Breaking Point

I headed to the coast this past weekend in search of steelhead.  Despite my best efforts, they have eluded me so far this winter.  Within the first 10 minutes of fishing I hooked one briefly but after a short run there was no tension on the line. Must have been a poor hook set.  After several hours with no luck, I finally hooked into a fish.  The fish was located in a small stretch of water that had several downed trees hanging down in the water.  Fortunately, this fish did not want to head downstream into the tangles.  After a short fight that felt like it took place in a kid’s swimming pool, he seemed to be tired out and I was able to slide him near me.  I reached down and grabbed just above his tail.  I’m not sure what happened first but he slipped out of my hand and I heard a loud crack.  He swam off with my fly and left me with a broken fly rod.