The fight was on……
The fish prior to the current battle had been fat and at least 15 inches. That brown trout had thrown the barbless #12 Bloody Prince Nymph, just before coming to hand, and my client was miffed. He had wondered what he had done wrong. I reassured him that he had done everything right and that the combination of the barbless hook and the vigor of the fish had just prevailed this time. Now, with a trigger happy hook set and lightning quick reactions, he had hooked another trout of the same size. At times of high anxiety, when anglers are in the midst of the fight, I have sometimes found it best to keep my mouth shut and just let the saga play out, so I did,,,, kind of.
Early on, I could see the flashes of the white belly of the trout struggling to remain in the depths of the 8 foot deep pool. My three weight was curiously doubled over and I was surprised at the stamina of the fish. As the fight continued I could see my client was perplexed by the amount of strength and torque that he was applying and still gaining no headway on the trout. At this point I recognized a problem. When my client pulled, the fish would rise and waggle off the bottom, When he let off pressure, the trout would retreat to the depths. The trout, like others his size and intelligence had smartly wrapped the line around some hidden structure deep in the bottom of the pool.
I quickly instructed him(let’s call him Scott) to change his angle of torque to attempt to free the fish from the obstruction. Scott reacted like a cat and immediately waded down stream to test another angle. At this point the fish pulled free and there was a momentary void where the rod went straight. The look in his eyes was one of loss, an expression so heart breaking one could cry. All at once the bend was back but the fish was seemingly further down stream than before. As Scott brought the fish to the surface I noticed that my leader was much longer than I had remembered, and the tired ghostly colored trout put up no resistance as Scott pulled him to hand.
The fork stick in the bank and the ultra violet blue shimmer of 20lb test Stren Monofiliment was the tip-off. Scott had hooked the tangle of Stren and the branch that the trout had wrapped himself around days before. By changing his pulling angle Scott had managed to break the branch and land the Brown.
Throughout the fight, Scott was able to pull the fish into view by bending the branch. When he would release pressure, the current and the weight of the fish would return it to the depths. Upon further inspection, the #2 hook and the night crawler that remained, were lodged deep in the throat of the trout. I had never seen a fight like this and will likely never see it again. The fish of 15″ had been dead for a day or two but still put up one heck of a fight. There was no way for either one of us to know that there was so much life in death.
A Bit Stiff
10 users commented in " Life and Death "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackTerrific story! One worthy to tell millions of times. The memories and people are the big reasons why we enjoy the outdoors!
Sad but interesting story Andy. You fish western WI mainly I presume?
Mark
At this time of year I do guide and fish exclusively on my home waters which are in Pierce County, Wisconsin at the North end of the transition zone of the Driftless. The Winter season is spent on your streams in SE Minnesota. The Bass in the St.Croix and Mississippi get more time from me in July and August and Brule River Steelhead are a passion September through November. Aside from trips to new waters sprinkled in I am here. If it flows though, it can pretty easily get my attention.
The story was written more as an event that I was inspired to document. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to write stream reports on a regular basis. When I am out on the river, the hard core fishing data is catalogued in my brain automatically and I am always learning something new. Many times, that data often times does not inspire me to write it down. Although, I know it can be useful to many fly anglers, and I am trying harder to provide this information.
Here is what I found interesting about this event.
Teaching an angler how to play and land a fish is the one of the most difficult techniques to write or verbalize because it is different every time. After gently coaching hundreds of anglers to get the feel for playing and landing fish in moving water, this was the first dead fish I had ever seen hooked and landed. This event reminded me how important feeling in fishing is. This angler was experiencing his first “trout catching” in a long time and he had no idea that the fish was not alive. From what I saw, perched on the bank, I had no idea either. I did not have the rod in my hand, and as you know, an experienced angler knows the feel of how each fish fights. Most times you can tell if it is a trout or a sucker or chub. I can usually tell if it is mouth hooked or hooked in the anus even before I have seen it. I can tell the exact moment when my lead fly is thrown by the fish and the trail hook strafes across his body and hooks him foul. The fight changes, and you feel it. Learning to feel these cues can add another dimension to your angling adventure. The anglers that can learn to use all of the senses, including their imagination, usually become deadly anglers. But I am beginning to ramble.
I will be the first to tell you that for many years I fished with worms. Worms on a spinning rod, worms on a fly rod. I probably can remember leaving a fish wrapped around a rock in a deep hole just like that. I never believed that the dryer lint that we use as flies could be so effective at catching fish. That has changed, but it’s dumb for me to be a hypocrite over the live bait issue. It’s a stage. Some people stay there, some move on. It becomes a pointless argument when both sides dig in their heels and neither listens to the other. There are much more important issues that we should be looking at but that is a whole other can of worms. Events like this are just part of fishing for both fly anglers and conventional anglers. If you fish, the fish are in a higher mortality group than you are. It is what it is.
Trout behavior;
I thought it was interesting that the fins of the dead trout were stiffened in exactly the right position to make it appear to swim as the current flowed over its body. The fish waggled and bobbed, dove and porpoised. He had been tethered in that position for days, yet we caught trout above him, below him and beside him before Scott actually hooked his tether. Kenny, Bobbie, and Suzy trout living in the hole with him could have cared less that their dead brother was looking a bit ghostly. It just reinforces the idea that these fish are opportunists. They need to eat, and it would seem that a dead mate bobbing beside them just became normal after a while. The dead fish became part of the Snag Monster and provided them more cover.
Sorry for the long response.
We laughed about it but I understand the sad part.
Great story Andy! This will definatley add to the repertoire of campfire stories. My wife always used to ask where I came up with these stories until she became a cast member when a Grouse sat on her shoulder when we were trout fishing. If you spend enough time in the outdoors you will be amazed at the experiences you have. This is one that you and your client will never forget.
That Stren-Hook-Nightcrawler set-up was what Mowery was using on that same stretch of the river a few days ago. He lost a nice sized fish in the same pool. It leaves me to wonder…
Meh. Guys who use flies are weak minded fools. I’ve got my “Stren-Hook-Nightcrawler” game dialed in pretty well. Kill ’em all and let God sort it out.
Since we have somehow gotten on to harvesting, Mow, I have one word for you…blueberries. The time is now!
I gotta get over there. And Blackcaps should be out too.
Andy, That is quite a story. Why do I get a bit twisted up when I read such a story?
Hi Bill
Interesting choice of words. I think the answer to your question lies in your passion to unearth, and tell the stories of those who interact with the natural world. Your gift of seeking out, and sharing these stories with others is unmatched and is a tribute to your persona. I believe that because you are both confident and competent you are able to exhibit your sensitive side, which is refreshing, and at times leave you emotionally,,,,, a bit twisted up. Thanks for sharing.
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