That moment when you release a fish is pretty special.
You convince him it eat, fight him quickly, take the hook out in a careful manner and then gently hold him underwater as he catches his breath. His world just got rocked, it takes a moment or two to figure things out. Then you loosen your light grip just enough to allow him to slip out of your fingers and away into the depths once again. There is a split second before the trout realizes he’s free to go, then the light bulb turns on and he’s out of there. You see a swish of his tail, a flash of color rapidly receding into the dark water and he’s gone. Until next time anyway.
Being able to touch and connect with something wild and free draws a lot of people to fly fishing. Personally, putting that wild and free thing back where it belongs draws me in even more.
Top photo by Ken Stock.
