High-sticking the rod, I struggled to keep up with the big rainbow as it sped toward the boat. The instant my line went slack, I saw the twitching jig fall from the fat trout’s mouth a foot beyond the net.
“How big was it?” I asked my buddy and noted guide, Austin Moser.
“Twelve pounds—at least,” he shrugged.
It was a rookie mistake, and I could feel it unfolding as it happened, but I figured my hookset was solid enough there was no way the big hook could slip out. It did.
Fortunately, Moser had already caught a 17-pound trout that was in the box. A week prior to
