Lost a nice one....again

But it was a 3 species day on the Guadalupe.

Why is it that we always lose the nice fish? This wasn't a monster but likely the largest I've caught this trip. It was hooked on my 4 wt. and I was getting concerned about the health of the fish after fighting it for 10 minutes or so. I started horsing it in but it kept running whenever it saw the net. Eventually the line parted. Not a big deal but I'd like to have gotten a picture.

But I did get a picture of this monster...a spottail shiner ( I think) that fell to a #20 brassie. This fish was caught on a drift the very next cast and the very same current break holding the broken off  rainbow. And they are listed as prey of the rainbow trout. Go figure!

It was almost dark when I got home but the new 2 wt, a Redington CT with a 2/3 Drift reel, called from rod storage. I quickly dropped off the 4 and 5 wt and picked up my latest pride and joy. I paddled to a rapid 100 yards from home and dropped a #16 pheasant tail into some surface activity at the tail of the pool. Bang...I was into a fish; albeit a tiny one. Specie number 3 for the day...a bluegill (I think). I have since been corrected and told this is actually a redbreast sunfish.

BTW, that Redington casts like a dream...I easily put out about 60 feet of line with accuracy; using my fairly loose standards of course.