I don't tell *fish stories*. Not only is there not much point in making up stories, but anyone who has been fishing with me would see right through it anyway. When your average catch per year is in the single digits, it's going to be a tough sell to tell your fishing buddies that you suddenly had a day where they were just jumping into your net. I do like to carry a camera, though... just in case I actually get lucky with a trophy fish one day.
Yesterday I took my brother-in-law (James) fishing in the Lamoille River which is just a few minutes from my house. I figured that since he was in town, I might as well let him share in the frustration that is fishing with me. Truth be told, I don't get too worked up about how good my luck is, but it certainly is more fun to catch than just to fish.
We arrived on the river around 6:30 am, and there was only one other angler there. When we were picking our spots, he caught a small fish. Pretty cool -- they are biting today. About 15 minutes later, he caught a good sized brown trout. Lucky guy. Then he switched spots and came a bit closer to me, so I asked him what he was using. Small stonefly. Cool -- I have one of those, let's try that. Moved to a spot that seemed good to me while Super Angler drifted out of sight for a few minutes. James hadn't had any luck yet, but seemed like he'd gotten a couple of hits, so he's having fun. My new spot and fly seems good -- got two hits right away, but didn't land either fish. No big deal -- I am used to that. I stayed for a few more casts, and although I was certain there were fish in the pool, ultimately decided to try the spot vacated by Super Angler.
Another 15-20 minutes of luckless casting and S.A. returns to take over the spot I just left. He's there for about 30 seconds and pulls a small fish out. You've got to be kidding me. Five minutes later, he's got another very good sized brown trout.
I am going home to get a cup of coffee and put my fly fishing gear on eBay.
S.A. tells me that he is getting his flies down very deep in the water, so I decide to give it another shot. I take the time to tie a long tippett on the end of my leader (it takes three attempts to get the knot tied correctly), and add some additional weight to the line. Harder to cast now, but I'll be getting into the deep water for sure. I decide to switch flies, and having now been on land for quite awhile, hustle through the tying process and hurry back.
The knot I just tied on my fly doesn't feel quite right...
But I check it twice and it holds up, so despite it feeling wrong, it is tight. I get back to my spot, and S.A. has left (finally!) and James has come upstream to join me. James and I cast for a few minutes without success, and I decide to bring it in and change flies once more.
What was that???
Big strike! Looking down into the pool, I realize that I have just hooked the biggest fish I've ever had on my line. In fact, probably one of the largest I have ever seen. Never having hooked anything this large, I try to stay cool (which I do), and let him run around a little bit. Bring him in slowly...just like Gregg told you. I give a calm shout to James to take a look over, and now I've got the net ready and I'm bringing the biggest trout I've ever had to within 2 feet of the net. I can't believe I caught this fish! And then, as I reach down to scoop him up....
Gone.
The knot I just tied on my fly doesn't feel quite right...
Yes, that's the deal. I didn't tie the &%*$#%* knot correctly. The whole time I was bringing him in, my stupid knot was slowly untying itself. I just watched my trophy fish swim away with my fly. This was going to legitimize all of the time I've put into trying to learn this sport. I had a giant fish, a witness, a camera and a gorgeous day, and now I've got an empty line. Unbelievable.
Look for my fly fishing gear on eBay tomorrow.
There isn't a good way to wrap this story -- no unexpected happy ending that involves me catching the same fish 10 minutes later and getting my fly back. I tried to explain the story to Lauren, but, understandably, she doesn't totally comprehend the trauma I just went through. I guess the happy part is that I at least know I have the acumen to hook a big fish, and I did at least get to see it. I also managed to get James very fired up about learning to fly fish (more on that later), and writing this down has been somewhat therapeutic. I always say I like fly fishing for the zen and that the fish are secondary, but wow, it really would've been nice to land this guy.
The good news is I've had time to rethink my eBay auction and will go back to fish another day. If I can come close to the big prize once, surely I'll get another shot, right? Suddenly, people playing slot machines and scratch tickets are making a lot more sense to me.
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