There are many for memorable ones for sure. First one still stands out. I was new to fly fishing and had never caught a bull trout before or even really knew where they reside. I know I had just read an article on the AthB in Jasper and the author talked about a 10 lb ish bull trout attacking the rocky white on his line. I thought “that would be something…”. Other than that though, just not on my radar yet. I just wanted to catch anything on the fly rod.
Same year I read that article, I was fishing the McLeod River in fall in a nice pool. I hooked around a 10 inch rocky white. Nice little fight on the 5 wt. Then I saw a huge shape rise up and start chasing the white on the line. I really had no idea what exactly it was at the time…I was thinking maybe a big brown but couldn’t tell. I was making a lot of noise to my fishing buddy who was probably thinking…whatever….another “SNAP jumbo…”. I see the big trout take another run and it connects with the RMW. The RMW flies off my hook and through the air for about 8 feet and about 3 feet in the air – that was a solid attack! At first I’m a bit ****ed about losing the white but then I feel the weight of the big trout. I only had a 5 wt and this trout stayed in the current and gave me a fight for about 10 minutes. Had my buddy finally net this trout and we finally realized it was a bull trout, and my first. Not a monster but a very solid 5 lber and over 20 inches for sure. It was hooked in the cheek too so it must of tried to grab the RMH but ended up hooking itself. The small dry fly I had was turned out at a ninety degree angle…
To this date, still one of the most memorable fish I’ve caught.
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