The best fish of every trip is always the one that gets away. The same could be said of my most recent time on the Taylor River. It was day five of the trip, our final day on the water. My son and I were at the head of the catch and release section, just several hundred feet below the dam. We had been fishing an area called avalanche hole, a place where a recent slide had brought several trees down into the river. Now to a trout this kind of structure is a habitat made in heaven, but to a fly fisherman it’s nothing less than a nightmare. You might as well just throw your fly box into the river and call it a day.

As my son and I approached the last run in the hole I climbed atop one of the submerged trees and began scanning the river. It was then I spotted him. In a small pocket of slow moving water just below me was the most amazing rainbow trout I had ever seen in the wild. If I were to estimate I would say this fish was somewhere in the 3o plus inch range with the girth of a football. This was a trophy trout for sure, and though only a rod’s distance away, he was completely undisturbed by my presence. Immediately I called out to my son to come join me and for several minutes we just watched in amazement as this beautiful creature moved effortlessly beneath the rippling current. I knew the chance of hooking this fish was slim to none, considering his position behind the tree. And even if we did get him to take, I knew landing this beast in the fast current would be even more difficult. Nonetheless, we decided to give it a try.

I made the first couple of drifts but lost my entire setup when I snagged the root of the tree. My son tried several casts as well and had a similar result. I quickly began re-tying my rig only this time I tied on just one bug, a Zebra Midge size 20. By using only one fly I could assure a more realistic presentation and lessen the chance of another snag. As I returned my attention to the river I noticed our fish had moved out of his hiding place and was now holding in the open water. He had unknowingly put himself in the perfect position for me to bump a fly off his nose. I put another couple of casts his way and with my second offering he took. After a quick hook set he instantly came shooting up out of the water and just as quickly upstream and into the fast current. I yelled for my son to grab his net while I held onto my fly rod for dear life. I could feel the weight of the fish and the pressure of the current bearing down on my line as he took my rig further and further out into the river. It was now a battle between leader and fish. I held my ground as long as I possibly could, hoping this giant trout would show me some mercy, but like most big fish, he was relentless. With one last surge he ran me up against a rock and cut my leader in two. The fight was over and my dream fish was gone.

I reeled in my line and my son and I had a good laugh. I knew I had been beaten, but not just by any fish. I had tussled with the king of the river. I left him with a hook in the jaw, he left me with a very frayed leader, and of course, a fish story of a lifetime.