Henry’s Fork Rainbow
Date: June 2013
Length: 26 inches plus
Rod: Scott S4 904/4
Reel: Hatch Monsoon 4 Plus
Line: Airflo Elite DT4
Leader: TroutHunter 14′ (extended to 18′)
Tippet: TroutHunter Fluorocarbon 6X
Fly: CDC PhD Emerger size 16
In water you would recognize, this magnificent hen rose to a size 16 PMD Emerger fished on a 6X tippet.
Surviving three spectacular leaps and a sizzling run into the backing was just the beginning of the most profoundly intense trout battle I have ever experienced. With weight perhaps three or four times the tippet’s breaking strength, the massive rainbow employed every advantage of current, depth, and dense aquatic weed in a forceful freedom effort that, remarkably fell short of succeeding.
The ten minute fight was a test of every component of mind and tackle where any weakness or mistake would have resulted in just another story of the big one that got away.
When laid alongside the rod, this fish of a lifetime stretched more than six inches beyond the twenty inch mark. And there were no marks to indicate she had ever been hooked before.
As associates, (and friends) responsible for the perfectly functioning gear that made this amazing experience possible, you were each a part of this unlikely victory over the largest rainbow I have ever landed on the Henry’s Fork.
Thank you,
René Harrop
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