Battle Of The Bulge

I made my way to fish the Wye after work yesterday on my last visit for a while as I've only a Peacock olive membership and I had some serious pampering to carry out before informing the wife of that, so mayfly membership might of been a bridge too far. There was the odd Mayfly putting in an appearance lastnight like the well behaved beauty in the picture below.

The sedge was always gonna be the way to go lastnight with only the odd spinner here and there on the menu. The fish were obliging as always and I managed a few fine fish around sheepwash area before moving into a quiet town centre in search of the big lads.

After catching some fine rainbows I decided to target the biggest fish I could see with absolutely no success at all, in fact they did everything but laugh out loud really. I did manage a 6lb rainbow and the kind old man who volunteered to take a couple of pics sold me a dud, there were no pictures when I checked the camera - bummer.

Before to long my big sedge was walloped by the biggest splash imaginable and my line zipped downstream like grease lightening. Jesus! I knew this was a biggy and hoped to God my Old Majestick could withstand the beating it was getting. After what seemed an eternity I sensed I was slowly coming into this battle and after humpteen runs all over the place my set up had been totally tested beyond belief so my prolonged knightmare switched to concerns of the hook hold, will it ping out all of a sudden, especially with all heavy head shaking and jumping taking place.  After the ultimate fight, Old Majestick guided the giant below into my specimen landing net which all of a sudden appeared very small, in fact I struggled to keep the fish in the net it was just so huge. I did weight the fish for personel record which I'll keep secret for now, unless you see me on the riverbank. Yet again another kindly old man clambered over a wall to succesfully take a few pictures this time.  I looked down in disbelief not unlike the first loving inspection at my childrens birth, full of pride while cradling it safely in my arms.

The picture below tells a story in itself where I looked like I'd done a few rounds with Mike Tyson and believe me it wasn't far off the equivelant. Looking down on the little cane I caught this fish on, also adds some weight to the battle that had taken place.

I took all the time in the world ensuring this fish was going back in fine condition, after the fight it had given me, out of respect, I'd have stood in that river all night to wave him off safely, in fact I filled both wellies but who gives a tihs when your holding the biggest fish your ever likely to catch. After a few minutes recovering, it kicked away for another day and the Battle Of The Bulge had been won.  After sitting on a wall absorbing the experience, talking to a few bystanders, I decided to call it a day and drove home while laughing to myself as I kept thinking about that old lady watching my epic battle shouting "Oh my God" as it surfaced near my net - I know what she meant as my heart came out of my mouth (50 times) and at last I caught a fish that still looks big in my hands.