Tomas and I had big plans to be up at 7am, and be out on the river by 8:30, as we have to make the long drive from the big smoke... Well it was 9:45am when the alarm went off again... Whoops!
We drag our sorry butts out there and arrive at 11:30, to a very busy river... We stop at one spot, with all intention of fishing, put the waders on, and then got that 'feeling' and promptly got back in the truck.
We moved upriver, and found better numbers of vehicles, and decide to take a stroll down to the river to see if we can shoe horn our way in... Well there were lots of spots, and a few people were leaving empty handed. I started out above Tomas, who was still looking for his first of the year... We plodded all the pockets, and no one seemed to be home.
Tomas decided to hit a slot the next run up, and I switched the gear rod for the spey... The water in spots looked perfect for the fly, getting progressively better the further downstream it went. And with the number of fish I was hearing about hooked on the spey had me itching big time to feel the pull of fresh steel.
I worked the run all the way down to mid station, where another angler was going over the water for a third time, and I gave him some time to work the pink worm...
After a while I made my move, before any other gear fishers could close the gap. As soon as I hit the softer water, a fish slammed the fly, just 10 feet offshore!
After a bit of action, she came right in, and I could see her adipose was missing so on the beach she went. Unfortunately not much of a fight, but some nice rolls right on the beach which caused some nail biting. I dispatched it and went to find Tomas who was stunned when he saw my catch, he missed the whole thing... Nice meeting you mastercaster!
Here is the fish:
Then we decided to move to another spot, and after much bush whacking and wading we arrived to find no one in the spot I wanted to hit... Then I saw three guys coming down, so I motioned to Tomas to step into the best part of the run, and he started casting away... I started fiddling with my licence, to make sure it was watertight in it's case...
I hear a splash, and Tomas has one on!! The fish is going crazy, cartwheeling all over the place, but Tomas handles her like a pro... After 4 leaps and runs, she finally gets tired and we quickly ease her closer... Another hatchery!! In one quick motion, we have her on the beach, and quickly dispatched. It was an awesome fight!
After that huge one last year, Tomas did not get another fish last season, he was more enamoured with Whistler than the Vedder
So this is his first Hatchery steelhead, and he is most proud, just like he should be!!
Anyhow, it was a great day, and the call to my dad with "we both got our limit" was responded with "Of What?" He seriously didn't believe us...
Nicole
Author
Topic: Vedder River-Jan. 06, 2008 (Read 8329 times)