Is the biggest fish the best?

[jacko]

Was thinking about fish I've caught today which made me wonder.... I wouldn't rate my biggest fish the best I've ever caught, do you?

I've had a rainbow just under 8lb but the more memorable ones have been;
the 5lb overwintered raindow out of blagdon on a dry fly or the first stream caught wild brown, was only 8oz but I was crouched feet away from him and watched as he drifted back with his nose inches from the fly before deciding to take it - heaven.

What's your best?

[sandfly2]

Size does not really matter , I once had a 10lb rainbow which fought like a wet rag and 1/2 lb Brownies from a small stream which didn't know when to give in .

More importantly to me is the location and company , preferably a wild hill loch or river .






Davy .

[Braveheart]

I've had a few memorable fish (memorable to me anyway)

My first fish from my local reservoir, when I turned to my friend and said " you know, I've never had a fish out of here" and as Gods my witness as soon as I said "here" a beautiful 1 3/4lb Loch Leven Brownie came leaping out of the water with my Grouse and Claret firmly attached.
There are so many more I could mention, but that's probably the one that I remember most vividly

[FlyBri]

The best fish are wild, were caught somewhere memorable and you felt you earned them in someway.

[Russ]

The one which really sticks in my mind was a 3 pounder, caught at about this time of year, on a dry Hawthorn fly.

I was sitting in a tethered punt at the now-defunct Enton Fly Lakes in Surrey, having a rest. I saw the fish rise a few times and calculated where it would rise next. I released the fly from the hook-keeper on the rod, pulled off some line and the cast went out exactly as I had intended it to, about 12 yards. The leader turned the fly over perfectly, and it sat for about 5 seconds before being engulfed. When I got the fish in, it was fin-perfect and bright. Despite the fishery rules, I couldn't bring myself to take it, so I slipped it back into the water.

I think the reason I remember it was that the whole thing went exactly to plan, as though I was reading a 'how to catch a trout on a dry hawtorn' text in a book. My buddy had been watching me, and he got caught up in the moment too, praising the cast and the fish.

I wish I could have moments like that every time I go fishing, but then they wouldn't be special.

Russ

[richardw]

I might have found a "best" fish on "my" new fishery on the Derbyshire Wye.

There is an overhanging ash with branches coming right down to the water. A diagonal current causes an eddy under this. At the upriver end of the eddy (downstream end of the eddy) lives a 10 inch wild rainbow trout. It would be very easy to catch it but I have decided it is not for fishing for. It is for watching and marvelling at.

richard

[anderoo]

I do all sorts of fishing, and one of the appeals of flyfishing for me is that biggest is not best - unlike much of coarse fishing. My most memorable trout are those caught from wild rivers or lakes where they're not stocked - a couple of southern fast-flowing rivers where you can flyfish in the coarse close season and Ullswater, near where my parent live. Any catch from these is special.

What makes the difference for me is not the size of the fish but the amount of thinking and effort required to catch it.

[Cothi]

My best fish is the one I just know is going to take my fly every time I cast.

[LochinLoch]

My biggest trout has to be the best for me, A few years ago i was fishing a local burn in the pouring rain catching wild 8 and 9 inch trout, and having a great day. I came to the last pool before iwas planning to leave. I was fishing a Dry Daddy as a single fly when the trout of all trout came right over the top of the fly.......i nearly had kittens when i saw the size of it and struck it.......i broke it didn't i!!!

I rushed home telling everyone that would listen about this trout and that i was going to catch it! Two days later i took my partner and her nephews back because the water was just right again.

I set them up for a cast in a near by pool,while i went to the same pool at the same time of night and with a Dry Daddy for the biggy!! Low and behold it did come back and this time i did land him and he was around the 5lb mark, i did get some great photos, then slipped him back.

That was fun.

Colin

[jimdoyle1]

The next one!!! jim

[del]

the 1st fish at each new venue i visit

[skinhead]

At the time of capture, all my fish are my best fish. Therefore, my next fish will also hold that title. ;D

[trinitygask]

Biggest is not best as far as im concerened

below is a picture of a 167 lb skate caught off oban, it was like lifting a wheelie bin off the bottom of the ocean



The fish was safley returned

yet my best fish to date as far as im concerend is a 6lb salmon caught on a trout rod on a small river

it was the best because it was a memorable fight not because of its size

www.trinitygask.co.uk

[The Famous Grouse]

The biggest fish I've caught were not, as a rule, the best. For me it's the combination of the circumstances, scenery, and company.

I caught a 9.75 pound walleye pike (zander to you) that fought like a sack of wet oatmeal even though it was 4 pounds bigger than the next biggest walleye I've caught.

The biggest trout I've ever caught was a 16.5 inch wild brown. In January, while playing a game called "Dodge the Floating Icebergs" just to add to the excitement. Beautiful fish in a wonderful place.

Satisfaction doesn't have any relationship to the size of the fish, IMO. I've had good days of fishing with no fish caught.

Grouse

[Gordon]

The first...the one you remember all your life...the fish that ensures you'll always return to fishing.

Mine was a 6in brownie on a worm in a tiny Breconshire stream, about 40 years ago!

Gordon