THE BIG FARMINGTON BATTLE

[harlequin]

Lost the biggest fish I've ever hooked this evening on the Farmington. I decided to head out tonight and see if I could get one on, even though the rain was coming down fairly well. At around 7pm I connected with one on an Isonychia pattern. After about 15min I was into my backing and this fish was still rippin' out line. I had to chase him downstream 3 different times! I know the river was running faster, which had somewhat to do with it. I battled with this fish, Literally, for over 2hrs! Back and forth we went.




After about an hour, things were looking better. I got out of my backing and he was slowly coming in closer. At about 25ft out he started thrashing and made another huge run. Back and forth we battled on. I was completely amazed on the sheer strength and stamina this fish had! Has anyone here ever gone over 2hrs battling a fish on Farmington? I was thinking this was crazy! I mean come on, after all the back and forth playing! It was pitch black dark at about that time and I couldn't see much. At that point I decided to put more pressure on and turned the drag up a few clicks. He still, was fighting like he had another 2hrs in him! I was thinking I was going to be here all night, he just wasn't showing any signs of fatigue. Back and forth we went on. Finally at around 9:30pm, he snapped my tippet and I lost him. Crazy, man was I ripped! I figure he was around 25-30". I ended up about 200 yards downstream from where I initially hooked him. This is going to be the battle to remember!

Anyone out there battle a fish over 2hrs?

[alanb_ct]

No. In fact, I don't really see how that's possible.

Three questions:
(1) What tippet did you have on?
(2) Was the fish fair-hooked?
(3) Did you foul hook a beaver?

Thanks for taking the time to photograph your rod and reel during the fight.

[harlequin]

Sounds crazy doesn't it. I just woke up and I'm still shook up about the whole thing. I was using Seaguar's Grand Max FX 6X, which is why I couldn't land him as fast. The fish was definately fair hooked and I don't think they're any flying beavers in the Farmington . He jumped quite a few times completely out of the water and thrashed a lot at the surface. I got a few good looks at him when I got him in close, he was big. I really don't get it, how could a fish fight that hard for so long. Yea I snapped a few picks of the fight, but no megahappyending. I'll be looking back at those pictures for a long time. Anyways, I'm off fishing again.

[Flyfisher]

nice story. I am curious why would you use 6X with a larger bug like an Iso?

[TexasChris]

It was a carp.

[dylanmjones23]

Sturgeon? They like to jump.

I know a 10 minute battle can feel like an eternity....

[Walshmiko]

I would have given up after the first hour. Supprised To hear your rod made it after having two hours worth a stress on it.. Two hour fight, my lord.. I would have needed a snack and a coffee half way through

[Dave]

I was shocked to read this report, but very suspicious about every single part of it. I don't mean to invite a web argument, nor start one. I don't mean to offend anyone either, but this sounds so absurd.

I find it absolutely impossible to believe that a trout, any trout could last for 2 hours of battle in this season (actually, in any season). I've had friends land bluefin tuna that weigh up to 200 lbs. in 1.5 hours. Also have a good friend routinely land 20+ lb. steelhead in a mere fraction of that time (I'm talking 15 minutes).

As humans, our temporal assessment is sympathetic to our emotions. I've often been in situations where a fight will seem like 15 minutes, when in actuality it is about 6 minutes.

On this site, Aaron, Alain, Torrey, Kierran, Mike, and I'm sure a large HANDFUL of others have landed 23-28'' trout in the Farmington this season on light tippets. I've been witness to only a few of these catches, but they happen in a matter of minutes, NOT a matter of hours.

I just spent exactly two hours working on something at my desk. To imagine that time increment fighting a stream trout seems absolutely unreasonable and quite absurd to me. However, so many on this site fish way more than I do, so perhaps this sort of thing happens more than I think. I don't think a trout could battle that long. Let's put things into perspective here. The world record brown trout, caught by Rip Collins out of the Little Red River took less than 1.5 hours to land on 4 lb. test. This fish was 40 lbs, 4 ounces.

[SirJohnny]

Hi there:

- Just wondering if you didn't hook into a huge carp or catfish. I know you said you saw "something" jump out of the water.

- I doubt a trout could hold up for 2 hours. Heck, even the 40lb King Salmon we catch in Pulaski, NY quit after 15-20 minutes. That's with a 9 wt and 8lb test.

- My first time up there I tried to nail one with a 5 weight trout rod and 2x tippet. That lasted all of 5 seconds. Rod smashed into the water and fortunately the 2x snapped. Damn glad not to have broken the rod.

- I've landed 30 inch stripers on the upper Delaware (Hancock), a few times on 6 weight. The fight only lasts a few minutes (10 min at the most).

- I've caught three mallard ducks so far on 5x tippet. They like to hit the strike indicator and get the line tangled around their feet. All three were brought in under 10 minutes. All ducks released unharmed. No, I didn't pluck any feathers out.

-Like the other posters mentioned. I think you hooked into either a monster carp or catfish.

John Coxey
(jpcoxey@yahoo.com)

[harlequin]

It wasn't a carp, sturgeon, catfish, beaver, water buffalo or a sea lamprey . We've all seen trout do their acrobatics out of water. It was probably a brown, judging by the gold coloration underwater when I got him in close (25-30ft). He truly was a Large Trout. Here's the gear I was using at the time:

Grey's Streamflex 4wt 9ft
Grey's GTEC 310 Reel
RIO Selective Trout2 WF4WT Line
Scientific Angler 20lb Orange Backing
RIO Flourocarbon Leader 5X
Seaguar's Grand Max FX 6X Tippet

There were other factors that I've been thinking about that probably contributed to the long battle. The Farmington was high and fast that evening, I had my drag wide open to start (because of the light 6x tippet and fear of a snap off), and MAYBE the fish was truly hooked wrong. It felt like a mouth hook to me and when he thrashed and jumped it looked and felt like a normal hookset. I'm just trying to figure this whole thing out on how this fish lasted so long. Honestly, the time table was fairly accurate (2-2.5hrs). Try to keep an open mind DAVETHERAVE before you jump to your own conclusions without assessing all the data first. Freak occurances sometimes happen, now I would like to just understand how and why it happened the way that it did. All questions and constructive criticism is welcome.

Zach