jakeway
Well-Known Member
Yesterday Tom and I went to the Caney to try for some trout. We were throwing streamers on sink tip lines, hoping for a big bite. We had a few followers and short strikers that we could feel for an instant or see the flash before they were gone.
Then about 6:30 pm something hit Tom's streamer and took off like a freight train. He was into the backing in no time. I tried to keep up with it using the trolling motor, but we were loosing ground. (For those of you not familiar with fly tackle, the fly line is the relatively thick plastic-coated line that you actually cast. The line is attached to the reel using a braided line of about 30 lb breaking strength. The fly line is quite expensive, but usually lasts several years.)
Finally it seemed to hold in one position so we could motor up to it. Unfortunately he had gone under a big sunken tree in water over 6 ft deep. We could see the backing going under a thick branch, but we couldn't see the line coming out the other side. (They were still generating, and the water was a bit dingy.) The fish was still hooked, as we could feel him throbbing and occasionally he'd pull out a bit more line.
After waiting several minutes to see if the fish would surface or somehow show where the line was, Tom decided to start pulling the line under the log, hoping to at least get to the fly line and either get the fish free or break the leader. As Tom pulled the backing hand over fist, I reeled in the slack. We managed to retrieve about 30 feet of backing, but it finally broke, still with no sign of the actual fly line. We lost hook, leader, a $70 90 feet long fly line, and who knows how much backing.
So, if anyone catches or finds a fish with a long fly line attached, let me know.
Oh, this is a "little" one I caught a few minutes later. Nice fight on an 8 ft six weight fly rod, but nothing like what Tom battled.
Then about 6:30 pm something hit Tom's streamer and took off like a freight train. He was into the backing in no time. I tried to keep up with it using the trolling motor, but we were loosing ground. (For those of you not familiar with fly tackle, the fly line is the relatively thick plastic-coated line that you actually cast. The line is attached to the reel using a braided line of about 30 lb breaking strength. The fly line is quite expensive, but usually lasts several years.)
Finally it seemed to hold in one position so we could motor up to it. Unfortunately he had gone under a big sunken tree in water over 6 ft deep. We could see the backing going under a thick branch, but we couldn't see the line coming out the other side. (They were still generating, and the water was a bit dingy.) The fish was still hooked, as we could feel him throbbing and occasionally he'd pull out a bit more line.
After waiting several minutes to see if the fish would surface or somehow show where the line was, Tom decided to start pulling the line under the log, hoping to at least get to the fly line and either get the fish free or break the leader. As Tom pulled the backing hand over fist, I reeled in the slack. We managed to retrieve about 30 feet of backing, but it finally broke, still with no sign of the actual fly line. We lost hook, leader, a $70 90 feet long fly line, and who knows how much backing.
So, if anyone catches or finds a fish with a long fly line attached, let me know.
Oh, this is a "little" one I caught a few minutes later. Nice fight on an 8 ft six weight fly rod, but nothing like what Tom battled.
