some of your fave fishing sessions?

SurfnFish

SurfnFish

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We've all had hundreds/thousands of sessions, and only a handful rise to the top. A couple of mine.

-tidewater Kings in early fall, friend and I anchored in our respective boats at a fave hole, in a three hour period I went 5 for 6 on bright chromers ranging from low 20's to low 30's, friend went 4 for 5. Neither of us went more than a half dozen casts without another hookup, the Kings just pouncing on a swung size 2 Orange Comet. My fish finder constantly showed fishing moving underneath it. Never had a session like that before or after on that river, a record return year.

-fall, wife and I taking a break on the Madison, not another angler in in sight, having water and snacks on the bank when we notice V wakes moving slowly upriver towards us, the start of the Hegben Lake Brown migration we'd been told was overdue.
Pretty much every cast with an egg-sucking leech put a fish from 18" to mid 20s on. We fished until 'what's the point', watched them pass for a while, and then in the afternoon on our way back to our rented cabin as a courtesy stopped by the fly shop where we'd bought the leeches to inform them. Within minutes that shop was locked and the trucks in the parking lot were heading for the river.
 
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Outside of our last couple of Baja trips, one of my all time favorite sessions was several years ago, late Spring on my favorite tiger musky lake where in a 3hr bite window, I managed to hook 6 and land 4....all by myself. In the rain (off and on). Hardly anyone else even on the lake.

edit: I need to add a pic...
RC May Tiger.jpg

For trout, it's always an annual camping/fishing trips with a bunch of great friends on the Deschutes. Those are all great!
 
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Man, far too many. I've focused on so many fisheries over the last 20ish years of adulthood where I have heavily focused on fishing that it's tough to pick some.

Off the top of my head:

Methow River: Back in the steelhead glory days of 15ish years ago, me and two friends combined swung up 30+ fish in 2 days on the spey rods. Was pretty surreal. That same season, myself and another friend rose (but didn't hook as many) about two dozen to dries.

Puget Sound and S River pinks: Too many top tier days to list. Just had some plain ol good times in that fishery with friends until I moved away.

Columbia River Chinook: 2023, had 3 out of town friends visiting who never caught a salmon join me for a morning on my local chinook program. We got a late start and got to the spot I picked about an hour after I planned. Made 5 troll passes, landed 4 adult chinook, 2 "super jacks" (adult chinook between 20-24" that don't count against your limit), and lost 4 others. Just a ridiculous morning.

Columbia River Coho: 2022 - Had a morning where myself and two friends walked in to a spot to cast spinners at coho. Morning started out slow, but by mid morning, I had landed over a dozen before bonking my second hatchery fish and calling it a morning.

Tuna: Basically ALLLLLL the trips ;) - but my final trip of 2024 was extra memorable. Had 30+ hookups (which isn't that remarkable overall), landed 20something (still standard), saw a few pods of playful dolphins, saw my first pod of Risso's dolphins, and happened upon a school of 100+ yellowtail of which we hooked a couple and landed one. Wish I could have a do-over on that yellowtail school. I know I could have gotten more if I had been expecting them. Did get a few eats on the fly, but couldn't get them to stick.


I have a wall in my office of memorable days/catches:

1742920913545.png
 
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Evan B said:
Man, far too many. I've focused on so many fisheries over the last 20ish years of adulthood where I have heavily focused on fishing that it's tough to pick some.

Off the top of my head:

Methow River: Back in the steelhead glory days of 15ish years ago, me and two friends combined swung up 30+ fish in 2 days on the spey rods. Was pretty surreal. That same season, myself and another friend rose (but didn't hook as many) about two dozen to dries.

Puget Sound and S River pinks: Too many top tier days to list. Just had some plain ol good times in that fishery with friends until I moved away.

Columbia River Chinook: 2023, had 3 out of town friends visiting who never caught a salmon join me for a morning on my local chinook program. We got a late start and got to the spot I picked about an hour after I planned. Made 5 troll passes, landed 4 adult chinook, 2 "super jacks" (adult chinook between 20-24" that don't count against your limit), and lost 4 others. Just a ridiculous morning.

Columbia River Coho: 2022 - Had a morning where myself and two friends walked in to a spot to cast spinners at coho. Morning started out slow, but by mid morning, I had landed over a dozen before bonking my second hatchery fish and calling it a morning.

Tuna: Basically ALLLLLL the trips ;) - but my final trip of 2024 was extra memorable. Had 30+ hookups (which isn't that remarkable overall), landed 20something (still standard), saw a few pods of playful dolphins, saw my first pod of Risso's dolphins, and happened upon a school of 100+ yellowtail of which we hooked a couple and landed one. Wish I could have a do-over on that yellowtail school. I know I could have gotten more if I had been expecting them. Did get a few eats on the fly, but couldn't get them to stick.


I have a wall in my office of memorable days/catches:

View attachment 146842
Click to expand...
one impressive trophy wall..and what a great way to hang pic's
 
clarkman said:
Outside of our last couple of Baja trips, one of my all time favorite sessions was several years ago, late Spring on my favorite tiger musky lake where in a 3hr bite window, I managed to hook 6 and land 4....all by myself. In the rain (off and on). Hardly anyone else even on the lake.

edit: I need to add a pic...
View attachment 146866

For trout, it's always an annual camping/fishing trips with a bunch of great friends on the Deschutes. Those are all great!
Click to expand...

That's a monster, bigger'n your hat!!!
 
I split from a family trip in Salt Lake, the year after the housing market crashed, and took our little trailer up to the Green. I wrapped a basic Batson 5wt the first night at Browns Park and finished it the next at the big campground below Dutch John. The epoxy was still tacky in the morning when I started up the A section, working fast throwing a beetle upstream. Mayhem. I’ve never seen more fish. I heard from a couple of guides later in the afternoon, 5 or 6 miles in, that a big ant hatch had blown through the day before. Sometimes you just can’t go back the next day, because it isn’t happening again. Drove late and woke up on the Owyhee, and immediately caught three prime fish on wire worms in fast water. The Batson rod is a harsh pain in the butt and I don’t use it much, but I’ll keep it forever.
 
The entire 2001 Puget Sound coho season. Lots of fish and some big ones. The state saltwater and freshwater coho records were both set that year. Just fantastic fishing.
SF
 
I've had the good fortune of some downright silly days on the water. One of my favorites was 9/13/21, at Fall TroutCamp™. I landed a few piglets solo and didn't take pics, and landed a bunch of little (20"-26") trout as well. As luck would have it, one of my partners took a few pics from a pretty decent 9hr session.
9-13-21-1.jpg9-13-21-2.jpg9-13-21-3.jpg9-13-21-4.jpg9-13-21-5.jpg9-13-21-6.jpg
If I remember correctly (iffy), first one was 31", 4th was 32.75", and 6th, or "last cast Clyde", was 31.5"
3rd fish was 27"-ish, but spent more time out of the water than in it - peeled off a healthy yardage of backing as well. I had to take a photo out of respect.
 
G_Smolt said:
I've had the good fortune of some downright silly days on the water. One of my favorites was 9/13/21, at Fall TroutCamp™. I landed a few piglets solo and didn't take pics, and landed a bunch of little (20"-26") trout as well. As luck would have it, one of my partners took a few pics from a pretty decent 9hr session.
View attachment 146947View attachment 146948View attachment 146949View attachment 146950View attachment 146951View attachment 146952
If I remember correctly (iffy), first one was 31", 4th was 32.75", and 6th, or "last cast Clyde", was 31.5"
3rd fish was 27"-ish, but spent more time out of the water than in it - peeled off a healthy yardage of backing as well. I had to take a photo out of respect.
Click to expand...
holy frick...

you know i'm plagiarizing your fly...
 
My favorite fishing time/sessions are when life-long memories are created.

Fishing on the Dose with my dad. Learning how to flyfish there, too. Catching my first steelhead on the Dose.

Times spent with my dad fishing when he was in declining health. The last time I spent time with my dad was at Rivers Inlet. We caught so many salmon we were giving them to the lodge (for dinner for all the other guests) so we could continue fishing.

When I could help others make memories. I helped a grandfather connect with his grandson through fishing. I helped a member of our adoption group learn 'about the tug'. I helped Bruce (HBMCC) catch several fish of a life time. I have helped some first time fisher people catch fish. I have helped several 'Make a Wish' type fisher people catch a a fish or two.

A student of the Mayfly Project caught, as her dad said, a fish of her life time. Took the same family out fishing, two sons and the dad. We had four fish on at once all over 20 inches. Watching him trying to explain to his sons 'this is not normal' ---> priceless!

Not gonna lie, I have a couple of special memories. When I caught 5 different species of trout and a whitefish on RC on the same day. Caught my first 'nice' bull trout on RC. Also caught a 7 pound brown trout on the same creek.

It is the smiles I see on their faces that is what important to me. Smiles on my face is not a bad thing either....
 
Too many to list, but here are a few!

My first guided trip on the Missouri River, hit the trico hatch, and almost joined the 20/20 club on my first fish of the day. It was big enough, but my fly was a size 18! We spent the first 4 hours in the first quarter mile, below Halter lake and I stopped counting at 20 fish! My guide, Dan from Wolf Creek Outfitters, earned his money and must have fixed a dozen or more fouled leaders and retied countless flies.. He had told me that we would be on the water about 8 hours, we were on for at least 11 hours! I tipped him about $100 and wish I could have tipped more! I didn't remember to put on sunscreen until we were halfway into the day, but had a good base tan and luckily I don't burn easily! Awesome day!

Many days on Rock Creek and the Bitterroot! I caught the beginning of the salmon fly hatch on Rock Creek on the last day of my 16 day trip all over MT! I hit 13 rivers and one lake, and only took one day off and hit the museum in Bozeman and met Sue the T-Rex! I had some plans and didn't stay for the salmon fly hatch.. I regret that to this day! I should have stayed another week or month!

My first steelhead on the Snoqualmie River, David Powell at the first spot! I had been swinging flies for 5 years, felt like I had been doing everything right and had many friends take me out and give me the first pass through so much water on the Sky! I was fishing about 100 days a year, and floating the Sky and the Yakima regularly! I ended up getting two steelhead that day! A 28" hen (which I kept) and a 32" buck.. I should have kept both! I was by myself and did it on my Buelah spey that I built on a purple intruder! Awesome day!

So many others, many fishless days, but with great company, cigars and whisk(e)y! Chasing sea run cutthroat trout and salmon with Leland and Bob Triggs! Meeting randoms on the river or having friends come by and ask if I happened to have any whisk(e)y! The answer is always yes! LOL!
 
Years ago at Rufus Woods when they had to open the net pens and released over 100,000 commercial sized rainbows from the fish farm. Many had 80 to 100 fish days with bows from 2 to 12 pounds. It lasted about 3 weeks.
 
2006, first King ever on the swing. Finished a fun surf session just over the dune from the river, changed into hip waders at the truck, decided to give it a go even though the tide was going out which tended to flush the fish from the hole.
Waded out, swung the Green Comet I had tied the night before and just parked it, letting it hang in the current. Started to strip it in and got the tug...or as a friend of mine like to say, 'the tug is the drug'

IMG_20140715_201910.jpg
 
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This one always sticks. And I'm glad i messed with the camera on my then new phone. This pic i took almost 20 years ago. My last fishing trip with my Dad. We did catch a lot of fish that day. He was worn out from the walk in and fighting the fish. He passed a few months later. But between the cancer and chemo he was worm out that day. But the weather cooperated for an October day salmon fishing.
 
Gear day on Cape Cod, October, outer cape- crest of the hill you could see birds, splashes and nervous water within 100 yards of the shore stretching far north. Seals were crashing into fish, fish were jumping. Most every cast, striped bass. A dull arm pain developing, cut the trebles down to single hook, mash the barb, no changes in hookups. You could see the bass through the surf chasing bait, be it sand eels, menhaden etc, the seals after the bass, all of it heading south for the migration. Those striper migrations, holy smokes

Last pink season, son and I are near the cargo ships in Elliot bay, he's hooking pinks left and right in a circumstance where the blind neglect of his cast fly causes the drop, which the Pinks go nuts for. He's hooting and hollering, showing the guys on the boats they he's getting fish too, they're hooting back at him, encouraging him, he's super stoked. Jack gets bored after a while with casting and starts just swirling the fly around in the water and the fish are swiping at it, you could see fish stacked up one on top of the other into the water as deep as vision went, maybe 5-6 feet

Winter dedicated trip to fish for SRC, this was when I was just getting into it, and a mess or resident coho show, easy to catch, hard to chase- that day spoiled me.

it's weird when you have a banner day early on, you end up looking for it again for years. Then you have a banner day when you are older and you wish someone was with you to see it, to share in it, like a parent, a child, a close friend...
 
1st cast landed a coho
2nd cast landed 2nd coho
3rd cast landed 3rd coho
4th cast nothing
5th cast landed a steelhead

Ended up with 2 more steelhead.

I had a guy fishing just down from me, he was skunked. I invited him up to my slot, he couldn't get a fish. I switched out his lure for mine, he was more than willing to try it. His 1st cast, landed a steelhead.
 
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