By my Lodge there's a nice bit of bank and sometimes the trout hang about just to the Western side of an old wire fence. This fence is useful to keep Jane's sheep from moving from one field to another when the water level is very low. However in high water as we have now, it sails away maybe 30 yards into the lake and any mistake in casting can mean you're caught up in the wire.
Of course you have to be careful if you hook a fish near this fence as it can snag easily if it takes a turn to the left.
Well it's been a bright day, my friend Cameron had had a few nice fish including a lovely brown of about 2.5 pounds this morning, but as usual on this fairly shallow stretch, it doesn't fish too well in bright sun.
This evening I saw another friend Matt going fishing down here, so I so decided to take a rod down and have another go as the sun goes down. 
Nothing off the point, so I decided to have a cast along 'the wire' ...BANG! a strong swirl and a screaming of reel and line cutting through the water as a strong, powerful fish with a tail like a shovel rived line from the reel and took me out into the lake...and to the left! Around the wire and into the next bay.
No possible chance of bringing it over the wire as the shallow angle meant barbed wire teeth just a few inches under the water ready to snag the line and the fish would be gone.
This was obviously a powerful fish, and the runs and dives were deep and long, not the splashy fight on a recent stockie.
No choice, I had to run to the bushes where the wire fence was at it's lowest and straddle the barbed wire fence to get into the next bay to land the fish safely.
Ably assisted by Matt who by this time could see that it was a good fish and that I was in need of help.
Have you ever tried to get your legs over a barbed wire fence in a hurry? Well it's not a good idea! Everything got caught up in this cloying spears; the net, my sleeve, Matt, and a seriously sensitive part of my jeans...... I'll leave that to you, but it was close! 'Close to the wire'!
The Rainbow was an absolute cracker, at 4.4 pounds, silver as a bar with Mother of Pearl Ribs down the tail, looking like a lovely little Grilse, it was perfection, and my best fish, so far from the Rutland bank.
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