Paulina July 11-13

Damn dude, that's a tank of a brownie! Glide baits rule  .

Congratulations!  Trophy for sure.

Awesome story and incredible fish - way to go! I can't even imagine what that must have felt like.

People who aren't using a fly rod should not be allowed to catch trout.  Any kind of trout; any size.

(Nice fish, C)

dude congrats! a double digit brown is a very real accomplishment!

I have fantasized about catching a brown even half that size for decades. For sure one of my all time best fish!

Hey, I use a fly rod......um, sometimes....

Hey, I use a fly rod......um, pretty much NEVER...

There, I fixed it.  You entering it into AOTY?

How about if you troll a glide bait from a fly rod......

Yes, has been submitted to AOTY. Pics aren't the best for measuring purposes. I have never had to measure a fish this size, that I intended to release. He was spunky, and I was doing my best to hurry, so the photography wasn't great. Really would  have liked a pic of me holding it, but just wasn't possible in that situation.

Tinker, admittedly, I don't  break out the fly gear often, and likely
will never be as fond of, or talented at it, as you. Even if I practiced
it with all the free time I have, the chances of me not only hooking, but especially landing, a fish like this, on fly gear, would be so infinitesimal, that for me at least, it would seem like an exercise in futility.
I completely respect the purity of the practice,  and your years of dedication to it.  Life is short, I am impatient, and want to catch fish while I can. Thank you for your prickly humor 

...the chances of me not only hooking, but especially landing, a fish like this, on fly gear, would be so infinitesimal...

But you'd have looked good while not catching it. 

Well-told tale, too.  Good job that day all around.

Me hopelessly tied up, tangled and hooked, by my own fly line, swearing up a storm, might be an amusing look, to be sure, probably not a good look, per say....
Thank you sir, I appreciate that. Still riding positive vibes from that experience! 

I have better luck wading with my fly rod.  So much "stuff" in a yak to tangle your line plus I still find it awkward to cast from a sitting position.  Tough to beat catching trout on a bug wand.  Its a trip.

I have at times cast, and occasionally even caught from kayak and canoe. And yes, it is way  easier to cast standing. The vast majority of fish I have caught on the bug wand, both standing, and in boat, have been lil bass, lil pan fish, lil trout....and none of em, ever took any line. Earlier this year, I got my first rockfish on the fly, while kayaking, now that was a fight!

It's just a matter of practice.  Casting while seated low to the water feels alien at first, then all of a sudden, it feels natural.  Although it may never feel natural to cast flies from a Hobie - my line would always manage to wrap around the pedals, or find its way down the Mirage drive opening and tangle around the rudder.  That's why I got rid of that POS and got a paddle-powered kayak with no appreciable holes through the hull.

That rockfish?  That's why we fish with fly-rods.  Just sayin'.