Taling about the exit to Yarrow from Hwy#1, it has cracks and holes all over the place. It was there since the snow melted and is still unrepaired as of my last trip. Whose job is it to fix that?
Slow down at the exit if you don't want wheel alignment job.
Talking about steelhead frustration, I can identify with it.
I thought my 6 months drought (including salmon season) as a 1st-year greenie was long, until I met a guy who had not had a touch for 3 years. Well, even that is not bad compared to an old guy I met at the river. After seeing me hook a fish, he came over to help landing it. What he next said shocked me. "You are really lucky to have a fish. How do you do it?" He said, full of admiration for my success, which to me then was just one of the hook ups expected. "I haven't had a steelhead in SEVEN years!" He lamented. I was shocked. "You must not fish often then, do you live in town?" I asked. "No" he said, and pointing to a house along the shore in a distance, "I live there." I was speechless, but filled with admiration in return for that old steelhead warrior who just refused to fade into the sun set, no matter what. Needless to say, I showed him all my set ups, and gave him as many tips as I could. Who knows, he might just luck out soon after.
Then there was this Chinese fisher I met who operated a construction company, who had not hooked a steelhead for 2 years. Met him at the Bergman section of the river a few years ago. I gave him some leads and suggestions. About 2 months later, we bumped into each other again, he gladly announced he was into 3 fish so far. Perhaps the best things besides watching, is to approach a successful fisher, and asked for some advice, explaining to him you are just starting and will need some help from a 'pro' like him. Most people will help you if you give them the respect. I know I did that, and got quite a bit of tips from some helpfull top guns. The friend with a 9-fish day was just one of those really helpful guys I met and learned something from, and we had become the best of friends since then.
Personally, I don't mind taking a newer fisher out fishing. Did that with Hook, a former member. With some on-the-spot illustration of good waters, he caught on very quickly. With his own research and hard work, he turned into a pretty good fisher in a short time. He even got into a Thompson steelie in his first trip there. So, it helps if you go out with someone who have gone through the trenches. Saying that, no one, including all the top rods, can really promise that they can help any one to get into a fish on any given trip (including themselves), as steelheading is quite an unpredictable endeavour. All one can do is convey the insights, to increase the odds of getting one, after possibly many tries.
One thing to remember is always check for most current fishing info on the river, by talking to fishers, tackle stores, cafes (oh, don'tforget Chris' Cookie, he & the master may be there
), or simply checking for kill marks. Chris always writes about the buddies phoning each other and that is a mighty helpful thing. Fishing where the fish are will definitely help the odds. I know my last 3 fish were all because of employing this approach.
PM me if you still need any help, BigFisher.
Good luck & tight lines.
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Topic: Back At It, Vedder Feb.3 (Read 3951 times)