The fly and the flatfish

[ChrisK]

Weekend was cold windy but the river was prime. Water temps were a little colder as well.

Cliff(CCMT)came up for the weekend to do some fishing but ended up doing a great job as my camera man. He did hook up with a few fish but they all managed to throw the hooks during battle. Thanx Cliff for the great pics. Just sorry I didn't snap a couple of you while you were doing your thing.

Anyhow the weekend was a little slow. I caught four on flies and right near the end of our day Sunday(today) I had brain storm.

I Run up to the trailer and get my spinning pole and the box of flat fish.Got back to the pool.Snap on a firetiger and cast it into the pool, whamo !! Big fish on!! Hit like a ton of bricks.Good fight ended up being a respectfull sized hen so back she went.I tossed the firetiger around a little longer with nothing else interested. Ok,so its time to change to a different bait.

I hooked up this yellow Pingatee with orange dots and toss it into the pool. As I'm retrieving it back I get a solid hit. This time the pole nearly gets pulled out of my hands. Freight trains don't hit that hard,holy crap.....

This is a hugo tank for sure. It tears out into the center of the pool taking drag. It starts making its way down stream to the fallen log in the river. I put on the brakes and hold him in the current just feet away from his destination to brake me off but he can't do it. My little 7 foot spinning pole is loaded right up and the drag holding the tank solid in place. He then turns towards me knowing he can't make it to the log and starts a beeline up the river straight at me. I frantically reel up all the slack line back onto my spinning reel trying to keep up with him. The fish goes by me like a locomotive taking drag again as he makes his move to run up river to the head waters of the pool. Not a good idea,the current is to strong so he turns and tears out to the other side of the river and goes screaming back down stream taking drag again to the tail out. He's tired now and giving me line. Rolling on the surface trying to make some kind of gain in this one on one. I get him closer to shore and he rolls again this time getting himself all caught up in the line and the Pingatee. Now the fish is coming in tail first and thoughts ran through my head wondering if he actually hit the lure or not. Do I have this fish fouled ??? Is it in his mouth after all this ??? I drag him to shore tail first and begin to unroll him from the line. The bait at this point seems to be in his chin but as I unwind the mono from around his head and roll him on his side I see the bait firmly hooked into his jaw,thank god !! So we take a couple pics and remove the hooks and send him back into the pool to join his girlfriend once again...These two fish came together within 15 minutes. What a blast !!!

One for you Art

Boy do I look whooped in this pic

[mercman]

Great report

Those are some nice fishies !!! lb for lb i bet they fight harder than any ole bass

thanks for the pics and story.

[kickingfrog]

Well jezz?! If all you needed was a camera man I could have done that.

 

Nice fish Chris, good call on the change-up.

 

It'll be your turn next time Cliff.

[okumasheffield]

nice pictures and what a great spot you fished at!

[splashhopper]

DANG!... I was thinking of putting a flatfish on upriver from you today!

 

Gotta stop THINKING and Just Do It !

Edited November 21, 2010 by splashhopper

[ccmtcanada]

Had a GREAT weekend with Chris up at his little piece of paradise! Kickingfrog...yep...next time I will get some.

 

Here's a pic from my blackberry...not the greatest quality...but caught a steelie in flight during a fight on Saturday.

 

Thanks for the invite Chris...I may just take you up on another weekend up there before she freezes up for the year!

[ChrisK]

Good to see you made it home safely Cliff. Next time you come up I'm sure your luck will be better. You weren't kiddin when you said you got that fish in the air

Yo Kicking Frog,your on bud.Bring the video cam too !!

[TroutnMuskieHunter]

Super report and PICS ....from using Woolly Buggers to Flatfish excellent choices!!!...one of my 2 favorites!

[solopaddler]

Very nice Chris and it's great to see Cliff made it out with you.

 

This past weekend probably 70% of my fish came on crankbaits. Sometimes as you discovered it's the best way to put fish on the bank.

 

Nothing like the way a steelhead smashes a lure, it's electric.

[aplumma]

Thanks Chris I am glad to see you are having such a good time with your new place on the river. I enjoyed the shotgun hold it is one of the best ways to see the fish and the really wide grin of a happy fisherman.

 

 

Art

[Leecher]

Nice chrome Chris

Always good to fall on plan B lure wise

Thanks for sharing

Leechman

[Gerritt]

Chris, great report!

 

Man I have to get Sam down there.. and spend a day with you.

 

Nice shotgun pose!

 

G

[torco]

It just shows how important versatility is.

Edited November 22, 2010 by torco

[Spiel]

Wow, breaking out the ole Ping ...... I see.

[asdve23rveavwa]

Well done!!!! Love those crankbait steelies!! Nothing wrong with the ones on the fly either.

[rapala14]

Right on. Nice fish. I've tried the Pingatees for salmon with no luck. Might have to try'em for steel

[fishnsled]

Nice fish Chris. Cliff does make a good cameraman...just sayin'

[msp]

Nice fish. Fall time is flatfish time. Dont be afraid to throw em with the float rod either.

[ChrisK]

Nice fish. Fall time is flatfish time. Dont be afraid to throw em with the float rod either.

To lazy to tear down my rig but rather just walk up to the trailer about a minute up river and grab a spinning pole

Ive done this with the float rod in the past but never done well. I must admit though it was a nice brake to fish with the spinning outfit for awhile. I was quite surprised how well the spinning rod took care of that big buck. The 8 pound test literally man handled him and with a whole different fight than the float rod. Kinda refreshing...

[daryl0815]

Nice fish, I need to expand my tackle in my hunt for rainbows! I usually stick to flies roe or worms, but lures definitely seem like more fun!

[Joey]

What a great report Chris. I love the minute by minute account of your scrap with the big boy. Excellent

 

Joey

[ChrisK]

What a great report Chris. I love the minute by minute account of your scrap with the big boy. Excellent

 

Joey

Your welcome Joey. It was very exiting catching those big bows on a spinning pole with heavier line for a change. My hole approach with the float rod is stealth using light line and small floats and such but this was a total 360. Hi visibility 8 pound test right to the bait with a snap swivel,unheard of....Just goes to show that they aren't as spooky as we may think in certain situations.