The Fish You Want The Most....

Is the fish you never see....

A full day of pounding the water in search of steel had resulted in a fatty goose egg.  A month away from the water put me on edge a bit, and I wanted to drain every once of my free day till the last drop of light had expired. 

The last two hours of fishing time had me guessing for our last spot and after some consideration, we settled on a run that I had fished a few years before and remembered in the back in my brain that at the right water level, should hold a willing fish. 

Should hold and would hold are two different things, but optomism for me always wins out.

I gave Dad the jump on the water and I followed down.   Half way down the run, OMR's rod bucked in agreement to the question if there were fish around.  The fish rolled and the golden brown and red spots confirmed a very large bull trout.  A trophy for this water, but not necessarily the quarry of our quest. 

Continuing down the bank, the water looked more and more perfect.  Medium walking speed current, bolders and the greenest water I have seen in a long time.

Tip tip....BAM, fish on.  The telltale heavy weight, quick initial run and back and forth head shakes confirmed we had found what we were looking for. 

4 or so minutes into the figh, the gut punch feeling of a snapped leader reported back....fish off.  

I felt like a five year old who just had their ball taken from them by an angry adult.  All I could do was kick the water and swear up a storm.  Little good it did, the fish was gone

And to the point.  Fish like that are the ones that stick in our brains more than any fish you have ever landed and taken a picture of.  The unanswered questions of what was fighting you out in the current can hang over you like a heavy fog.  

In this case, this fish was obviously a confused B-Run Buck, at least I tell myself that.