solopaddler

Right on the cooler, but no fish just a 6 pack. Truth be told these were the photos that were lost when my picture file vanished. Paul somehow managed to retrieve these ones, but still half of them were lost. They weren't in any order and it was difficult to insert them chronologicaly for my story. The pic with the fish between my legs is the same 2 fish from the earlier double header I'd chronicled. Easy mistake to make...these darn fish all look alike.

That's fantastic, congratulations! Enjoy the weather while you can bud.

Whoooo boy HAHAHAHA! (Congrat's on the fish, that's a great start.)

Thanks Erik, but the Marlboro Man? I didn't notice the fish between my legs either LOL! Thanks for the kind words everyone.

You don't need a musky rod for the Attawapiskat, total overkill. I'll be bringing two rods next June for pike. 7' 1pc spinning rod rated 10-17lb and a Stradic MGFB 3000 spooled with 20lb power pro and 7' 1pc med/hvy baitacaster rated 12-25lb with a Revo Toro 51hs spooled with 30lb power pro The spinning rod will be used to cast lighter plastics like senkos and hollow bodied swim baits. The baitcaster for casting spoons and bucktails.

Well first off I build my rods with larger guides, that helps a lot. When it's really cold there's a product called Stanleys Ice Off Paste that works pretty well. Nothing is foolproof though when it gets that cold. Geez buddy coming from you that's some heady praise. Feel free to immortalize me any way you like. My finest writing? I had both kids today, sat down at noon and whipped it off in about an hour. Maybe I should put a little more effort into it LOL! Once again thanks everyone for the kind words.

I feel for you my friend. If you're lucky and the weather holds we'll pay her a visit when you're here in December. Thanks once again everyone.

Thanks. The States is a pretty big area bud LOL! I have licenses for Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York currently in my wallet. They vary wildly in price. Thanks for the kind words all.

It was one of those days. Gale force winds and horizontal precipitation buffeted the car as we made our way north. Arriving in town in the pre dawn darkness I had a sudden moment of inspiration when passsing a bank of drive-in car wash bays. While I had no need to rid my vehicle of filth we pulled in out of the storm and donned our gear in relative comfort. Seems the nasty weather had scared off most other anglers as well. When we met Bill at the parking lot high above the river ours were the only two cars. We had a good look at the river as we picked our way down the steep hill: higher than normal with a definite tinge to it from earlier rains. It was absolutely prime. It's a great feeling when you absolutely know the day will be a good one before you even start. When we arrived at the river bank Bill and Paul slipped downstream in the gloom. A jaunty little seam on the far side of a mid river island had caught their attention. I headed off on my own, carefully wading across the broad expanse of river to reach the other side. Several hundred yards upstream was a neckdown and a short run of wild white river. I started there. With no other anglers in sight I took my time, carefully selecting the right vantage point then turning my back to the relentless wind to alter my rig and bait up. It was great holding water but shallower. I shortened my lead and lengthened my tippet slightly, adding a couple of larger split shots near the float so that it would right itself instantly in the churning current. With my fingers already stiff and cold I fumbled with the jar of freshly tied roe finally managing to impale one on the slender #12 hook. First cast sailed high and off the mark as a huge gust of wind suddenly whipped up. I quickly retrieved my line and managed to flip my float onto the edge of the seam 40' in front of me. The wind was wreaking havoc with my drift as I had no control over my float, it wasn't tracking straight and was tipping over and being pushed back upstream in the gale. Reeling in again I remembered an old trick. Fishing in my pack I dug out a bag of larger split shot, the ones I'd normally use when throwing Flatfish. I clamped one onto my mainline 6" above the float and managed to hit the seam in front of me once again. The split shot above the float did it's job keeping my line from being whipped upstream and ruining the drift. It wasn't perfect but definitely better. The float bobbed and danced downstream doing the rumba along the edge of a foam line. The hit wasn't violent, in fact the float barely moved, just subtly toppling over sideways. Nevertheless I struck hard and was immediately warmed by the tell tale headshakes of a solid fish. I quickly reeled in my line gaining on the fish and turned into the face of the wind when suddenly the fish went ballistic. It cartwheeled out of the water in a shower of spray and shot downstream in flash. The power and speed were breathtaking. I stumbled after it for about 10 seconds when abruptly everything went slack, the fish was gone. Not a bad start I thought as I reeled in and sat down on a rock. Hunkering down into my goretex I reached into my pocket to light a smoke and take stock of the situation with the icy wind whipping tendrils of cold all around me. This is what it's all about I thought, it just doesn't get any better. After working the run for a good 45 mins with nothing to show for my efforts I slid downstream to see how the boys were making out. Paul, sly devil that he is, had managed a couple. Things had slowed downstream as well though. I fished across from them for a while with no luck, then as if on cue we slowly began to wade our way back over to the car for a conference. Paul lagged behind fishing as he went, while Bill and I discussed the situation. He was feeling the effects of the bitter wind and had decided to pack it in for the day. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was chilled to the bone and eager for the warmth of his car. After saying our goodbyes Paul and I were undaunted. After a pit stop for some hot java we decided to nose our way further up river. With the water running high it was a good bet that the fish had shot past us and were holding upstream. We drove across to the south side and parked close to the dam, picking our way down the rain slick rocky trail to the river. There were only a handful of hardy souls working the tailout of the dam pool, plenty of room for us to squeeze in, but we walked on. After fishing this river for almost 30 years you tend to learn a few tricks. Even with the foul weather the lack of people was strange. Usually if the fish are in the people are there. "Well buddy" I said to Paul, "This'll either be boom or bust, we'll find out pretty quickly". We worked downstream a long way to an area where a high clay bank was at our backs. The deeper water was on our side of the river and our casts would be shorter and easier to control in the wind. I waded over to a table top flat rock about four feet from shore and climbed up, Paul worked his way about 100yds downstream from me and set up on a nice seam at the tailout. The wind almost knocked me off the slime coated rock until I could get a grip with my spikes. Before we could begin, boiling black towering cumulous clouds skudded across the sky releasing a volley of ice pellets mixed with rain. We turned our backs on the stinging deluge 'till it abated and were given a brief window. It was deeper here so I stretched out my float and split shot and added a bit of dust shot to the tippet. I normally cast directly across the current and allow the float to drift downstream with the bait invariably swinging ahead of the float and shot in the current. The expected hookups almost always occur downstream. Sometimes far downstream. This time I heaved a cast quartering upstream. The float cocked and the shot and tippet straightened out and set up perfectly directly across from me. Surprisingly the float shot down with authority. I knew it was a fish before I even reared back on the rod. Because it was directly across from me and not very far away my angle was perfect and I drove the hook home solidly. Nothing happened for a split second...it felt as though I had set the hook into a bowling ball. Then the water erupted. A very angry chrome fish bolted downstream in a flash as I struggled to slip off my rocky perch. Suddenly I wasn't cold anymore as the adrenaline surged. The fish made half a dozen lightning fast runs, my centrepin reel spinning wildly. Twice it ran directly at me and I madly reeled in the single action reel and back pedaled lifting my rod high to gain line. This fish was mine though and we were soon admiring it's brilliance as it lay at my feet in the shallows. So fresh and chrome it's scales were dropping off when I gently lifted her for a quick photo. Now that's more like it. Steelheading is never a sure bet. There are so many days where you struggle and scratch for a couple of fish, sometimes none. It makes you appreciate the truly great days like a gift from above. This as it turned out was a special day. Shortly afterwards we both set the hook into chrome bright fish....a double! Laughing like kids as we stumbled around on the slick bank trying to keep our fish away from the other. It was madness. The rest of the afternoon was a blur. There were many, many fish hooked. Some were landed, the majority gained their freedom with a wild show of acrobatics. Make no mistake these fish were strong. While not enormous in size they were mostly wild fish and used the power of the big river to their full adavantage. Still, the long soft rods, shock absorbers really, were able to subdue their share: There really is nothing better than a wild fresh run November steelhead. Numb fingers, runny noses, cold rain and sleet are a small price to pay. We fished the rest of the day 'till the light grew dimmer, slowly fading to a cold grayness in the bleak November twilight. By the time we made it back to the truck it was fully dark. I started it up to get the heater going and slipped off my cold wet wool gloves. I held my cold trembling fingers tight to the blast of warm air emanating from my dash, trying to coax some feeling back into my tortured digits. Within seconds they turned an angry shade of red and the feeling slowly seeped back. As we peeled off the layers and changed into dry fleece I poured Paul and I small shot of Jamaicas finest. Burning and warming our insides as we toasted the day. "Cheers my friend, this is what it's all about!"

I'm speechless, the man was much too young. Sincere condolences to Sonny's family and friends.

Or Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Huron and Georgian Bay in ON.

Just yesterday?

Tea coloured for sure, but steelhead are steelhead wherever you find them. Meaning they generally run the rivers after either a rain or runoff has risen the levels. Rain or runoff will have a positive effect on even your tea stained rivers. Unlike many of the rivers to the south, those high gradient freestone rivers will drop and clear on a dime after a rainfall or runoff event. Try and be fishing the day after an event and you'll do much better. Yes, Troutologist is correct, there are deeper holding pools where you'll find steelhead in even low water. But success in steelheading really boils to one thing: timing. Learning how all the various rivers you fish react to a rainfall or runoff event and timing your trips accordingly. Timing, timing, timing. That's the key. Also some of the larger flows up there are very condusive to floatfishing, but most are tailor made for bottom bouncing. If I were you I'd learn how to bottom bounce effectively. Fresh roe is a no brainer as bait of choice if you're able to harvest a fish with eggs. In your neck of the woods I'd personally be harvesting and freezing as much pink salmon roe as I could each september. Keep the hardware as a backup or a change of pace if nothing is working. If you're in doubt fish down low. There's usually always some fish sniffing around the creek mouths in the lake. I've caught lots of fish north of the Soo casting hardware while wading the beaches at the creek mouths.

Bill is a good man, very glad to hear things worked out. Might be wise to not take any tips from him though. (Sry Billy low blow) Funny 'cause it's kind of true.

How about a brook trout/steelhead combo tour in May?

Not Niagara.

Not really on the deeper side... With the exception of the Michipicoten and maybe the Steel all those rivers you fish are spate rivers. Wait for rain or runoff to raise and colour them up a bit, otherwise you've really got to scratch for fish.

Here's a teaser. It may not be where you think:

I just walked in the door. (was amazing, some large powerful fish today)

Don't buy the Ross Flow, you'll regret it.

Tony you know how to read water bud. I fished the entire length of that run all the way to the tailout waay downstream and hit fish all through there. You can actually stand in the water along that bank although there's more of that ankle sucking chocolate pudding mud. You know the wood you clambered over? I found a beautiful net that came unbuttoned from someones magnet in the middle of the brushpile.

He was in the truck with me an hour ago as we crossed the border when he remembered. To make matters worse his cel was dead.. In any case there's no excuses for him, he should be tarred and feathered. I have his contact info if you need it.

Nice. Personally I'll take numbers over size any day.(Although you will hit larger fish) Typical fall pattern in that neck of the woods and my personal favourite way to target them. You didn't mention what type of spoon. Personally I run metal spoons like Rocker Minnows, Hopkins and the like. No minnow, fished clean with a pretty violent jigging motion. Hits (at least for me) are usually on the upsweep and quite savage. A lot more fun imo than reeling in a drift sock which is pretty much what the fight is like when you're trolling with planer boards.

Nice shootin' boys, you did good. I'll bet you were surprised by that rainbow.

Nice recap Mike, looks like I missed a good time. "The Rumbler" LOL!