A planned trip in June to Pine Creek for several days with an ol' fishing pal was a blast from start to finish. We each caught a bunch of fish (later we learned mostly stocked rainbows in Pine Creek), but the weather was great, and the fishing was on in a great way. Rainbow trout are great fun when hooked, and some of them took us into our backing on that big river. Great times all around.
The image to the left is a fishing buddy releasing one of those great rainbow battlers who took the angler on a good hike/run down the river during the fight.
One of our evenings during this trip, during an on and off light rain, we made our way up one of the tributaries. I do not know how or why, and certainly did not deserve to hook or land this fish, but to this day, this wild brownie remains one of my most memorable. Naturally, I left my SLR in the car, as it was raining, so no pictures from this evening, but I could honestly care less, as my memory of this fish is as clear as any.
Did he take my bead-headed brassie nymph that I drifted through the tightest of runs on the far bank of the stream? You bet ya! My net wasn't barely big enough for this wild brown, which was clearly a 20 incher as I rested him in the water in my net, waiting for my buddy to see him.
He quickly pulled out his measuring tape, and the brown trout, deep red spots and all, measured 18 inches, according to his measurement... As I think about that moment now, I actually never saw the end of the measuring tape which apparently read "18 inches"... Hmmm.... Thanks for the short stick, buddy... With no photo evidence, a 20 incher he will remain!!
(I admittedly have been known to add an inch or two of length to some/many/most of the fish I catch. A quality/trait/fault that I am reminded of by many a fishin' buddy).
The fish happily (or rather, angrily) shot back into his home like a rocket. That fish, on that particular stream, is one that is beyond memorable.
It was good fun to have had a conversation with that fish, before sending him on his way (I usually talk to the fish I land, before releasing them).
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