A Big Fat Fatty - Rainbow on the Weber River

It was a slow day of fishing on the Weber last spring. I was fishing with Paul, who had introduced me to the Weber River Fishing. I had caught a few white fish and still had hopes for a big trout. By now, I was quite a ways upstream, a good 20 minute walk if I hustled and didn’t fish. I had fished the deep portion of a hole without any luck. Anyone who knows me knows I am quite persistent when it comes to fishing. It was getting late in the day and just about time to meet Paul back at the truck for dinner. Of course, I had to do a few more casts. I was fishing a small WD-40 size 20. I fished my way to the shallow downstream end of the pool. Not having any luck in the deep portion I didn’t really have much hope for the shallow portion. Right after mending my line so that the thingamabobber would float drag free, and subsequently the nymph, I had a solid strike. The fish immediately jumped and I knew it wasn’t a white fish. After another jump I could tell it was a good sized rainbow.

A couple of weeks previously in the deeper section of this same hole, I had hooked a good sized brown of about 18 to 20 inches who broke my line after swimming between my legs and heading downstream. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. But I also hadn’t brought a net this time either.

I played this rainbow carefully but wasn’t able to land it on the rock island in the middle of the river and the bank was too steep to land it there. I had no choice but to follow it downstream. I managed to work it into the deep part of a narrow chute of water leading to the next run so it wouldn’t get tangled in the brush hanging down into the river. This section had a bank that wasn’t so high where I hoped I could land it. I brought it next to the grass covered bank. By now the rainbow was getting tired. It was still a good foot deep here with little current so I was able to hold it still with the tight line and with one hand cupped under it, coax it up onto the grassy bank. What a big fat fatty and a gorgeous fish! It had bright pink cheeks, a pink stripe down the side dividing the back with dark green and lots of black spots from the lower half with bright silver and few spots. The fish was shaped like a football. It had a large head indicating its age. With the bright green grass as a backdrop it looked like a scene from a calendar. I put him back into the calm water next to the bank and let it rest a bit. After a moment it swam off and it was my turn to sit a minute on the grassy bank and catch my breath.