Steelhead blitzkrieg

Left Saturday morning for a few hours of fishing on Saturday evening and a full day on Sunday.  Total miles required: 708.

Sometimes you just have to go.

With flows in the low 100's and a bluebird day in the works, the odds weren't good, but sometimes you just have to place your bet and roll with it....and besides not betting at all makes you a gauranteed loser.

McSteel opened up the first night swinging up a jack and a nice chrome fish in the mid 20's.  I never got a touch.  We set-up camp in the dark, heated up the chili and pulled a few cold ones down before turning in.

With the alarm set for 5:15, I was jumpy and rolled out of bed at 4:00.  Coffee on the cook stove and a few logs on the fire, a full day of steelheading ahead...pure joy.

Waking up in a warm wall tent with dry waders has gone from a luxury to a necessity...nylon tents have no place here.

We hit the river trail by headlamp and despite the low flows, we found some nice water with enough flow to keep the line tight and swinging.  At noon I hooked up on a beautiful mid 20's chromer after stripping my intruder back through some soft water at the end of the swing.  All of those beautiful swinging arcs and this fish thought it was a brown trout.  I wrestled it up to the surface twice before it twisted and popped.  Damn it.  Good looking fish too. We scored some free eats at the local bar (Packer halftime viddles on the house) and power napped for 45 minutes, broke camp and hit the river hard until dark with only one more fish hooked and lost by McSteel.

The catching is the gamble...being there is a sure bet.

Fall

"Never more..."

Swingus Interruptus

stokin'

Bright Jack

Fly box re-shuffle

IC - Idiot Central

Fresh Brew 4:15 am

Rainbow trout or Steelhead...time will tell.

Ribbon of Life