I trailed a size 16 Hares Ear nymph off the bend of my San Juan Worm and began to make my final drifts before ending one of my many days spent on the Eagle River in Colorado. The higher water levels made wading a bit tough and changed the river dynamics a bit so locating fishy water was a challenge. Early in the day I had found a few average sized (14-16) Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout willing to take my offerings, but I was on the hunt for bigger fish that often get moved around in high water. I knew that this river does not typically hold the big Rainbow Trout that other western rivers hold, but there are a few bigger fish. During times of lower water flows, I had seen some very sizable fish holding in nearly impossible to fish eddies and out of reach. The day was charging on and once again I watched my indicator drift slowly by when it did a little jiggle. I gave a slow down stream hook set figuring that my split shot might just be ticking bottom. As I lifted my rod tip I realized quickly that it was not a hang up. A loud tail slap broke the silence and got my heart pounding. The fish ran like a rocket ship downstream and took me with him. This was what I had been looking for all day. Now, I couldn’t mess it up. I played the fish gingerly as it made several long runs up and down the river, careful not to put too much tension on the small tippet that was being used for the dropper fly. Finally I was able to beach the fish and admire its size and beauty. He fell for the Hares Ear nymph and I removed it gently from his mouth before sending him home. A fish this size for the drainage I was fishing is not all that common. Often times you can see these monsters hanging behind giant boulders in eddies created by fast moving rapids, never within your reach. This was my personal best and biggest Rainbow Trout for this river and will definately keep me hunting the banks for others like this.
that thing is a weapon … sweet fish … i agree with you, so often i have found that i catch my best fish during high water .. like you say, seems to move the river fish around and closer to the banks … and brings more lake or ocean run fish in … so, maybe the ideal conditions are not so ideal after all? … a few of our steelhead trip would support that theory:) … man, i’m hope for all the rivers to be blown out and in the trees this steelhead season 🙂
Nice fish Joey!
There is nothing like getting into a big fish on a stream where you wouldn’t otherwise expect one. For me, it always makes me feel like I’ve fooled that wise, old hold-over who doesn’t get tricked very often. Nice Job
Looking forward to hitting the “chrome zone” with you this fall.
Nate
Nice fish JR. kinda like old friends on the Taylor! See you soon
Dad aka Bull Dog
Nymphmaster,
You certainly have a knack for fooling giants with the indy. Glad you got him to the beach on that spider web tippet, in high water no less. Put some new line on the 9 weight and bring me back some REAL lead split. The metal is coming!
Joey….awsome fish tale and rainbow trout. Looking forward to fishing with you again out west sometime. Nice work
P.S. next time we fish, I will have to use one of those ballon indicators. When you were picking up trout in the runs I had already fished last spring, I was completly sold.
Another sweet bow Joey. Makes me wish I fished more when I lived out there. You’ve hooked into some beauties.
Great fish Joey, I may have to venture out this fall and find the eagle river.