Fishing

31" of Hard Fighting Atlantic Salmon

Some say that 31" of Atlantic Salmon is not the biggest fish out there and that would be the truth, but for this flyfisher person it was my biggest! The day was picture perfect on The Salmon Brook Pool of the Cains River with the sun shining and no wind to speak off. There were still fall leaves on the trees and their reflections on the water painted a fabulous picture. I was in flyfisher's heaven.

My fishing day started out at 8 a.m. There were salmon jumping now and again but none showed any interest in any of my flies. The night before I had tied a white deer body bug with orange hackle and painted the underbody at the bend with a red head cement and a red head...I called it the RED ARSE FLY...my secret weapon.. :o)

It was around 4:30, the sun was setting into the west, when the pace started picking up and the salmon really started rolling and jumping. I was down at the end of the run when this bright salmon made a jump straight up out of the water. I could see the pink shining and my breath caught at the magnificence of him. I immediately got my line heading in his direction. It was quite a distance for me but I put everything I had into it to push that line to him. I could see him boiling and I thought if any, this was the time,after the third cast over him I saw this big head come out of the water, he grabbed onto my fly on his jump through and I knew I had him !! It felt like being attached to some big old rubber tire.

It was a male salmon and he was not giving in without a fight. He sent me into my backing several times as he made his rush for escape, running up, then down the river. Just when I thought he was tiring he would put the muscle behind him and my reel would screech.. once again. I had to restrain myself as I was fishing with a 6 lb tippet ..eeeek..now is that vanity or stupidity... Everyone knows you should use at least an 8 lb tippet but I played him caustiously and didn't horse him. It took me over an hour to land him safely in my net. He fought so valiantly that I was anxious and I didn't want to take him out of the water. Maggie quickly grabbed a picture of him for me and then with great pleasure I released him back to his domain. He swam away as if nothing much ever happened to him that day but I am sure that he will remember the RED ARSE FLY.

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