look too good and I had just polished up the "river rider" so I really did not feel like getting it muddy on the first go. But it was warm and the Salmon was calling. When I got to the first spot I took a few casts with a nymph just to see how quickly I could get the skunk off. With cold water temps for a number of days I was unsure how well the mouse would work. After a handful of casts that should have produced fish but didn't I tied on a foam waker as an indicator and immediately started hooking fish. For half an hour I caught feisty rainbows one after the other. 

I'm not going to lie, watching that waker stop dead and then get yanked down was pretty entertaining, and that sharp lift and the sound of the line coming tight is just satisfying. And eventually one of those fish that I came tight to was a good one, a fat chrome 17 inch rainbow. It did some powerful runs and a few beautiful somersaulting jumps but it did not throw the barbless hook.

After a couple more one the Sexy Walt's I called it quits on the nymphing and went to find some mouse munchers. After working a good run for a little while and moving a handful of decent fish that didn't commit to the eat I watched a very large rainbow come out from the shadow of a boulder and swirl on the fly. It returned to its lie and I decided that there was no two ways about it, I was catching that fish. It took some convincing but eventually I got it to take. It chased for about four feet and then absolutely flushed that mouse. Just a huge swirl. After a fantastic battle on the glass rod I was holding a fish that taped out a hair under 20 inches, but what it lacked in length it made up for in girth. Definitely the heaviest rainbow I've landed, and way cooler than any other since it was a daylight mouse eat... the stuff my dreams are made of. 

After that fish took off, getting me even more soaked in the process, I was in for a lull that lasted about 20 minutes. Then I had a little burst of activity and landed three more smaller fish. Then, in the very run where I discovered last year that stocked trout will hammer a mouse in broad daylight, I had a look from a bohemoth. A few casts and some more looks later the fish came up and sucked down the mouse. Soon I was holding the biggest brookie I've caught in this river. 

I'm used to a 16 inch fish being the brute of the day on this river and I'm not one to overstay my welcome so I called it quits on a high note. Three of the better fish I've caught in this river made this one heck of a great day that almost wasn't.