hopeful

I headed up to Waukegan harbor early Saturday morning to check out if anything was happening. It was happening. There were lines of fishermen along the pier, and I spotted a few fish cruising along. I took out my 9wt fly rod, and in the first cast hooked a steelhead. It was unexpected and I wasn’t prepared for the fight. I stumbled to set the drag, and it started to take the line out. I was standing on rocks on the top row, so I needed to climb down, plus I didn’t have a net with me. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to land this one, but I was going to fight it as long as I could. I was able to see the fish come up a few times, and that was good enough. Here’s what I learned about fishing these big fish: the fish set to hook on its own, have a net with a long neck handy, have a hook that’s sturdy enough, and let the fish run (and don’t grab the reel). After about 5min or so, the hook came off, almost bent flat. I only stayed an hour or so, but left full of hope for the next time I’ll be out here. As I walked back to the car, I saw a dead fish floating around. I thought about the fish that was at the end of line, and how I will meet its kind soon enough. See you soon fish.