STOP!

[Jennie@ifish]

Got your attention, I hope?

Well, good, because I just lost the biggest fish I'd even caught on a fly. Well, ALMOST CAUGHT! Hooked, anyhow...

I was freezing cold, the rain is blowing sideways, my hands were stiff, and I tied on my last purple joe fly.

The ends were kind of curly and that part was in the knot. (The weakest link!) I thought to myself, 'I have been fishing for a while, not caught anything. It will hold! Won't it?" and with that, I cast out.

ARGH. NEVER DO THAT! EVER!

It's exactly when you question yourself, and then lazily fish anyhow that you are gonna be sorry!

I got stung so hard! The fish hit like I had run into a gob of fallen leaves. A heavy thunk and pull! OH BOY!

Out of the water like a rocket screamed a huge cutthroat, a small chinook jack or a silver... don't know what! But, if it was a cutt, it was a trophy!

As soon as it hit the water, returning from his rocket shot, it was gone! ARGH!!!

I reeled in the curliest little piece of fuzz line that I've ever seen.

OH GAG! I fished for a while after that with no luck...

Still shaking my head in disgust and shame,
Jen

[Grantspastor]

I believe you are describing the strike of an Orca

[Jennie@ifish]

Nope, but I sure have never felt that heavy of a pull on my little trout rod! WHOOO HOOOO!

I live for that feeling!!!!

[LunkerFish]

:laugh: Great story! :laugh: I have to admit I've done that same thing. End of the day, you figure what the heck, it won't matter and then Murphy's law goes into effect.

[Stew]

Sounds familiar! There is a big Deschutes Redside with my #16 elk hair caddis in his mouth because of my lazy knot tying :hoboy:

[Gettin' Birdy]

Hey Jen......."too have HOOKED and lost is better than not to have HOOKED at all"....right? Took my significantly better half fishing on the crooked one time during a blue wing olive hatch.....flies were boiling off the water, fish going crazy, tied on a blue wing olive dry for her...she "hooks" a pretty nice trout that unceremoniously comes off after a run across the river....I encourage her to keep at it and she keeps having "takes" but no fish on.

This goes on for a half hour while I have caught and released several. Tori asks me "do you think there's anything wrong with my fly?" I say "NO" without looking and continue fishing for another 15 minutes or so while Tori has missed several more. I FINALLY (unselfishly I must say :depressed:) wander over to gander at her fly which is MISSING the turn and point of it's hook after obviously breaking off at the shank.

I've been in the fly fishing dog house ever since. Tori will only let me tie on her flies if she inspects my handy work afterwards...with a jab or two...Is there a HOOK on that fly Don?....Did you tie a good KNOT Don?....I know, I deserve it!

[paulie]

Yes, sounds very familiar :smile:

Last week I caught my biggest trout of the year. I broke off my fly trying to get it out of it's mouth. I retied on the fly.

On the next strike I set the hook only to have the fish come off. Turns out my tippet knot broke.

Moral of story: always check your knot(s) after catching a big one! :smile:

[mandinga]

jennie...i bet your mind was wandering when that fish hit! Probably daydreaming about some romance novel you had read in years past...then whamo fishon! Big fish are always so inconsiderate, they never hit when you expect them to!

[AndyK]

Could the fish have been a Chum?

I always figure a day on the river when I at least hook a large fish is successful! So congratulations :cheers:!

[Jennie@ifish]

Nope, it wasn't a chum, unless it was bright as can be! By the time they get here, (and now would be early) they are pretty toasty!

J

[Chromaflage]

Jennie, you're lookin this all wrong. If you would have retied, it may have changed your presentation just enough that you may not have hooked that fish at all. :tongue: It may have been that curl in the leader that enticed the fish to strike.

Always the optimist.

CrF

[lilnorthfork]

Yup, what Chromaflage said. You have stumbled upon the penultimate flyfishing question... the question without an answer... perhaps. If you had retied, would the fish have struck? If the answer is no, loosing that fish, and fly, was the best possible outcome, for the alternative was to experience yet another uninterupted drift. Oooh... the metaphysics of flyfishing...:hoboy:

lnf

[TillamookChinook]

A chum was caught on a jig last Sunday at the Logging Bridge. Not by me, but I saw one roll in that hole a little later. But they must have moved on because I saw no fish at all there in a brief stop this morning.

TC

[Jennie@ifish]

I guess you are right. Better to have hooked and lost, then to never have hooked at all. :smile:

I love that!

J

[Gizmo Man]

Yep, what LNF said. You will always remember the ones that got away. And your imagination will allow you to ponder this event for a long time.

But next time, .......



:smile: :smile:


Congradulations anyway.

Giz...