Lost my biggest fish to date...

bwag · Veteran Member

Lost my biggest fish to date...

AfricanAngler · Senior Member

Those big ones sure do get the blood flowing. As to trying to horse it in most probably not a bad thing actually?? Fighting big fish for a very long time until they are completely exhausted can lead to higher mortalitly after release and especially now when they are getting ready to spawn it is most probably not a bad thing that it got away a little earlier than planned!! ...at least you got to get a good look at it!! In time you get the nack of fight and landing bigger fish and getting them to hand more quickly

As an asside i fished the creek for 3 years and only ever managed 2 fish in the 20's to hand....the first fish I ever caught and at the moment the last!!!

Keep at it and in time you will get a few big ones to hand !!

bwag · Veteran Member

I was concerned about that as I started to see it was clearly tired, and can't say that was the first reason I grabbed my leader, but I did want to get it off the hook as well. Thanks for the good information which my old man also mentioned as I called him while driving home.

I was using 6x and decided today I'd go with 5x in hopes of being able to get the fish in a little quicker (should I be so lucky to catch another big one).

-- Edited by bwag on Tuesday 22nd of November 2011 04:23:27 AM

AfricanAngler · Senior Member

It just takes time the big ones will come and as long as you enjoy being on the water it doesn't really matter. I would give my left arm just to be able to fish Putah but alas I am on the other end of the world and it is not possible, however, when I have finished sqaushing these grapes in Spain the trout in SA better beware ..... I am on my way!!

Anyway enjoy the creek and I hope you get a big guy soon.

Cheers

AA

Berryessie · Senior Member

I am proud to have taken that picture of one of those fish Alastair

bwag · Veteran Member

Being on the water is great, fish on the line or not! Squash them grapes man, then get after those Trout!

AfricanAngler wrote:

It just takes time the big ones will come and as long as you enjoy being on the water it doesn't really matter. I would give my left arm just to be able to fish Putah but alas I am on the other end of the world and it is not possible, however, when I have finished sqaushing these grapes in Spain the trout in SA better beware ..... I am on my way!!
Anyway enjoy the creek and I hope you get a big guy soon.
Cheers
AA

bwag · Veteran Member

Spent about four hours this morning. Hit it right at sunrise. Put the same fly on I was using last night, and wham, another big fish, about 18", swam fast straight across stream and tied me up in a snag and that was the end of that! That ten seconds felt great though! Hooked four other fish, but landed none of them.

I've been using 6x fluorocarbon and went and picked up some 5x for next week!

Another great day!

Ty · Senior Member

I think 5x is perfect for Putah. I get just as many hookups, but the other day I was a little anxious and tied on some 6x (because I found it sooner in my pack) and hooked up a rocket that broke me off it like it wasn't even there.

iamamultitasker · Senior Member

Let the debate proceed!

I am partial to 5x fluoro myself, however, if the current drops below 100cfs I typically switch to 6x because I think the fish get paranoid with the low water. Last week I landed a colossal 25"+ fish on the 6x (4wt rod) and relatively quickly so I think if you use fluoro and tie good knots, you are in pretty good shape.

BTW, the fish got the last laugh. I lost my waterproof cam in Baja so I brought my phone just in case I struck gold. Well, I did catch a whopper, got a few pics, but just as I was ready to take the full body shot, he splashed me with his tail, leaped out of my hands and soaked my phone. I am happy to say that after a week of drying the phone is back on line.

bwag · Veteran Member

Nice Fish! I switched over to some 5x fluorocarbon today and hooked one about 18" but it went straight to the bottom and hung me up on a snag. Seems as though the bigger fish have moved away from the hole I was fishing, not all of them but I sure didn't see many today, nothing even rising out of the water. I'll probably switch back to 6x if the flows continue to stay where they are at.

iamamultitasker · Senior Member

Someone who is a much better fisherman than me once said that he had lost more big fish at Putah than any other creek/river. That's saying a lot since this guy has fished more water than most people.

I'm off to the creek this am for the last day at PC for the year. Hope you guys left a few for me!

shon42073 · Senior Member

I assume most here use fast action rods ? The lighter tippets holdup much better with softer action rods. The flexible rod protects the tippet. I use 5x mono almost always no matter where I am.

Bob Loblaw · Senior Member

I lost a monster today upstream from access 3 in the rocks. I saw him approach the fly and couldn't believe it was a fish... Looked like a submarine. Had it on for about a minute and it just rolled a few times and flashed his belly and was gone and I had a face full of line. It was at least 28 inches. I still cant believe that little creek holds fish like that. As I was working on the resulting birdsnest I hear all sorts of splashing behind me and another big fish is running up a small channel between 2 rocks.

Fun afternoon.

SK60 · Senior Member

These fish are the originators of "rocks" and "roll"

Matt R · Senior Member

Bob, typically big fish dont do alot of splashing or running around in small channels. There's a good chance the fish you saw is in spawning mode and may have been chasing smaller fish away. Usually big fish hide, just not this time of the year.