Steelhead Nirvana ~ 2 Incredible Days Back To Back!

[solopaddler]

First off, Happy New Year to all my OFC friends! Here's to a safe and happy /09, hope everyone has a good one!

 

Nothing beats the post Christmas blahs better than catching lots of fish and conditions were looking extremely good for Mon and Tues. The warm temps of last weekend had melted off the last vestiges of snow and blown the rivers out.

I knew there would be a pile of fresh fish to be caught somewhere once the water cleared, the question was where and when would it clear first?

Rivers with a shale/limestone bed rise and drop on a dime, they're generally the ones that clear the quickest after a blowout. I had a pretty good idea where our destination should be, but still nothing is etched in stone. This time of year it's always a bit of a gamble, a guessing game.

Still, Bill (BillM on the board) arrived at my place Sunday evening full of enthusiasm (great guy that BillM ).

We quickly loaded my truck and hit the highway. Leaving Sunday night would allow both of us to get some much needed sleep rather than getting up at 2:30am to hit the river on time...

 

Monday morning suiting up at the river it was obvious the water was up and slightly off coloured. Still, it was definitely fishable. That was apparant as several guys had fish on as we approached our chosen run .

In such cold water it's absolutely key imo to use a bait with lots of scent. Yes artificials work. When the fish are really on like they were it's a great time to experiment with artificials, and I did just that. Some fish were caught on jigs, some on pink worms, some on flies, some on salted minnows.

The best bait by far though were large gooey, oozing, disgusting skeined roe tied in a variety of bright colours. They leach out an incredible scent trail, and especially in slow frog water the fish really home in on them.

Loose mature roe tied exactly the same size with the same colours worked....just not as good.

Bill was amazed at their effectiveness and called them "the bags of death" .

 

In my reply to Cliff's post I mentioned I had 120 pictures. In fact it was 154! Needless to say I'm not going to post them all....that would be overkill .

 

DAY ONE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued......

Edited January 1, 2009 by solopaddler

[solopaddler]

DAY TWO

 

Monday evening back at the motel we had some friends join us. Cliff (ccmt) had driven 5 hours from his in laws place in Michigan, and my buddy Fergie drove down to join us as well bringing his 10 year old boy Liam with him.

 

My main priority on Tuesday was to try and put Liam onto some fish. When we arrived at the river I let Ferg fish and took the lad under my wing.

Not 5 minutes in he hooked a nice chromer .

 

 

 

After catching the fish he says "Okay that was cool, I'm done fishing now" .

 

From that point on he spent the rest of the day crawling around in the bush, exploring the forest (within sight).

 

What'ya gonna do?, you don't want to force them. Main thing was he was having fun...

 

It didn't take long for Ferg to get in on the action:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a particularly big brute that Ferg managed to subdue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double (one of many)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did get a couple of pic's of Cliff as well:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Took these great shots of Ferg way off in the distance by himself battling a fish:

 

 

 

 

 

Right near the end of the day as we're packing up to leave Liam says "I wanna try fishing again dad!"

Okay, no problem .

 

We got him set up and drifting, and just like that he hit his second fish of the day!:

 

 

 

Bill actually hooked one of his own to cap the day off with yet another double:

 

 

Before leaving we had some slicing and dicing to do as we had roped 3 nice little chromers to bring home:

 

 

 

What a fantastic two days! Warm temps, lots of fish, great company and a lot of laughs.

It just doesn't get any better than that!

 

With winter sinking it's teeth into us now I think that could've been the last small window of opportunity before early spring.

T'was a great way to end a truly remarkable 2008 season!

 

 

Cheers, Mike

Edited January 1, 2009 by solopaddler

[salmon]

WTG guys

 

Nice pics and report.

 

Cliff, got to get yourself a centerpin. Then you know how how much fun they are. LOL

 

Jose

[Greencoachdog]

Excellent report, pics, and fish!!!

 

Now I see how Cliff caught that cold ... he was using a spinning rod instead of one of those fancy clothes line pulleys!!!

[kemper]

okay, next time you three take on one of these shenanigans again im SO inviting myself

[Leecher]

Great report and pics Mike

 

WOW that's a lot of fish Congratulations to all of you

Looks like you guys had a fantastic time out there.... good job

 

and thanks for sharing

Happy New Year to you guys also

Jacques

[bigugli]

Looks like you guys had a fantastic day on the water. WoW

[MarcusDiGiovanni]

I envy you!

[DRIFTER_016]

Mikey, I guess I shouldn't have cancelled my trip back east huh!!!!

Instead I decided to stay in beautiful tropical Yellowknife!!!!

 

[jwl]

now that's a great couple days fishing all the way, nice fish guys

 

I forgot what they look like, been a couple weeks, thanks for the reminder, a bunch of us have been waiting out the Niagara which has been blown from lake E to lake O and then some, even trying to get in some pike fishin to fill the gaps...the cold snapped skimmed the spots over so that's a no go too...screwed all around, too much ice for open water, not enough yet for ice fishin.

 

Thanks for the reminder that there is still some hope out there and some beauty steel to be had

[tbayboy]

Nothing like a great Solopaddler report to help with the new years eve hangover. All those smiles and fish make it clear that it was a couple great days, thanks for the report.

[danc]

Does it get any better than that?? Stellar report once again Mike.

[BillM]

Mike, that was hands down the best 2 days of fishing I've ever had. The 'bags of death' worked so well. I still can't get the smell off my hands!!! (I have all the roe on the counter right now drying out )

 

I am glad the winds died down a bit at the mouth on the first day, those chromers were an absolute blast! I cannot wait until the spring bud! The new/old rod is awesome even with the funky reel seat, lol.

 

I'm sure we'll have many more just like it.. I hope you enjoy NF!

[fishindevil]

Thats some AWESOME winter steelheadin for sure guys !!!!. ..some very nice fish too,great looking scenic river as well,thanks for sharing....cheers

[solopaddler]

Mikey I guess I shouldn't have cancelled my trip back east huh!!!!

 

 

You got that right brother!

[ccmtcanada]

Hey Mike...another awesome report! The pictures really tell the story here!

 

It was well worth driving 5 hours there and 5 hours back to Michigan for the 6 or so hours I got to fish. The fish came in waves...non stop catching...a little break...and then catching all over again!! Thanks a lot for inviting me...and allowing me to crash at your motel Monday night too!

 

Great meeting you BillM....your excitement is infectious! We'll have to get together again in the spring for sure.

 

I'll add a few pics from my camera as well....later!

[solopaddler]

Mike, that was hands down the best 2 days of fishing I've ever had. The 'bags of death' worked so well. I still can't get the smell off my hands!!! (I have all the roe on the counter right now drying out )

 

I am glad the winds died down a bit at the mouth on the first day, those chromers were an absolute blast! I cannot wait until the spring bud! The new/old rod is awesome even with the funky reel seat, lol.

 

I'm sure we'll have many more just like it.. I hope you enjoy NF!

 

 

Glad you enjoyed the trip buddy, 'till next time!

[drwxr]

great report solo, again with remarkable picures....good job.

[parabolic]

awesome pics guys...i havent been out in like a monthy im really jealous....where were you guys...have to ask it looks incredible there...

 

take care guys

[dobee]

you guys make me sick!!!!!! lol

 

nice report & nice fish.... as always!

 

i need an automatic response to solo's reports... so i don't have to type how jealous I am EVERY time!

[ehg]

Wow, that is a ton of fish pictures you posted. Sounds like great timing and the right choice of river for fish.

 

Good to see you sharing the wealth of experience with those (Bill, Cliff) who have the same enthusiasm.

 

Thanks for posting report,

ehg

[msp]

Looks like you guys had lots of fun. Smiles all around. Any big ones?

[centerpin_drift]

great report.... makes me wish the rivers in my stomping ground were still open

 

what kind of rod is that in the first picture posted??

[canadian_copper]

awsome as usual

[douG]

Mike, Even though the masters (you, BillM and Cliff) slayed'em, I somehow believe that the fish you enjoyed most was the first one that Liam caught. That was a fabulous grin, one I remember on me a little while ago.

 

Solopaddler is a true expert in every sense - he will put you on fish, show you how to catch em, and then giggle along side as you hold a beautiful piece of fishy chrome. Another great report, Mike. Thanks.