The result for me was an experience of changed perspective on fly fishing and also, like most things outdoors, little things along the way that will endure in my memory.
In all, counting the accidental snagging of a paddlefish that technically didn’t count, I reeled in 19 species on a fly rod this summer. I landed largemouth, smallmouth and Kentucky-spotted bass; white, hybrid and striped bass; longear, redear, bluegill and green sunfish; white and black crappie (although the contest officially just lists “crappie”); channel and blue catfish; buffalo, redspot chub, freshwater drum and, of course, rainbow trout.
Other “wild card” fish listed in the challenge included gar, common carp, warmouth, brown trout and flathead catfish. I think every one of those fish species ended up being caught by at least one of the anglers.
I didn’t land a big-fish prize, but I did land some nice fish. The 11-inch Neosho smallmouth caught on my 3-weight fly rod on Spring Creek may sound small, but for a native Neosho in that spot, it was a real trophy.
A 15.25-inch rainbow trout that slurped a hopper off the surface at a private stream at sunset fought like a much larger fish and had me whooping. An 18.5-inch largemouth that inhaled a popper in no more than 12 inches of water on one sultry summer sunrise was a genuine heart-stopper.
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