Butler resident Bob Fornadley shows off the 9-pound, 30-inch brown trout he caught recently at Elk Creek, the largest brown trout he's caught in 58 years.

Bob Fornadley wasn't sure what type of fish he had on his line.

“I first saw it as a shadow on the bottom,” the longtime fly fisherman and resident of Butler said of a recent trip to Elk Creek in Erie County. “I thought it was a sucker, a bottom-feeder.”

It wasn't until five minutes into his attempt to reel the fish in that Fornadley finally realized exactly what was putting up the fight.

“I saw the black spots on its head. It was a brown trout,” he said. “I've caught literally a thousand of them over the years.”

But at nine pounds, this one was considerably larger.

“In 58 years of fly fishing, it was the largest brown trout I ever landed,” said Fornadley. “Before this, the biggest one I caught was six pounds.

“Brown trout are universally regarded as the most difficult species of trout to catch in fly fishing. They are a very selective fish, will inspect the fly, look at it. Then it's 50/50 if they'll bite.”

And even if a brown trout is snagged, reeling it in can be an arduous task.

“It took me 10 minutes to bring it in,” Fornadley said. “That was the fight of my life. My rod was bent like a pretzel. My arm was tired, my back was tired!”

Fornadley credits his friend, Eugene Rock, also of Butler, with helping him win the battle.

“He took five chances at it with the net,” Fornadley said. “Then on the sixth try, he got it. He and I fish Elk Creek once or twice a week. If it wasn't for him, I would have had a very difficult time bringing that fish in.

“He looked at me and said: 'That's a damn big brown.'

“I said: 'It sure is.'”

Fornadley, who plans to have the fish mounted, has had other memorable catches. In 2012, he caught an 18-pound salmon while fishing in the state of Washington. Seven years ago, he reeled in a rainbow trout from Elk Creek that weighed in at 12 pounds, one ounce.

He has spent time at traditional fishing, but if Fornadley is casting his line, it is usually while fly fishing.

“For me it is the most sporting way to take a trout,” he said.

Fornadley, 71, grew up in McCandless Township. He began fly fishing when he was a teenager.

“My uncle left his fly rod behind when he went into the Air Force and I started to use it,” he said. “I had a friend, his dad used to take him and me up to Tionesta (Forest County) and we'd fish. They taught me a lot.”

Fishing is not simply a way to pass the time for Fornadley. He loves the sport and welcomes the time he can spend with others, like Rock, who share his enthusiasm.

Now that he's retired, those outings are much more frequent.

“I've kept a journal since 1988, list all the fish I've caught, even include some illustrations,” Fornadley said. “Even now, every time I hook a fish, as cool and calm as I appear to be, I'm six years old on the inside.

“It's still exciting to me. It's my passion.”