There’s some back story to this and so skip the next few paragraphs if you wish to or all of it… Other than a few half-hearted seasons bank fishing for steelhead on the Sky in 2003-04 when I first came to WA. I had given it up as a waste of time. A couple of Dennis Dickson schools were fun but really, I need a boat/floating device that I didn’t have then, and then the arrival of my kids truly hosed any fantasies of being a steelhead bum. I knew nothing and could not catch a steelhead any way I tried.
Fast forward a decade and I have some wonderful fishing buddies who are very generous and gracious people, know a load about stuff in general, can take and give a joke, and importantly are really good fisherman. One had a 42” fish from the Sky (released!) and another has a 38” Skagit fish (legit) cast on the wall. We fish for trout, they also still fish for steel. I see steelhead runs all over are in danger, and so was never up for it, certainly the spring stuff, the runs seem done. The Hoh’s a shit show, why add to the crowds harassing the last of what were great runs?
BUT, I’d also heard many stories of the wonderful fishing all over re steelhead and especially on the dry side on a river that’s recently opened…So my buddies are going nuts that it had opened for the first time in 9 yrs. The opening and options were discussed over a cigar, and I was told they were going but I said nope.
Then, I’d seen this week that my Friday was open, and I thought if I ever want to encounter a steelhead then this would be the time. A river with a reasonable number of hatchery fish and the key with friends who know the spots, methods to catch them, and were already there on the river. So, I bombed over HW2 on Thursday night and was ready for Friday early am. I have never nymph fished for steelhead, but Treefrog had a load of flies and all I need was my 6wt,12’6” Spey to join the ranks of a dirty ass nymphers.
To the point, I’ve always really wanted to catch a steelhead, but I did not expect much as a newb with no idea or really given re the resources. We got to the river. It was really, really low, and as such its temp was very cold. Not the best conditions and while my friends had few fish on earlier days, it’d been very slow. It was also really cold by the water with a north wind blowing down the valley. The pool we’d hoped to fish in was occupied and so we sat it out for a good while to see if the rod would leave. He was great caster to watch so it was a nice, if still frustrating, time to watch but they stayed put.
So. Meh!! Enter plan B, the ‘crappier’ pool upstream was open, so I went up there. A strong run in at the head of the pool that tapered off on the far bank with an 8-10’ deep slot off some rocks for about 40’ before it shallowed out before the tail out. It has likely ruined me forever for steelhead fishing. With no real expectations, I started at the top of the run with a size 6, double gold bead stonefly nymph 8’ off the 1” bobber and with a trailing sz 14 gold beaded purple copper John style fly, 18” behind. I do know what a good seam looks like and the need for a drag free drift through a strong current and got into it.
A 45ish degree cast upstream, followed by an immediate big mend upstream, mend more (and more) and then feed line to let stuff drift down drag free. Rinse and repeat with a step down. I had the bobber swim into a seam close to a rock and I just knew that if there was to be a fish, it was in there. The bobber went down, and I set but it was just tight and down deep…I was in denial that it was a fish, likely a rock, and then I saw a really big silver flash, very deep down. I crapped it, fuck me, I maybe had a steelhead and it's big…and it was. It ran up and down the pool in the deep current, dogging it deep, eventually it came into the shallows, ran off and was drawn back. I landed a nice hatchery hen of about 28” and so I had caught my first proper steelhead. Brilliant!
I sat back, rested to the pool and was just stoked, I’d actually, really, finally caught a steelhead. I went back in and then boom! Fish on! Digging and dogging, then ping! shit, gone, empty. Oh well 2ish steelhead on in a day is a great thing. I start working in the pool again and boom! Another nice fish, a 24” native, so back it went. Treefrog went through and caught a 34” hatchery beauty. Our earlier downstream pool neighbor swung by, we chatted. I went through again and bobber where? A real beauty of a wild cock fish, the largest I caught, and with the tail release shot vs glory shot.
Treefrog and I could have hogged the run for just the two of us, but over a day on such a wee stretch of river that would truly have been a dick move when others could fish and so we each took turns fishing down the pool into the slot. Our new friend was quite amazing to watch. They fished a bobber using a TFO fly reel/center pin, it was cool to see a ridiculous long (80+’) fly/bobber drift-free on a fly line.
We all got some fish but every time I went though, I knew that slot/spot and fished it carefully and the bobber just kept going down. Then I was really dumb lucked with my last fish; it took a hanging nymph in the faster tail as I was about to cast, more like waiting at the end of the swing...I bonked it to tend the day and in the end I went 6/7. It was just plain daft in the most wonderful way.
So, I am truly thankful but I will likely never, ever, ever experience a day like this again for steelhead. It was amazingly great and I know I was really lucky. My real thanks go to my two fishing buds who convinced me to go, wanted me there, knew the runs, had the flies, and the techniques.
Dave
Fast forward a decade and I have some wonderful fishing buddies who are very generous and gracious people, know a load about stuff in general, can take and give a joke, and importantly are really good fisherman. One had a 42” fish from the Sky (released!) and another has a 38” Skagit fish (legit) cast on the wall. We fish for trout, they also still fish for steel. I see steelhead runs all over are in danger, and so was never up for it, certainly the spring stuff, the runs seem done. The Hoh’s a shit show, why add to the crowds harassing the last of what were great runs?
BUT, I’d also heard many stories of the wonderful fishing all over re steelhead and especially on the dry side on a river that’s recently opened…So my buddies are going nuts that it had opened for the first time in 9 yrs. The opening and options were discussed over a cigar, and I was told they were going but I said nope.
Then, I’d seen this week that my Friday was open, and I thought if I ever want to encounter a steelhead then this would be the time. A river with a reasonable number of hatchery fish and the key with friends who know the spots, methods to catch them, and were already there on the river. So, I bombed over HW2 on Thursday night and was ready for Friday early am. I have never nymph fished for steelhead, but Treefrog had a load of flies and all I need was my 6wt,12’6” Spey to join the ranks of a dirty ass nymphers.
To the point, I’ve always really wanted to catch a steelhead, but I did not expect much as a newb with no idea or really given re the resources. We got to the river. It was really, really low, and as such its temp was very cold. Not the best conditions and while my friends had few fish on earlier days, it’d been very slow. It was also really cold by the water with a north wind blowing down the valley. The pool we’d hoped to fish in was occupied and so we sat it out for a good while to see if the rod would leave. He was great caster to watch so it was a nice, if still frustrating, time to watch but they stayed put.
So. Meh!! Enter plan B, the ‘crappier’ pool upstream was open, so I went up there. A strong run in at the head of the pool that tapered off on the far bank with an 8-10’ deep slot off some rocks for about 40’ before it shallowed out before the tail out. It has likely ruined me forever for steelhead fishing. With no real expectations, I started at the top of the run with a size 6, double gold bead stonefly nymph 8’ off the 1” bobber and with a trailing sz 14 gold beaded purple copper John style fly, 18” behind. I do know what a good seam looks like and the need for a drag free drift through a strong current and got into it.
A 45ish degree cast upstream, followed by an immediate big mend upstream, mend more (and more) and then feed line to let stuff drift down drag free. Rinse and repeat with a step down. I had the bobber swim into a seam close to a rock and I just knew that if there was to be a fish, it was in there. The bobber went down, and I set but it was just tight and down deep…I was in denial that it was a fish, likely a rock, and then I saw a really big silver flash, very deep down. I crapped it, fuck me, I maybe had a steelhead and it's big…and it was. It ran up and down the pool in the deep current, dogging it deep, eventually it came into the shallows, ran off and was drawn back. I landed a nice hatchery hen of about 28” and so I had caught my first proper steelhead. Brilliant!
I sat back, rested to the pool and was just stoked, I’d actually, really, finally caught a steelhead. I went back in and then boom! Fish on! Digging and dogging, then ping! shit, gone, empty. Oh well 2ish steelhead on in a day is a great thing. I start working in the pool again and boom! Another nice fish, a 24” native, so back it went. Treefrog went through and caught a 34” hatchery beauty. Our earlier downstream pool neighbor swung by, we chatted. I went through again and bobber where? A real beauty of a wild cock fish, the largest I caught, and with the tail release shot vs glory shot.
Treefrog and I could have hogged the run for just the two of us, but over a day on such a wee stretch of river that would truly have been a dick move when others could fish and so we each took turns fishing down the pool into the slot. Our new friend was quite amazing to watch. They fished a bobber using a TFO fly reel/center pin, it was cool to see a ridiculous long (80+’) fly/bobber drift-free on a fly line.
We all got some fish but every time I went though, I knew that slot/spot and fished it carefully and the bobber just kept going down. Then I was really dumb lucked with my last fish; it took a hanging nymph in the faster tail as I was about to cast, more like waiting at the end of the swing...I bonked it to tend the day and in the end I went 6/7. It was just plain daft in the most wonderful way.
So, I am truly thankful but I will likely never, ever, ever experience a day like this again for steelhead. It was amazingly great and I know I was really lucky. My real thanks go to my two fishing buds who convinced me to go, wanted me there, knew the runs, had the flies, and the techniques.
Dave
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