failed elk crossing

I was casting an elk hair caddis to a rising brown in the headwaters of the South Platte when to my surprise, a 25" brown nails my fly.

This behemoth then proceeded to head up into the mosquito mountains with my fly, leader, line and pretty soon, my rod & reel. Since I had him on a 7' 3 wt. bamboo rod (I wasn't expecting one this big) I was a little hesitant about putting the brakes to the floor so quickly.

Luckily, when I was able to subdue this colossal aquatic monster, I looked up and saw this sad but very cool scene.

This cow elk must have tried to cross the fence this past winter but fell through the ice. If you look close, you can see here right leg bones (to the right) and her head (to the left) still attached. Her left leg was on the opposite bank thanks to some brave or maybe soggy coyote.