This past summer I spent a week fishing the Steamboat Colorado area. My wife and I drove from California to see this part of the counrty and what a country we live in! I count my blessing to live in country so beautiful.
The first on my list to fish would be tailwater of the Stagcoach Reservoir. My wife does not fish but she loves to take pictures and net a few fish for me. As we walked down toward the stream my wife yelled out "snake!!" and bolted up the hill yelling "I'm out of here". Thats the last time I saw my wife. Judging by the speed and direction she was running she should be somewhere in South America. If anyone happens to see her tell her I miss her and please come home. Sorry thats another story. Back to the stream I always like to see if I could spot some fish before I start flinging away. It was early so I started with nymphs. One of the fly shop indicated that this water was concidered technical fishing. So I started with a size 22 batis. First pool nada. I waded up about 30 to 40 feet and spotted a large red sided rainbow just munching away on some sort of numphal activity. I inched toward the fish and finally got close enough to see his white mouth open and close. I was so close that I only had about three feet of fly line out of my tip top. First cast I think bumped the fish on the nose and he just floated down right past my feet and settled about ten feet below me. The fish was much larger then I tought. I also noticed a guide and couple fishing the pool below me. I waited about one minute and then he started munching away again. This was good because I could cast to him from up stream and he would see the fly before the leader. I also changed to 5x tippet and a larger fly with the same batis as a trailer. No cast was needed I just lobbed the flys down stream and watched the fish open and close his mouth. I lifted and he was on. About a half a dozen head shakes and then he was off down stream where the guide was. I could not stop him. I followed. As the fish entered the pool down stream I told the coulpe that I was sorry for disturbing their pool. The gentleman said that it was ok and that he was getting a kick watching me subdue the large fish. I had the fish within ten feet of me so I started for my net when the guide yelled out with angry tone " I'll net him for you before you kill him!!". This caught me by suprise because I had not had the fish on that long. The guide had one of those long handled nets and started to take stabs at the fish. I hope I'm wrong but it looked as if he was just trying to bump and spook the fish. And he did. The fish bolted down stream again and to my suprise the guide grabbed the fly line until the tippet snapped. The fish was gone. I could not beleive what he did. I gave him a good stare and told the couple I was sorry again and left shaking my head. If it was not for one the best days I had ever had fishing I would had been more upset. I don't like give number or sizes but more than a few time was out gunned using my 4 wt. and 5x (frogs hair) tippet. Did I do something wrong? Should I have broken the fish off before he entered the pool? I don't know. What would YOU HAVE DONE? Later.