as i just got a pink slip monday, i have more time to be on the water. a buddy of mine called about joining him steelhead fishing in eastern washington. i
haven't targeted steelhead for several years. i thought that trout were unrivaled in every way, and that i hate spending days looking for fish that just
aren't there much of the time. well, i needed to drown my sorrows somehow, and we all know the therapeutic effects of water, so i joined him. we drove
through the dark before sun-up and through heavy rain. typical pacific northwest steelhead weather. after 3hrs on the road we found a nice stretch of water
that yielded nothing. we moved on. then we stopped at a big beautiful bend in the river. it had a decent current and lots of deeper slots between boulders. it
just reeked of steelhead. within an hour i hooked three and landed two.
one of the two was a hatchery fish (notice the clipped adipose fin) and the other wild. i caught the hatchery fish first and was thrilled with the fight in that fish. then i caught the wild steelhead. it ran, jumped, danced and fought like 3 hatchery fish. (it bent that 11' switch rod nicely.)
(and here's the wild fish)
it was amazing! after my heart rate had normalized, i began feeling bad for my friend. then the fishing gods visited him. he hooked a tremendous wild steelhead that apparently wanted to return to the ocean. his reel screamed and the drag on his bauer spey reel was cranked fairly tight. it was very exciting to watch the battle. his fish easily exceeded 10 pounds and was one of the most beautiful fish i've ever seen. i sure hope the pictures came out. i'll post some pictures within the next few days. i know steelheading isn't usually as fruitful as our trip was yesterday, but the experience certainly has made me think a bit differently about steelhead and the pursuit of them.
have any of you targeted wild steelhead?
i'll post my pix soon.
-mike
one of the two was a hatchery fish (notice the clipped adipose fin) and the other wild. i caught the hatchery fish first and was thrilled with the fight in that fish. then i caught the wild steelhead. it ran, jumped, danced and fought like 3 hatchery fish. (it bent that 11' switch rod nicely.)
(and here's the wild fish)
it was amazing! after my heart rate had normalized, i began feeling bad for my friend. then the fishing gods visited him. he hooked a tremendous wild steelhead that apparently wanted to return to the ocean. his reel screamed and the drag on his bauer spey reel was cranked fairly tight. it was very exciting to watch the battle. his fish easily exceeded 10 pounds and was one of the most beautiful fish i've ever seen. i sure hope the pictures came out. i'll post some pictures within the next few days. i know steelheading isn't usually as fruitful as our trip was yesterday, but the experience certainly has made me think a bit differently about steelhead and the pursuit of them.
have any of you targeted wild steelhead?
i'll post my pix soon.
-mike
