The Third Time Was The Charm

Do you recall a post I did a few weeks ago where I mentioned seeing a brown trout which I estimated to be around 16". Well I was wrong, it was bigger then that. I visited that stream twice since I first encountered the brown. The second time there was anticipation on my part hoping he was still there but no luck. The third time on the other hand proved to be the charm.

The first time I came upon this pool I saw the brown lying in the tail. He quickly spotted me and vanished into the heavy water. So I approached the pool at a different angle. The brown was not spotted by me. I looked for a few minutes and saw no movement. Well I was there so may as well fish it. A black soft-hackle was tied on and several casts were made into the pool. On the second cast I felt a tug but that was just the fly snagging a sunken twig. I was going to change flies and try a streamer but first a couple of more casts with the black soft-hackle. On one of those casts a fish took. It went right to the bottom and then exploded. It ran to the open water and quickly turned to change direction and headed back to where he started. That's where I caught a glimpse of the brown. It looked like a log with fins. In a second he was on the bottom and trying to take me into the nasty log jam. The little bamboo rod was tested and held it's own. At one point it felt as if the brown had managed to work it's way into the tangle and hang up. I tried putting pressure on the trout to move it out of the snag but backed off from fear of breaking the rod. I stepped up into the pool to try and get better leverage. In my mind a thought came that perhaps the brown was off and I had only a log that the fly was snagged in. I took another step and that's when I slipped into the mud. The arm went out to prevent the fall but I still managed to sink it into the mud. I freed my self and picked up the slack line. I then realized the brown was still on and somehow freed itself from what it was snagged on. It fought like hell and finally gave up. It sort of rolled as it neared my hand. I slipped my hand under it just to lift it some to get a photo. That's when he nasty and shook his head several times. I tried to calm him by just getting my hand away. I again tried to bring him in and this time I was able to get the job done. A quick photo and his third attempt to get away was successful. He went straight for the deepest part of the pool.

I know it's hard to determine the browns size, but just the head should give you some idea. I guessed him to be 18"......and "April Fools"....