Epic fail, here is your chance to laugh at me.

First fly fishing trip of the year here in Montana. 25° so I was fighting ice all day, ice in the river, ice in the eyelets, and must destructively; ice in my reel. My cheap rafting fly rod (Orvis encounter) has on fatal flaw. If ice builds up in the reel, the quick release WILL disengage and drop half the reel in the river.

I was attempting to reel in as my fly was caught on an iceberg. I heard a loud splash, looked down and saw my reel falling to the bottom of the river. Tried catching it with a net, but couldn’t reach without physically putting my hands in the water (I don’t want hypothermia), so I kept stripping line until I eventually was able to pull the reel out after it got tangled up in the backing.

Before you ask, when it’s this cold, I unhook the fish as fast and as close to the water as possible, no pictures, etc.