Fly Fishing Lake Taneycomo- Part 2- The Fish of a Lifetime!

While Wendy and I had some highs and lows to our fishing, things were about to trend upwards.  When we arrived at the water, the dam was running one generator.  What that means is that water was coming through the dam and thus raising the water level and increasing the current.  This is usually a good thing because it puts the fish in a feeding mode and will push them either deep or to the edges.  When this happens, most fly fishers know that a scud is a great fly to use.  I decided to tie on a scud behind a 1/80 ounce jig.  The jig was a fly that I have had a lot of success on before and would also be the weight that got the scud deeper in the water column.  The scud was a sparkly blue fly that I had bought over 10 years ago at Lilly's Landing fly shop.  I hadn't ever used this fly but for some reason, I liked it more than the natural colors.

Wendy and I approached the edge of the water and the conditions were a little intimidating.  We had trees behind us, boulders at our feet, and fast water in front of us.  This can be tough fishing, but it can also be productive.  Wendy saw this first-hand when I made my first roll cast into the water.  The indicator went down with the subtleness of a broken shoelace.  I knew very well from experience that a boulder could have been the cause of the indicator sinking.  The flies had time to get down and could have gotten caught on the bottom.  I also knew that it could have a fish.  An old friend once told me that setting the hook didn't cost you anything.  In other words, would you rather be safe that sorry.  I gave a solid hook set and quickly realized that I was not hooked on a boulder.

I felt a fish on the end of the line and while it felt solid, I couldn't tell how big the fish was because it quickly got into some swift current.  The fish started to head upstream where people were which made me nervous but then headed back down stream to where I could see boulders.  This made me equally nervous.  He was peeling line pretty fast and I had a moment to think about whether I should pursue or just try to horse him back.  I was feeling adventurous and curious, so I decided to try to chase him down.

Things did not go well at first.  I almost tripped on a boulder.  He almost broke me off around a series of boulders.  I got my rod tip stuck in a tree branch for a moment.  I had to ask a fellow angler to move.  He was nice enough to move and even offered to help net the fish but never got the chance.  Up to this point, I hadn't even seen the fish yet and wondered if I was chasing a really aggressive 18 inch rainbow.  After I cleared the rocks, trees, and anglers, I finally got the head of the fish to the surface.  That's when the intensity changed.

It was a brown.  It was a big brown.  It was a big male brown.  It was the biggest male brown I had ever hooked into!  While I was thrilled, the idea of losing such a fish entered my mind.  It had been a long fight and things could end badly at any moment.  Knots had experienced a lot of pressure.  The fly had stayed hooked for a long time.  The two pound fluorocarbon had been stretched and tested.  I also thought about every big fish that I had ever lost near the end of a battle.  I prayed for help.  No, I literally prayed.  There was also begging involved.  I'm not ashamed to admit it.  

The fish was reaching shallow water and running out of real estate.  As the water thinned, it started to come to the net.  I moved toward it to meet him.  It felt like and eternity of reaching for him and that he was never going to get in the net.  I just kept thinking, "Get his head in and it is over!  He can't swim or jump backwards.  When his head went in and the ordeal was over, a wave of adrenaline washed over me.  

I ran to Wendy with my trophy in the net.  We needed pictures but I also wanted to keep this leviathan safe.  He unhooked quickly and easily and wasn't out of the water for long.  After a little time nursing and observing, I watched him swim away.  The experience of catching a fish like that was miraculous to me.  Wendy booking the trip, the 10 year old fly, getting my rod stuck in a tree, my knots holding strong, and not breaking two pound test line over a long fight with rocks around was nothing short of a miracle.  I also landed the fish on the Orvis that Wendy got me as a wedding gift which made it even more special.  The tale of the tape was 24 inches with a 15 inch girth and a weight of 6 pounds or more.  While those numbers are special, the memory is even more spectacular.  Wendy also gets all the credit for the pictures and thanks for celebrating this catch with me beautiful!