Good day BAD day..........

[spinner]

[size 2]Caught 3 fish around 17 inches........

Sprinkled in a couple 10 inchers....

Then I violated one of my cardinal rules.....

When I look at a stretch and think it might have a big fish in it.............I usually......try to figure out where I am going to LAND it........

I casted in to the long deep run next to a sheer bank........
the fish hit like a ton of brick.........

It was evident it was a big one...

I got fish under control and decided to lay on my belly and reach over the sheer bank with my Lloyd H net.......
The fish was just out of reach.........

I readjusted myself on the bank and laid way over the bank.....with my arm stretched out at far as possible........

This took a while and the fish got its second wind and took off on me again......

I was still on my belly.......

Then it got kinda hinky.........

My digital camera........which was around my neck.....decided it wanted to fall in the water.........luckily my net was in perfect position to catch the falling camera before it got to the water........

So I am composing myself......standing.....battling......putting camera back around my neck again........and looking for a easier place to land this HUGE fish........I saw it.......It was upstream about 20 yards.......I let the fish battle upstream and I walked the bank with it.........

I got to the easier area and brought the fish towards me........The water was shallower there and the fish felt the shore under it and went BALLISTIC........Out popped the hook.........I stormed down the bank.....tried to net it while it was floundering in shallows......away it went.....

Before all this happened........When i was leaving the truck.......I thought to myself.....Which net should I take with me..........the long handled brodin or the PRETTY Lloyd H net..........I thought to myself.....For sure the pretty one.....it was more photoghenic.......If I would have chosen the functional.......sheer bank net........I would have photos of a 24-26 inch MASSIVE female!

I have a superstition or 2 about trout fishing........
Number one: If I catch a 20 inch trout....My fishing day is done..............Don't want to mess up my trout KARMA....
Number two: If I lose a big trout because of a STUPID choice or nonsense.....My fishing day is done........

Tight Lines. [/size]
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[aquaman]

thanks for the story sorry the big one got away in the furture do what i do just jump in after it ! i was out fishing today got a 20" cutthroat up to the edge of the back and my line snapped with out a first thought i jumped right in and managed to grab it for a picture for the BFT contest and my digital camera batteries were dead AAAARRGGG well got the lure back at least
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[fishmagnet]

I did that very thing once on the Green River. I was up on a little cliff that was about 8 ft above the river and I hooked a fish that came out from under the bottom of the cliff to take my fly. I called out to some guys floating by on a raft for help but they just laughed at me! I had to do some tricky moves around some trees to get far enough down stream to a spot where I could climb down and land the fish.

Good thing you caught your camera. I dropped mine in the river once and my wife still hasn't forgiven me!

Also, I gave up on looking "pretty" long ago and just go with what works best. For example I leave my nice wood net home and use an ugly metal one that collapses and the handle extends to like 48". I'll bet you wish you had one when you were fighting that fish!

FM
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[FisherMOM]

[size 3]Man Spinner..that is a heart ache..... this is the second story I read in a forum today where lack of a net cost the fisherman a fish over 20 inches.[/size]

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[size 3]My superstition is, if I HAVE my net while trout fishing, I won't catch anything... [/size][size 3]and usually, I don't![/size]
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[aquaman]

net ? hmm theres a thought sounds like a way to keep my feet dry a the least of course it just sounds more manly to say you jumped in and grabed it by hand!!
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[DanielJRioux]

A great story! To bad it got away from you, but the good news is it is there to fight you anouther day! This time with the bigger net though!
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