Dream come true. It was 10deg outside when I first hit the river, so there were not many people fishing on this cold day. Even with Crisco on the rod guides, they continued to freeze all morning as did my reel and net. Just as my blowout day was coming to a close (5 fish landed, 4 were 18-20"), I decided to venture through the snow to a spot no one had hit yet. I walked upstream to one of my favorite deep pools on the Dillon reservoir tailwater stretch of the Blue River. After a couple of dead drifts through the shadowed pocket water, something inhaled my midge and immediately peeled off with 20yds of line. The fight was ON.
6x leader, 7x tipped, 5 weight rod, and size 22 black beauty midge put me in a heated battle with the largest rainbow I've ever seen in CO. The finesse fight continued downstream for 15min and 1/8mi. Between myself and the two nearby fishermen who came over to help videotape, we estimated this beast to be ~30" and over 10lbs. A true monster. Fly fishermen from all around the world travel to this gold medal destination to test their luck with big fish on very light line but fish this size are very rare. What a treat.
I was no match for this beauty as my net was much too small to land her, but I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to play with such a giant. She ended up making a final run and wrapped me completely around a large boulder. Please excuse my French in the video. Then it was over ::snap:: Overall, an unbelievable experience!
...till next time, Tight Lines!
Mysis Shrimp (size 18) trailed by Black Beauty (size 22-24)
Purple Sparkle Midge Emerger (size 20-22)
No comments:
Post a Comment