I headed for the river just before first light and as I drove towards the river I kept thinking where I should start and before I knew it the Leaf Mobile had driven to the area where I ended the day yesterday.
As I waited for daylight to break I sipped on my coffee in the warmth of the truck and tied up 4 fresh roe bags, I decided on sizes from a quarter to a nickel. I wondered what shape the river would be in but as we had little rain overnight and it was fairly cool this morning it should be good.
With the roe bags now made, I slipped on my wading belt, my back pack and the black brood capture tube. I hope I can get a wild fish from me or from another angler. At the last report I head only 2 have been taken but the program just began on the 16th. A lot of the snow has now melted but I nearly went down on a patch of ice as I made my 5 minute walk to the river. Reminded myself to be careful as with an advancing age I am not as agile as I once was.
I am pleased to observe on my first view of the flow I can see conditions are even better than yesterday when I put in little over 4 hours without a touch but I did see a fish taken at the “Early Run” the scene of my only other success of the season.
As I near this run I see no anglers around anywhere, that’s strange but of course with the changing water conditions a number of anglers do not want to travel a distance to only see the river blown. We that live close to this precious river may take that fact for granted. That is why some of us try to update the river the best we can to help those not as fortunate as some of us even though some people donot like us doing so. Being a bit selfish in my mind. Life is too short to worry about that in our sometimes turbulent life. As well when you post things on the net you open yourself to criticism from some but that too is part of life.
I see the Early empty but decide to try the old “Riley’s Rock” area, as a friend shared with me yesterday he rolled a fish there, after I had just fished it 15 minutes before him.
I slip on one of the roe bags and make a few casts when Ken comes by; we visit for a bit before he heads down the trail most likely to the Early.
That’s fine, I will keep an eye on him encase he gets into a fish that could be a wild for the tube. He does not stay at the run too long and as I have worked Ridley’s enough, without success even though it looks so good this morning I decide to work down to where Ken had fished.
I work a small run as I work towards the Early. I start at the top of the Early of course, it looks good too again this morning. I see another angler arrive at the flat, above the “Chum Run” as I make my first cast. The top is not as good as lower part but one never knows where our prized steelhead may be laying. That what makes steelhead fishing a challenge as well as enjoyable at the same time. We all have caught them in strange places haven’t we?
On the second cast the Maple Leaf DNE is gone from my view, completely, I know this is not bottom or a snag so I strike solidly; solid is the next feeling for a fleeting second before my quarry is heading down river, line peeling line off my well worn Avon. At last a fish on after a few blanked trips the last while. Suddenly it changes direction and is zipping upstream. I have a hard time getting the slack back on the relic of a reel that actually in pretty bad shape, should be retired like me but still enjoys fishing too.
I now think maybe the fish is gone as I feel no tension at all but I finally do make contact and as soon as the fish feels tension once again it head back downstream. Next I wonder if it will do the same as my first fish in the Early did, head out of the run.
It does not take long to decide what it wishes to do, it keeps going and is moving fast in this swift part of the river, a lot of line out too, I briefly wonder now much line is actually left. I hate to look and just keep following it at a brisk pace.
The angler who I mention before is now just below me and does not see me coming and as I get near him he is just getting ready to make a cast which will be over my line. I hate shouting but to prevent a possible tangle with the fish I to say “coming by you with a fish,” he hears me and does not cast, whew.
As I pass him I say “now to avoid some snags below”, he says “you are OK as the fish is inside them”, another whew. He is right as the iron slips by them by a good measure and I reach a nice area to land the fish. The same place where my first fish of the year was beached, way back in December, wow a long time between fish to the beach. Next I wonder, a hatchery or wild, actually I hope for a wild for the tube but if not a fresh fish for the table will be good too, decision now made.
Finally this silver bullet hen is close enough to me to see no fin, it looks around 9 pounds as I guide it into the shallows and on to the rocky shore, my fishing day ends as its name is entered on the fishing license. It is around 8:30 as I begin the trek back to the Leaf Mobile with a feeling some satisfaction even though maybe I should have released it so I could fish for the tube but a fair amount of time left to help get the 70 odd fish for the program.
As I am entered in the Wally Hall Junior Memorial Derby I decide to weigh it in at Freds. It hits the scales a bit under 11 pounds. They ask to get a picture of the fish and at first I decline but what the heck, a picture with my Maple Leaf hoody on as well as my Salmon are Sacred hat will be nice for my Maple Leaf and fish farms friends on this forum to see them along with a nice steelhead, one could not ask for a much better combination.
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Topic: Chilliwack River, January 24th 2012 (Read 3119 times)