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That Moment.....


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Let's start off with your casting upstream in a big pool.

 

You decide to use a caddis as you can see a couple floating around in the light breeze. You start casting, and casting, no risers in sight.

 

All of a sudden you hear a big splash behind you. You turn around and there is ripples 10ft downstream. You move downstream of the ripples and wait. 20 seconds later you see a snout rise and you lay your caddis 5ft upstream. One second later all hell breaks loose.

 

A big splash, and the line starts ripping through your fingers. You try to get a hook set but can't because the beast is already peeling line out. The beast heads straight out for the middle of the water. You watch your reel as you get closer and closer to the backing. Using your palm, you slow the beasts run to a halt and try to gain some ground back. You manage a few feet back before another run. This run is short and downstream. The fish now lies close to the bank, in a fast current. You decide to run down the bank, in near blackness to gain ground. You manage to gain almost all your line back before the beast takes off again.

 

After a few more minutes of running down the bank, and the beast running, you finally get a glimpse at it. All you see is a bigggg flash of white and the beast takes another run to the middle. Still unsure as to which species it is, you try desperately to land it.

 

You finally get the beast tired and as it gets closer to you, your rod tip flies up, and line goes slack.

 

The beast popped off. Now you are angry, real angry. You mutter a few choice words and sit down a ponder what went wrong. The fly is still on your line and the hook is straight. After a few minutes you still don't know what went wrong and just continue to fish.

 

 

 

 

That was my story tonight. The one that got away. I'm still mad about it since it looked 23"+

 

It peeled line and fought so much harder than my PB rainbow at 20.5"

Oh well I'll catch him tomorrow.

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Let's start off with your casting upstream in a big pool.

 

You decide to use a caddis as you can see a couple floating around in the light breeze. You start casting, and casting, no risers in sight.

 

All of a sudden you hear a big splash behind you. You turn around and there is ripples 10ft downstream. You move downstream of the ripples and wait. 20 seconds later you see a snout rise and you lay your caddis 5ft upstream. One second later all hell breaks loose.

 

A big splash, and the line starts ripping through your fingers. You try to get a hook set but can't because the beast is already peeling line out. The beast heads straight out for the middle of the water. You watch your reel as you get closer and closer to the backing. Using your palm, you slow the beasts run to a halt and try to gain some ground back. You manage a few feet back before another run. This run is short and downstream. The fish now lies close to the bank, in a fast current. You decide to run down the bank, in near blackness to gain ground. You manage to gain almost all your line back before the beast takes off again.

 

After a few more minutes of running down the bank, and the beast running, you finally get a glimpse at it. All you see is a bigggg flash of white and the beast takes another run to the middle. Still unsure as to which species it is, you try desperately to land it.

 

You finally get the beast tired and as it gets closer to you, your rod tip flies up, and line goes slack.

 

The beast popped off. Now you are angry, real angry. You mutter a few choice words and sit down a ponder what went wrong. The fly is still on your line and the hook is straight. After a few minutes you still don't know what went wrong and just continue to fish.

 

 

 

 

That was my story tonight. The one that got away. I'm still mad about it since it looked 23"+

 

It peeled line and fought so much harder than my PB rainbow at 20.5"

Oh well I'll catch him tomorrow.

 

Ya know i had this happen to me this spring on a big brown on a dry, and when I seen the hook was strait it gave me alot better feeling as if the knot had broken. If a fish straightens your hook, just plain and simple he tested your gear to the point of failure. He won this time. But thats what keeps us coming back. To try and get a picture with that beast.

 

Congrats you are now officially addicted to this sport. Ahahah ahhaha

 

 

Matt

 

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True 8-10 pounders in the Bow? I'd be skeptical too. The biggest Bow I ever landed was 29" and roughly 5-6lbs in my best guess. People who think the common Bow river 20" is a 5lb fish are sorely mistaken. try approx 2.5 to 3lbs. Now I am not saying there isn't a ten pounder somewhere in the river... and I'd LOVE to be the guy who gets to post a pic of it too :D

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This is the reason I now tie all my caddis on extra heavy hooks. I have been straightened by fish several fish in the 8-10 pound range on the Bow in the past.

 

It's always the 8 to 10 pounders that straighten my hooks and get away. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but, all the ones I actually land seem to be much smaller. Of course I hooked most of those 8 to 10 pounders around 6 years ago when they were mere fry, say around 20" and 2 1/2 pounds. I'm assuming they're still alive and have grown to at least 8 to 10 pounds by now!

 

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Given that there has not been one image of a 30 inch Brown or Rainbow caught in the Bow posted on this board, lots of people would be sceptical.

a 10 pound fish of either species would be over 30 inches. theres a reason there havent been any pics of either. its a once in a life time fish on the bow so cant imagine one guy who has lost countless fish in this range. Has anyone got a pic of a legitmate 8-10 lb ( 30 inch +) brown or bow from an alberta river? would love to see one

ps. not flaming. I also seem to " lose" the 10 pounders and land all the 2 pounders when telling stories around the campfire. :)

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a 10 pound fish of either species would be over 30 inches. theres a reason there havent been any pics of either. its a once in a life time fish on the bow so cant imagine one guy who has lost countless fish in this range. Has anyone got a pic of a legitmate 8-10 lb ( 30 inch +) brown or bow from an alberta river? would love to see one

ps. not flaming. I also seem to " lose" the 10 pounders and land all the 2 pounders when telling stories around the campfire. :)

Yes, I agree, 8 -10 pound fish are rare in the Bow. In over 30 years fishing it I can only be certain that 4 fish that I hooked would fall in that category. All were hooked on size 16 drys or nymphs, all jumped so I got a look at them, and all straightened the hook after a fairly lengthy fight.

My best fish landed in the Bow was a 26 inch Brown. I figured him for 6 pounds, tops. Over the decades I have caught a number of trout in the 23-25 inch range both in the Bow and elsewhere. I know when I have something much bigger on.

There is an amazing feeling of helplessness, a complete "Oh S***! What do I do now?" feeling. Pretty amazing. I hope to have it again sometime and maybe this time the heavy hooks will let me get a close look at the Bow fish of a lifetime.

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I saw a legitimate 10 lb. rainbow at Bankside 3 or 4 years ago. I was crossing the side channel on the way out to the island and saw it cruising in calm water about 2 ft. deep. It was at least 32 inches if not more. Very impressive. Somebody I met fishing at Bankside told me there were rainbows over 10 lb.'s along the far bank. I thought he was exaggerating of course. He wasn't.

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