Redemption for the “Failure Fish”

The lowly fallfish has been disappointing trout anglers for decades. Photo by Jim Leedon/Hatch Magazine

Although there have been big changes over the last 20 years in how fly fishers view “trash fish,” there are still plenty of species for whom we feel little romance. In Hatch Magazine, Steven Sautner asks why we feel this way:

Among anglers, fallfish almost universally disappoint. Their biggest offense is rising like trout and tricking you into casting for them. Any similarity ends with the hookset. After a languid head shake, followed by an anemic run that may pull inches, not yards, off your reel, they yield to your awaiting hand with little fanfare. Twist the fly free, and they often gurgle at you before the release. In several decades of fishing the Delaware, I have never heard anyone excitedly exclaim: “Oh wow! A fallfish!” This may be why a friend calls them failure-fish.

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