Friday Classic: Zoomed In

Wind kicked up debris. Water sprayed across the bow of the boat. Anchored, I sat hunkered as my buddy slowly waded down the bank. A big nose had poked out of the grey water. Despite several attempts the fish was not seen again.

Editing photos that night something caught my eye. Something out of place in the middle of an otherwise unremarkable shot. Zooming in, I was shocked to see that I had unknowingly captured the fish at the apex of his rise. Sending the shot to my friend, the fish seemed even bigger than we thought initially.

Not long after, I found myself in the same place again. Unable to resist, I waded in to make a couple of casts. The drift didn’t seem good and I was quickly discouraged. Shifting my focus from the slow water to the adjacent riffle, I cast again.

Letting a terrestrial skate down stream, a dark back porpoised out of the water hammering the fly. Heading downstream, taking line off the reel the fight was short lived. The fish had taken me through the abundant algae. Once tangled he straightened the hook for a clean get away.

I can hardly remember most of the fish I catch but there are a few that that I don’t catch which I never forget.