Which Species Of Trout Fights The Hardest?

[flyangler]

I honestly think brookies, ounce for ounce are the best fighters. But I have a favorite rainbow fight story and picture from Alberta in 2004. The fish would have been a legal keeper in one of our favorite Wisconsin steelhead rivers. Ignore me if I've told you before. (There she goes again )

 

Al Brice took my husband and me out for a day of bow fishing, swearing us to secrecy on the location (and don't any of you "out" this one!). Alan patiently tried to school me in the fine art of casting, but it just wasn't sinking in. I was catching fish, missing fish, swearing, taking photos of my husband's fish, sitting down to rest. The bows just kept rising to the giant hoppers that were blown into the water by the arid winds. Alan pointed out a different spot in the pool for me to try. He tried to get me to cast to it but my hopper would end up anywhere but where he pointed. After many tries, he swapped rods with me and bingo, all his hard work finally bore fruit. I cast exactly where and how he'd instructed and the fight was on.

 

The rainbow bolted out of it's tub-sized lie and raced to the foot of the pool. If I could have given her any more leeway, I would have, but I was out of line and into the backing. Stepping carefully toward safer footing, I kept the pressure on but now, instead of heading for the hills she started swimming at me. I was glad it was Al's TFO, because I'm not sure my rod could have taken the pressure. She dove to the bottom of the pool, directly in front of me, but put a rocky ledge between us. That ledge had sawed off my tippet a couple of times already, and I wasn't using any weenie sized stuff.

 

I waited her out and she finally gave ground, a little at a time. Did I mention I wasn't breathing this whole time? I was praying to be angler enough to land this fish.

 

Of course the grip and grin photo is priceless, but the fight took longer. Here is the run into the backing: