After reading Bug Pumper's report, I was itching to go to Vedder.
Somehow, I couldn't sleep last night, so I decided to head for Vedder at 5:00a.m.
I arrived at the usual spot around 6:30a.m. It was still too dark, so I waited in the car for 30min., listening to the radio. Actually, I was lonely and kind of scared of walking through bushes all by myself...
When it got light enough to see my float, I headed down to the river bank. It was quite windy and cold. There was still nobody around but I. I had a whole run to myself for the most of the morning! (Few hours after the dawn, few people came and went, and they didn't seem to have any luck..)
Anyways, how did I do?
Whoo, Hoo!
At very first cast, I hooked into a dirty chum. Landed and released it.
Few minute later, another chum. Broke off. Few minute later, chum. Broke off. They were all very very dark.
Finally around 8:00ish, a chrome hatchery Coho around 13lb.range.
I managed to bring it up the river bank after a few min. of fighting.
I put down my rod and walked up to the fish. Then the fish shook its head and the hook simply dropped on a ground ... The coho rolled down the bank and swam away.. Doh!
After that, nothing for hour or two. Then chums started to take my roe.
Few broke off, few landed. All released.
I hooked another hatchery coho around 12~13lb. The fish came to the shallow and the line snapped. This is because, I hadn't changed my leader after hooking boot chums. I totally deserved it...
Later, I finally bonked a chrome female Coho 24inches long. I cleaned it, its guts and gills thrown away and roe put in a zip-lock bag. When I was washing my hands, this already cleaned fish started flopping around behind me...!
Quite vigorously, too!!!! Aaaaaagh!! It sure freaked me out.... It was good thing that I still had it on a ground, instead of soaking it in the river water...
Later, I hooked a wild Coho. Landed it. Released it. I couldn't
tell if it was a male or a female. It was rather pinkish and dark...
Again, few moments later, I landed another chrome hatchery male Coho. Bonked it.
So, I took home 2 hatchery cohoes. I dropped off the male at my boss' house on the way back They really love to eat.. eh.. sperm sack!Yaaak!
She mixes it up with garlic and thyme and fries 'em.. Tastes like oyster, so they tell me..
In total, I hooked around 5 to 6 Cohoes, including the two I kept.
Did not see any chinooks today.
Side note: I landed 3 steel-head? smolts, ranging from 8inches to
12inches. Their fin was clipped. Their strike is so hard, harder than that of cohoes.. Also they put up better fights than chums did.
They could have been Rainbows, perhaps? I can't tell the difference between these two.
I was sooo tired, sleepy and my hands were freezing, but it was such an excellent outing. I say again, short floating is fun!
By the way, I don't understand why there were so few people today as fishing is still very very good.
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Topic: Vedder Oct. 26. (Read 10471 times)