Three of us went over to Port Alberni on Saturday night, hit Cactus Club on the way in to admire the talent and then drove through an amazing amount of snow until we came down off the hump into Port Alberni. We had two boats arranged for Sunday morning and were picked up by the guides at 7:00 am. Two of my buddies are Steelhead vets while I've never caught one so they went in one boat and I went in the other.
We fished until about 4:00 pm, the river was high with some nice green color to it and good visibility. The day was awesome for me even though I came home empty handed, I did manage to hook my first Steel and then watch it cartwheel across the surface and shake my hook. Talk about working ! It was like non-stop casting all day from the minute we hit the flow until we pulled the gear to head in. I am sore all over from balancing myself in the boat (it was pretty rough in spots) and casting I don't know how many times.
My buddies hooked nine for the day including a couple of wild ones which they released and at least one summer run. They bonked four for the day and were all smiles (between yawns) on the way home.
I have only been fishing the rivers since late September and have learned so much since my first feeble attempts at the Vedder bridge. Sunday was no exception, it was like going to school for the day. I learned so much about fishing fast water (free spooling your line while thumbing it and maintaining float position) and spotting likely areas the Steels would be sitting. Casting accuracy as well was huge, we fished using a grid system which allowed for great coverage. The best part was when my guide told me to cast in between the hanging boughs of a cedar and a pine tree and take the belly out of the line while free spooling as the boat drifted. Ten seconds later, wham ! my first and only Steel on for the day
Lastly, there were a few other boats out and as one of them drifted by one of the guys thought he saw Brendan Morrison. Turns out a few of the 'Nucks were out for the day too.
Here are the pics:
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Topic: Stamp River December 17th, 2006 (Read 2771 times)