If you haven’t seen the show, it follows fish biologist Zeb Hogan around the globe in an attempt to study and conserve what he calls “mega fish” – behemoths that measure 6 feet or more. Pretty good stuff if you ask this fishing fanatic.
I’ve only caught one “mega fish” in my life, landing what was nearly a 6-foot leopard shark on a solo kayaking trip off the coast of Central California.
I’ve also been lucky enough to catch a 10-plus pound largemouth bass (Lopez Lake, Calif.), but neither one of those fish – I must admit – was caught on a fly.
Catching mega fish on fly is a different story, and Hogan's show proves that much as most of the fishing is done with bait and lures. Although Hogan, to his credit, does fly fish for giant taimen in Mongolia on an upcoming episode.
I had to think awhile when it came my lunkers landed on a fly rod – mainly because I turn off the “competitive, record-breaking” switch while fly fishing and try to enjoy myself (and the push and pull of each cast) while I’m on the stream. I also rarely fly fish anything other than small creeks and backcountry lakes, so “monster fish” are hard to come by.
And when you enjoy something as much as I enjoy the act of fly fishing, you tend to forget things like tape measures and digital scales, and only worry about stuff like matching hatches and fixing leaks in waders.
So I honestly couldn’t tell you the exact stats of any of the whoppers I’ve landed. But luckily I keep my trusty, beat-up digital camera tucked away in the pocket of my waders and always seem to have just enough battery juice to capture at least one lousy pick of “the big one.”
And as far as the largest fish I’ve landed on a fly, I guess that would have to be that surprising striped bass I landed a few years ago at Nacimiento River – one of the many California fisheries that is now closed to trout plants/fishing because of non-native species like that striper.
So there goes another monster opportunity I guess. Oh well, I’ll just leave those “mega fish” for Zeb.
