Wet lines

Sometimes, people say their wishes out loud.  Last summer Kelly and I were on an extended camp out trip.  Two 4 day weekends in a row was the perfect excuse for a long fishing trip.   I unfortunately had to return to work for three days in the middle of the trip and with trepidation I had left Kelly with the trailer while I was gone.  When I returned she had an amazing tale to tell of a good Samaritan who had given her two lures to use for the big brown trout in the lake.  We had heard tale of these native monsters, but while catching stocked 12″ rainbows for two summers it was getting hard to believe.  Wide eyed she told me of catching browns with a green and pink Rapala style lure given to her.   “Big fish,” she stammered as she started to weave an unbelievable story of fishing in the moonlight with a kind stranger, “And I caught them.”  My first reaction was where I could find this kind stranger.  The second thought was this sounded awfully like one of those fish stories.  You know the ones, if only you had been there to see it.  Adding to my doubt was the fact that both of the gifted lures had mysteriously disappeared.  One on the rocks and one in the mouth of an elusive giant.

So the next day we hit the lake and she implored me to “Catch my lure!”   Laughing while stripping line off of my fly reel I started to list the reasons how and why, in my extensive fishing experience, it would be unlikely to ever catch the same fish.  Especially one with a pink and green lure hanging off of its lip.  After a few casts with a Royal Wulff  with no success I was thinking about what fly to change to.  I am one of those people that always questions their fly selection.  So while contemplating what fly the fish might like better that day I looped a lazy cast three feet off shore and began consulting my fly box.  While deciding what to do next a fish began rising just feet from my fly.  I dropped my gear and readied myself to cast to it when my fly disappeared.  I set the hook and couldn’t believe the power on the other end.  After playing the fish out I brought her in to shore.  A big brown, with a funny looking mouth.   When my hand reached the fish I couldn’t believe it, there dangling from its lip was a pink and green lure!  We will never fish that lure again, it has taken its place on the mantle.  To the kind stranger, I’m sorry about all the colorful things I said about you.

1 Comment »