Skipjack Joe - 12-4-2011 at 09:02 AM
I know someone who will enjoy this.
shari - 12-4-2011 at 09:08 AM
judy garland?
Paulina - 12-4-2011 at 01:34 PM
That is one beautiful fish!
P>*)))>{
Ken Bondy - 12-4-2011 at 01:41 PM
Dazzling Igor!!! Magnificent, beautiful fish. Bravo!!!
watizname - 12-4-2011 at 04:24 PM
Very nice fish. Always a thrill on the light line. Congrats.
woody with a view - 12-4-2011 at 04:26 PM
pot o gold!
stimbo - 12-4-2011 at 05:00 PM
Very nice Igor! Very nice. Great fighters and they photograph well. Thanks for sharing. Jim
tripledigitken - 12-4-2011 at 05:30 PM
The only thing I can add to what's been said is................
butter, wine, and lemon
Skipjack Joe - 12-4-2011 at 09:17 PM
That was on the Brooks River just above the falls, Ken.
There is some deeper slow water on the right bank and then the river sweeps sharp left into some fast water. There were a couple of large ones holding
in the riffle above the bank that could hardly be seen. He took it and ran down stream with me in pursuit. He raced downriver to the left, around the
bend. I had to ford the river as the line screamed off the reel. I couldn't feel my legs beneath me as I scrambled over the submerged rocks. Not
knowing if the wading shoes would hold on the slippery rocks or how deep the water was that I stepped into. The only thing that mattered was that he
had to be pursued at all cost. I came up on the far bank and felt the rod still vibrating. The rest was straightforward.
Alex took the picture. A couple of days later he hooked another one in the same spot and ran down river as well. Unfortunately it became 'unbuttoned'.
I was lucky. It's not common to have a rainbow take out that much line on a 4X tippett and not break you off.
The fish was, of course, released. It's the law. Only grizzlies get to eat. And they like salmon.
DianaT - 12-4-2011 at 09:43 PM
Beautiful picture and VERY nice fish. Trout fishing is the only fishing I really enjoy.
Natalie Ann - 12-5-2011 at 09:39 AM
That truly is one beautiful rainbow, Igor.
The spot on the river where you hooked him and Alex hooked another...
end of the Yellow Brick Road?
nena
stimbo - 12-5-2011 at 09:51 AM
Igor -- Great story to go along with the photograph. We want to see more! Please, please. Jim
Skipjack Joe - 12-5-2011 at 12:37 PM
"Judy Garland" is actually baitcast.
He hasn't posted recently. Is he OK?
wessongroup - 12-5-2011 at 12:41 PM
Nice "lunker" ... 
Skipjack Joe - 12-5-2011 at 01:24 PM
Diagram shot with cell phone (no, this isn't your large intestine).
The arrow at bottom shows flow of current. The red shows path of angler. The blue shows parth of fish. Fish runs to deep water by large boulders.
Angler runs to shallow bar.
That's Ken Bondy photographing bears by the falls at top of diagram. 
[Edited on 12-5-2011 by Skipjack Joe]
cabo3100 - 12-8-2011 at 08:39 AM
That's what life is about
Roberto - 12-8-2011 at 08:28 PM
Released? Or dinner? Beautiful fish.
Only real trout fishing I've done is in New York state, before moving to California. The area I lived had dozens of streams and lakes. I'd spend
entire days wandering the streams looking for fish and spots.
Skipjack Joe - 12-9-2011 at 01:50 PM
Sounds great Roberto.
Were you at the Catskill Mountains or the Ardirondacks?
I spent one year up in New Hampshire and really liked their forests. So very different than what we see here in the west coast. I can understand you
perfectly about wandering about and exploring over there.
I was just thinking how rarely we get films shot over there. There is a scene in "The Last of the Mohicans" that really captures the magic. Hawkeye
and amigos are running on the granite banks of a cascading stream. Shot through the foliage. Photographed with a great love for the land. But I can't
find it in you-tube. My son tells me it was shot in the Ardirondacks.