A note from @dukeonthefly
“Caught this back on September 30, 2024, when I was a senior in high school. (I didn’t even start the @Dukeonthefly page until my freshman year of college, so this video was just sitting in my camera roll for a while before I finally posted it!). We had a day off school, so I drove about an hour down to Lake Taneycomo from my hometown in Springfield, MO. I knew those big browns start pushing up in the fall to spawn, so I waded out deep into a main channel.
For the setup, I was running my 9’ 6wt TFO LK Legacy. I had an inline nymph rig setup on 5x tippet under a white indicator with a split shot to get deep in the water column. I had a size 16 gray scud up top to draw attention and trailing was a tiny size 18-20 blonde/tan midge on the bottom.
I was casting upstream, mending the drift, and slowly stepping downstream through the channel. On one drift, the indicator dipped. Set the hook and honestly thought I was hung on the bottom at first until this absolute monster flashed gold in the deep water. I instantly backed my drag way off so I wouldn’t snap my tippet. The fish peeled right out into the main current, and I had to chase it almost 100 yards downstream through waist-deep water just to keep leverage.
When I finally landed it, the fish barely fit in my net. I was on a solo trip, so I turned around and luckily spotted another angler wading nearby. He was super nice and grabbed my phone to shoot that quick video. Got the clip, and the fish swam off strong right back into the deep water.
Still can’t believe it. Thanks for letting me share my story; it was definitely a fish of a lifetime.”
Angler story of the week from @dukeonthefly; make sure to check out his Instagram HERE!