Steelhead Report: Two from today

[Paulus]

So,

 

before Mike posts his pics from his latest Michigan trip, I should grab what little fame I can!

 

As I predicted, the water on the river had the perfect colour and flow. I could see that well before I got down to the bank. On the way down, I met a couple of guys who told me that it was inexplicably slow this morning, "they've been there all week," they said, "but maybe it's this cold snap."

 

That didn't sound good. But I had a late start and I figured that the fish were maybe just a little sluggish from the cold, and that they'd perk up when the sun came out.

 

I started fishing. I fished hard. I went from pool to pool, using jigs and roe, and catching nothing. At one point, between pools, I came across this guy:

 

 

He's a total fisherman. Why isn't he fishing? He seemed to be waiting for the sun to come out from behind the clouds. I moved further down river, without so much as disturbing him.

 

Finally, the sun came out, and after a little while my float did a little zig, then a zag, then plop! it went down. And up comes this little guy:

 

 

I continued for a long time, fishing my way down, and not finding anymore fish. As I sit here writing this, I still can't come up with a good reason why I couldn't locate any more than I did. The water was literally perfect, and the section of stream I was fishing should have held lots of freshly minted chromers.

 

I don't know. Maybe I'm just gonna pack it in for the season and fish vicariously through Solopaddler.

 

Suddenly, in a section where it would normally be considered ridiculous to expect any hit, my float really shot down. It was a vicious hit, and a good-sized chromer erupted from the deep green of the river as I set the hook. This was more like it! She tried pretty much every trick in the book, changing directions several times, leaping, going on a smoking run, turning and then peeling line off the reel again - finally she came to shore:

 

 

This is another picture of the same fish:

 

 

That was the climax of my day. Had I known it, I might have migrated elsewhere. There are a few other spots I can think of that must have had more to offer on this day.

 

I did get one more close call, when my float jacked down again, just upstream from a log jam. I set the hook hard. zing! duck! ... only to tear the hook out of the roe bag. Lucky fish!

 

Oh well, it's not all that bad... I can think of several things worse than having your steelheading expectations dashed while spending some quiet time on a favourite river.

 

Being out of beer, for one. That's bad!

 

 

p.-

[young_one]

nice report, I thought about going to that river today. But with the sudden cold weather, I choose indoor activities instead. Gd catch! What was the magic colour roe?

[highdrifter]

Well done! J'ai toujours l'impression de lire un roman quand l'autre... hheheeh

 

Boff.. Y faut qu'on s'y mettre un de ces jours!

 

cheers

HD

[Paulus]

nice report, I thought about going to that river today. But with the sudden cold weather, I choose indoor activities instead. Gd catch! What was the magic colour roe?

 

Not a bad decision At least there was an almost total absence of wind for me today, so the cold wasn't a problem. I like white and pink, brought both and both produced. I use the word "produced" as a joke...

 

p.-

[Paulus]

Well done! J'ai toujours l'impression de lire un roman quand l'autre... hheheeh

 

Boff.. Y faut qu'on s'y mettre un de ces jours!

 

cheers

HD

 

Ca c'est sûr! You have to take me on a tour of your home river

 

p.-

[MCTFisher9120]

Nice job! Very nice looking fish.

[silvio]

Better then a day at work!! Nice pics

[ehg]

Nice little report, that heron sure looks cold.

 

Now i see why these 'bows are nicknamed chromers. Must be plenty of megapixels on your camera.

[Paulus]

Nice little report, that heron sure looks cold.

Now i see why these 'bows are nicknamed chromers. Must be plenty of megapixels on your camera.

 

3.2 to be exact. it's actually quite a beat-up old tool. but the lens on it is still partially functional & gives good results when the light isn't shining right into it.

 

p.-

[Leecher]

Great report and pics Paulus

 

Nicely done.... beautiful bows

Thanks for sharing

Leechman

[snag]

You are being modest.

 

Lots of effort their.

 

Nice one man.

 

Thanks

[ccmtcanada]

Great pics as usual Paulus! Love seeing the ice along the edges too...adds character to the pics!

[MJL]

Absolutely beautiful pieces of steel. WTG!

[ricoboxing]

nice report. love the dirty shwa!

[kennyman]

Some sweet fish. I sure wouldn't complain. Nice!