Something I read....and a true story.

I read about a fellow being guided that thought he was hung up. Jerked his rod back and forth a couple of times. The guide yelled you have a fish on....it is 25' deep here and you only have a 9' leader! So...he held the rod up and within 60 seconds the fish started moving around and I think he landed it. Anyway....I am not going to give up on a snag that soon anymore.....and I have many many times. I have often wondered if one of those snags was a monster. After reading that.....I going to try to hang on awhile before I decide it is a snag.

Anywhoooo.....2 weeks befoe Thanksgiving I left house and made quick trip to stream. (7 min I can hav a fly in the water) Do this often, tell wife chores are done...I be back just after dark. But I never leave soon enough. Darkness always comes before I fish much. This night darkness coming even faster. I was only upstream 150' and was fishing there. Snagged on a reed across stream. Heck it's getting too dark too fast anyway....I reeled up all loose line taught, to be able to find fly on other side. Tightened up the drag. Layed the rod down sticking about half way out in stream. Strolled down to the two steel beams you can cross. Strolled up to fly, took it off and just threw it into the stream and immediately headed back to the cross beams. As I was strolling back to my rod I thought I saw my cork handle move in the weeds. I said to my self...yeah....wishful thinking. As I got closer I saw my rod dipping....pulled in a 15" rainbow! Now....I had been fishing there wit nuttin' happening. What's the deal here? New technique? Heck the fly wasn't even being drifted or played (small beadhead black wooly bugger). Does this mean it took the fly because NO ONE was near the stream? Hmmmmmm

Gem
PS....I have saved a lot of flies also by steadly pulling something out of the water. But.....then I cut the fly off, check it out, and retie it back on. Sooooooo....guess I could have just as easy, maybe even faster, broke off the snag and just tied on a new fly anyway. Probably would have eliminated any weak spot I might have had in the leader or tippet in the process.