When you Forget the Most Important Tool

Good buddy and fishing guide Clint Holcomb offered us another chance to go on another float down the river this past Monday. We had the day off of class due to the holiday, and I was all for going fishing instead of going to class. We woke up Monday morning late and dragging behind, as usual. We dropped the boat in the water right around 11 and planned to fish until dark. The temps were going to be a little higher than the past few days so we hoped for some active fish that would cooperate. We began our journey down river and fished a shady section of the river which was much cooler than the rest of the river and as we expected it to be, fishing was slow. We picked up and did some skipping around until we hit a the section where the sun had already been beating down for a few hours and BAM! the fish were on. There was a light black stone hatch going off and also a very light caddis hatch as well which made fly selection very easy. We used some heavy black stones to get down followed up by some smaller flies with hot spots to gain the attention of the fish. As it always tends to do, my phone was ringing off the hook from people back home telling me about the ducks they got that morning or how bad their hunt was, so I handed my rod to Clint for the time being and on his first cast he gets a double, two very hungry and aggressive rainbows I guess! Clint and Jared continued to pull fish after fish out and I was content just watching, something that I enjoy often. I enjoy watching because I am a big believer in the saying, "Watch and Learn." We made our way a little further down river where Jason, owner of Hookers Fly Shop and fantastic guide, was just finishing up a half day wade trip. We had forgot a net when we left the access area. Out of all pieces of equipment and tools to forget, I would say that a net falls among the top 3 when fishing from a boat. Thankfully Jason still had his in his car from the day before and was kind enough to let us borrow it. The place where we stopped was a long run with a swift drop off that made it very deep in one spot. We pulled a few fish out on the nymph rods and then as things slowed down on the nymphs I grabbed the streamer rod and began swinging... On my third cast, I was stripping the streamers through the deep section of the run and from behind a big rock there he came! Mr. Brown decided that it was lunch time and got every bit of it! The Fight was on! It's a good thing that we got a net because without it I have no idea what would have happened! The Brown was absolutely beautiful and put up an awesome fight! That folks is why I love, and always will love streamer fishing more so than any other kind. The Brown pushed in between the 21 and 22 inch mark and had a set of shoulders like an NFL linebacker, truly an amazing fish! We fished the rest of the day and caught many more fish and had a great time! The good Lord definitely blessed me with an amazing fish and it's days like this that I will always remember!