Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Fish All Day, Make Up Lies

When I was a kid, I remember fishing at the ranch where everyone lined the banks and we'd be reeling them in every cast. The next few years, we'd hear stories of elusive monsters swimming in the depths of the Green. It seemed that when someone would catch one of these no one would be around to witness it. It was as the legendary sign in the ranch bunk house says; fish all day, and make up lies. This year we decided to document any monsters we caught just to be able to prove them. There was something different in the water this year, it seemed to be going back to how I remembered it as a kid only now the fish were bigger. Each morning of a week spent at the ranch, I would smile as I tied on the lure of choice, a rapala, and think of the twenty inch plus rainbows and browns that wanted a piece of it. Nearly without fail, the first cast used to be your best chance, but this year it didn't matter. Every cast was as good as gold, hooking fish of every size. I experienced some of the funnest fights of my life with huge rainbows taking me down deep around logs and boulders, and heart stopping leaps out of the water by enormous browns. The fish I caught this year will stick in my memory forever, and the big ones I lost will be stuck in my nightmares. The best part about it, we got them all back in the water, and got pictures of most of them.