[Rob Brownfield]

I shall let the angler tell you when he gets home It;s a cracker of a fish and well deserved!

[Euan Innes]

I heard that too. Can't wait for the photos. 

 

[Eddie Sinclair]

I even heard about it in Dubai, cracking fish and well deserved he has put in a lot of hours this season. I think he was still shaking when he sent me the text, I am not surprised.

Eddie.

[Hamish Young]

Funnily enough........

[Iain Cameron]

Perhaps not so well deserved, and not even really caught... a carefully worded text did say that I'd *released* a 5 & 1/4lber... which is true:



and safely returned it was:



... but the camera only tells part of the story. I've been trouting all week, with a few nice fish for myself and fishing chums thanks to the Don.

Today, i revisited some old haunts. Afternoon saw me idling as the sun burned the last clouds away. Ah, well, probably time to go... but let's have a half-hearted pop at that wee fish that just rose, obligingly, right in front of me.

Took a minute or two to sneak into position in a very clear, very smooth piece of water. 2nd cast, the little guy grabbed my fly. Nice... then a huge shape rose up and grabbed the poor little fella right across his back. Uh oh.

So you hear stories of the big fish that grabbed the wee fish that had grabbed the wee fly, but no one ever lands them, right? Extraordinary - the big fish meandered away with his lunch, seemingly unaware of me splashing after him, and mostly not caring that I was pulling his head sideways. He just kited straight back to his tree rooted lair. I followed him, conscious of 3lb tippet, and got him right under the rod tip where he just ignored me.

Err... little fish still clamped in his jaws, I'm bricking myself that the big guy lets go and gets away. I tickle him under the tree roots (wet elbow) to get him out, getting my rod tip caught in the tree. I'm right on the far bank at this point too, having spluttered right across. Dunno know how I didn't get a bath. Big guy finally budges, moves out from the bank, just enough to let me scoop him up. Obviously I miss him.He sidles out into the river again, ahhhhh, but a little pressure and a wee move downstream lets me net him.

I wade back to the starting bank to find that I've got both fish in the net. The wee guy isn't hooked anymore, just had a bit of nylon round him. The poor wee flee has somehow got stuck into the big fishes outer jaw, and he also has nylon round his jaw. Madness. Pop the little fella free, get some random passerby to take pics.

Weighed in at 5 & a quarter. The biggest river trout I've ever netted & released. I cannot honestly say that I caught him ... but a pretty extraordinary episode, and great seeing such a big trout in action. Water was so clear; can still see him slipping away with that little fish's white belly upwards.

[Hamish Young]

Awesome 

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff

Cheers
Mike

[Jim Eddie]

Great stuff Iain, well done mate  :win
 

Jim

[Euan Innes]

Well isn't that a great example of putting in the hours on the river and getting a great result?
Top job Iain, great pix. See you Sunday.

 

[Iain Cameron]

Still doesn't count as a capture, as it didn't actually take my fly.  But was pretty effing exciting - i was stunned for ages after - and while I might hopefully catch a 5lber some other day, it's very, very unlikely that I'll ever land the fish that grabbed the wee fish ever again. So that was kinda cool

[Eddie Sinclair]

Iain,

outstanding story as discussed on the phone.

remember Euan and yourself need to take lots of photos fishless or not on Sunday to keep me in touch with home while I am in the giant sandpit until next summer when we can hit Durness and Uist on my holidays.

Well done,

off to bed now.

Eddie.  

[Colin Sunley]

Wow great stuff

[Sandy Nelson]

Beautiful fish Iain

I'd class that as Karma for all those you do fool but don't make it to the net

 

Sandy

[Iain Cameron]

I'd class that as Karma for all those you do fool but don't make it to the net

Aye! I did lose two good uns this week, one popped me on the take, and another I just pricked. Och, I just wished I'd taken a pic of both fish in the net at once, adrenaline or something had taken over and I wasn't thinking.

[Marc Fauvet]

"The poor wee flee has somehow got stuck into the big fishes outer jaw,"

well, that counts as a proper catch to me. a very strange one but proper nevertheless. nothing like having snagged the back or a fin etc...
3 or 4 years ago i had somewhat similar situation happen. i was about to land a trout when another charged the first one's fly, took it and hooked itself in the corner of the mouth.
one of the coolest catches i've ever had and one that'll remain in memory probably a lot longer than most. btw, the hook was factory barbless which leads me to sort-of understand how the transfer was possible. no-one ever believes this story because it sounds so farfetched but like we say here, "f-em"   

anyhow, that must have felt damn good on what, a 4wt ?  congrats !
cheers,
marc