I too made it out to the river today but I did not get an early start as the wind was still blowing so I spend some time reading the paper and a coffee at Tims, hoping the wind would subside some.
I finally could wait no longer as the day was slipping by. I am on the river by 12:30. I first tied up some dime sized roe bags and spent a bit of time fishing around the Hydro Bridge area but to no avail, of course the wind was still blowing from the North East with some pretty strong gusts that spoiled some of my drifts. Finding no fish in the 4 runs I tried I decided to take a break and warm up some. Of course I was getting a bit disappointed as I had not even had a bite since I had lost a couple of fish on Christmas Day or maybe it was just one steelhead that I had hooked twice.
I think I was over a thousand casts since that day so I knew I should be getting another chance, soon, I hoped.
Before I headed to my next location I stopped for a hamburger along with another coffee and was back at the river with around 90 minutes of fishing time left in the day. When I left the Leaf Mobile and headed to the river it seemed the wind had died down some or maybe it was a bit sheltered from the first area I had fished, it felt more comfortable.
I fished two runs that looked inviting for a steelhead to pull into but nothing was home or if they were they were not interested in the roe bag. Next up was the run where I had the action on Christmas Day. I fished through the run with nothing to show for it so I worked my way back up the run fairly quickly. As I reached the top of the run exactly where I had the fish on the 25th the Maple Leaf Drennan went from my sight, I set the hook firmly but felt no resistance. When I looked at the roe bag it looked like it had been pulled apart a little. As there was a side stream meeting the run where the bite took place there was a bit of a boil so I thought maybe that what pulled the float under.
The next couple of casts I was really ready, the float did not go under, so much for the boil idea of taking it from my sight. The next cast in nearly the same spot the MLD is under, I again set the hook firmly, yes a steelhead, right away when it feels the pinch of the hook it is spashing around on top of the water, several times. Oh so nice to see chrome again, not a big fish maybe in the 7 to 8 pound range. After dancing around on the surface it stays under for a bit, not fighting that hard, of course I am excited as it has been on longer than the Christmas Day fish that were on very briefly. I have moved the fish from the center of the run and it is getting close to me and it swims to the top of the water, I am able to see the whole fish, it looks lovely, bright as a newly minted silver dollar, one of natures most beautiful game fish. The fish is fairly close and I can even see its eyes.
The fish has seen me too, it dives and starts taking line once again, I am just starting to think I wonder what it will weigh when I beach it, that is if it is a hatchery but I donot really care as it will be my first steelhead for the new decade. I should have not been thinking this as all of a sudden the empty feeling of slack line, the steelhead has beaten me, gained its freedom, darn I say out loud, 0 for 3.
Oh well I had some excitement and I have my confidence back. Even after fishing steelhead for many years and catching my share over that time period you can start second guessing yourself after many blanked trips. A lot like anyone I guess, not only in fishing but in other aspects of life and participating in other sports, confidence is certainly an asset.
I work the run a bit longer hoping maybe it has a companion but no such luck. Daylight is fading away quickly and I want to fish another spot before the days ends so I head to it. It too looks inviting but I guess I had my lone chance of the day as I am not offered another opportunity.
The geese, several species of ducks, eagles, glaucous gulls and the crows are also calling it a day as they head to their nightly roosts. So do I, I donot know what they are thinking about but I know I like the birds will be returning to the river tomorrow, in search of an Ironhead, I just hope it will not take another thousand casts to connect, once again.
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Topic: Chilliwack River, January 7th 2010 (Read 2687 times)