haven t posted a story yet this season,like every one else,i ve had a decent/good season on the vedder this year.well
here goes.
we head to a couple spots we havn t fished much this year,i go down low on the run,my bud starts to head up river,my
i quickly have a fish on,and because my drag is off,starts peeling line out,so as i m trying to turn my drag on,and play the
fish,suddenly,"twang" goes my leader.my bud laughs,continues on up river.i pound the tail out,hopeing for another hook up,na da.
about 30-40 min my bud works his way back down to me,"any luck" i ask,"yep,nice 7lb wild doe"he says.crap.i think i didn t even get a look at mine.so we walk down a kilo,to a fast fairly deep hole,my first cast," fish on" i say,it feel small like 3 lbs,as i try to play it a bit,"twang" my leader,"what the hell" i think and try to pull some line out,won t budge,crap i d accidently turned the drag all the way up,doh!
as i m retying,"fire in the hole"my bud says.his rod is doubled over,after a great fight,zipping all around the pool,jumping
everthing you dream about.when he gets to the beach it 12-14 silver bullet.quick pic,and its back on its way."that was a classic steelhead take"my buds says with a smile.i m so jealous,i fish every nook and cranny in the pool,nothing.
so we go another klick,downstream fish some nice water,i m getting desparate to land a fish,i go even farther downstream,lose a few set ups,almost lose a drennan,but manage grab it at the tailout.but no fish.i see my bud,starting to work his back upstream,so i hike back up to "anymore luck"i say," nope"he says"lets head back to the car"
as we are walking up the road,i m thinking i ll try that fast hole a couple more casts,and as we get close i say"i think i ll
try a few more casts","don t be to long" he as goes off to get some river rocks for his garden.as i start to go down the trail,i see another fisherman standing above,looking down at the pool.oh,no i think."hi"i say "hi"he says"thats some nice
looking water"we chat for a couple min,he says he to tired to climb down and give it a go,and tells me to go ahead,and takes off for his car.
i climb down,first cast to the tailout,where my buddy caught his,nothing.so i cast in near shore,where its deep,nothing.
i turn a bit and try the really fast water(too fast really) in the centre,in the middle of the rapid,my float stops,i set the hook,nothing.not a bit of movement.crap,i think snag,and start to pull on my rod,the float starts moving,slowly towards the deep,alright i think fire in the hole.i give a yell for my bud,meanwhile the fish just sits there,pulls out a few feet of line,but hardly moves,what the hell?hes sitting in the middle of that rapid not moving,and i can t move him.and i start
to recall stories i ve read about "the big ones".i start franticly calling for my bud,there s only one little spot to land it.
5 min goes,then 10,i havn t even had a glimpse of the fish,no flash nothing,but i can feel the weight on the rod.and i m
getting nervous,now he starts pulling around the pool,but always staying deep.i m hoarse from yelling for my bud,looks like i m on my own.after 15 min,i finaly see a flash and i start to shake,its big.another 5-10 min of him zipping around the
pool,i start to bring him to the beach,drop my rod,follow the line down,tail him,stroke his belly,the hook is in the top front of his jaw (and comes out so easy),i try to measure him against my rod,i have no tape ,my bud has the camera,so
stand up holding him,turn point him up stream,and he takes off out my hand like a rocket,for the deep.i look to heaven,give whoop,grab my rod and start running for the car.
when i came running out of the bush,my bud though i d gone crazy.shouting,talking a mile a min,all sweaty having run(in waders)all the way,back to the car.the fish was easily over 20 lbs,red cheeks and red lat stripe and was so colored,he must
have been holding in that pool,for weeks.i ws so lucky,if he headed downstream,i wouldn t have been able to stop him.
sorry its so long,i know it sounds like a fish tale,but if you could see the grin on my face,and its been there since monday.cheers.
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Topic: one last steelhead (Read 1998 times)