Something electric happens when we hook into the fish of the day, the fish of the season or maybe the fish of a lifetime. Our hearts beat faster. The adrenaline pumps because the stakes are raised. This is the fish we’ve been waiting for, and we don’t want to lose the opportunity.

And that feeling never fades. Across fishing styles and over the centuries, fishermen are captivated by these big-fish moments. And though the feeling never grows old, our ability to control our response and control the fish using the right moves with the rod, the reel and the line improves. With each loss, we learn the hard way. With each story about the one that got away, we replay our mistakes and plan to avoid the same errors next time.

And as we wait, as we hunt for the next big trout, we practice these moves on the average trout. We form good habits for line recovery, for slack management, side pressure, optimal fighting angles and the all-important closing moves of the last ten feet.

So, as much as we focus on the intricacies of fly selection, casting technique and drift speed, often, what we remember most is the moment when the biggest trout we’ve ever seen makes it to our net. It’s that conclusion — that happy ending that provides the capstone to so much of our journey.

Fighting bigger fish is an equal-parts mix of preparation, instinct and luck. And at least a third of that formula, we’re in control of.

In this episode, I’m joined by my fishing friends, Trevor Smith, Bill Dell, Austin Dando, Josh Darling and Matt Grobe.

We Cover the Following

The largest trout we've ever lost
Forming good habits with smaller trout
Fighting fish upstream
Working with a trout and not against it
Where in the water column to fight a trout
Knowing the strength of your tools
Side pressure
Closing the distance, and the last ten feet

Resources

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