A large bass shot out from nowhere & thrashed my fly! I set the hook & readied myself for a good fight, but the bass had other ideas. It simply turned it's head & - snap(!) - broke off my fly, leaving my limp line & leader to float slowly down stream. The situation called for profanity, so I let go with an expletive.
We've all been there. In my excitement over what had just happened I told myself that the bass had broken me off by snapping my tippet. My goodness, it must have been even bigger than it looked!! Imagine the power that fish had. It had to be the biggest bass in this stream, for sure. Right? Well.....
When I got my tippet back in my hand & calmed my mind a bit, I began to think things over & soon realized what had really happened.
I've always said that fish are great equalizers: they don't care how rich you are, or how old, or how smart you are, or even how much you know about fishing. Fish long enough & they will make a fool out of you sooner or later. Plus, if I've learned anything, it's that when the fishing is slow & your mind wonders & you think nothing is going to happen, that's probably exactly when it will happen!!