Shot At the Title

In recent years, I've gotten hooked on streamer fishing. I'm not sure if it's the "hunting" nature of targeting a likely spot, or the visual of watching a big fish hunt down the streamer - but it's addictive. I started on trout, but then moved on to smallmouth as well.

Tuesday was a huge day on the river for me. My buddy Jon Ray and I set-up a float to chase big trout on big water. With the rivers swollen from a snowy Winter (and Spring!), there was a lot of flow, a lot of color, and a lot of opportunity. I really see this as a big part of my evolution as an angler. Where once I'd have been giddy sticking lots of 8"-12" fish on a float, now I want a 20"+ hog.

My set-up for big water like this has evolved a bit as I figured out what conditions demand and matching it to gear I have. For today I was running a Scott S3 958-4 rod (9' 6" 8-weight), my trusty Orvis Battenkill Large Arbor V, and an older Rio 200 grain sink tip. The S3 was one of my earliest high-end rods. After I discovered switch rods, it didn't see much use, but in the past couple of seasons I've re-purposed it as my chuck-and-duck (when necessary) and heavy sink tip rod. Works just great for both!

Our day starts off well enough - within the first hour I stick a nice 15-16". Decent, but I forgo the photo. Sorry, pal, you're not what I'm here for. Today is also my first day of rowing instruction, so I take a turn on the sticks. More on this later. Let's just say I went from complete chaos, to managed chaos. Look for more in a future blog.

The interesting part of this float is that we're picking up fish mostly in the middle. I'm more used to targeting pockets along the bank and near cover. My first fish is dead center, as is one Jon picks up as well as a couple of follows we both have. I think this is a result of the BIG water and high flows - fish feel more protected by all the color in the water, I suppose.

As the day rolls on, the sun comes out, so I move back to the banks. Hucking big flies into likely hidey holes. Around mid-day I toss into an eddy behind a log. Suddenly I see the telltale flash and BOOM! Fish ON! Just from the size of the roll and the heft on the line, I can tell this is a good fish. I've learned from previous losses that this is a game of showing the fish who's boss almost immediately. I get some bend in the rod and start putting to boots on this one. For a moment there's some back and forth, but I get the upper hand. When we get it in the net it's evident - this is a 20"+! Fortunately, Jon has a client who's on a quest to boat a big fish, so there's an excellent measuring device aboard. To my surprise, my fish tapes out at 23"! And it's not just long, this is one fat pig of a brown. WOO F*cking HOO!!!!!! My personal best-ever resident trout! I was able to break 20" in Montana last Fall, and I've taken a very large lake-run while pinning for Winter steelhead (we didn't measure, and doesn't count in my book anyway.) The adrenaline is FLOWING!

After a few pictures, in which we find out I can't hold a big trout very well (Jon: Don't you know how to handle that thing?" Sean: "Dude, I've never caught one this big, of course I don't!") we get some nice pics and even film the release. I spend the remainder of the float completely jacked up after the experience. This, of course, has fueled my desire to break the two foot mark.

Stay tuned. It's only just begun.

-Sean-