In desperation, I almost went in after it, and would have except for the thought of being hung by my pontoon's stripping apron. The fish ran off at warp speed, dragging my rod away from me as it sank. The fish, a dink rainbow, jumped a couple times as he fled, showing off my line as he ran with his prize! I get only one good hit all day and it had to be at that very moment.This all happened so quick that I was absolutely stunned! I should have gotten all kinds of mad but couldn't, especially in the presence of Father Dave, my fishing partner. It's a decent combo, nothing special, just a simple Cortland Endurance 9' 6-weight with a Okuma Integrity 5/6 reel and Rio type VI sink line. But believe me, I did not go there to lose one of my rods! I'd helped a guy recover his rod on Coffeepot several years ago. The exact same thing had happened to him. In that venture we dredged the bottom with our anchors and were successful. However that water was only 8' feet vs. 25' today!
After collecting myself for a few minutes, I disconnected my anchor line from the mount and told Dave of my plans. He offered to help but I asked him to stay put and keep fishing.....he was anchored just 25-30' away and I needed a fixed reference point. I dropped the anchor between my fins, to the bottom, and began kick finning away while lifting and dropping the anchor every couple feet. I worked perpendicular, of course, to the last rod sighting. Easier said than done at that depth, trust me! My first pass yielded nothing. On my second pass, a fish began jumping wildly just 15' feet to my right....undoubtedly the thief! I quickly retrieved my anchor but missed him. The third pass was fruitless as well. On the fourth pass, I got the thief again, and this time he ran away from the anchor and boat, keeping the line from sliding off my mushroom anchor. Victory!
I pulled my anchor up, line and all, and released that little 12" thieving rainbow. He'd evidently swatted at that fly, managing to foul hook himself in a pectoral fin, which explained why he was able to run the way he did. This greatly aided the recovery effort though, for despite the barbless hook, he remained buttoned up. And I was able to leave with all that I'd arrived with.Hold on to em, fellas, and keep em secure....they're learning how to fight back!!!
