As always,welcome to another edition of my fishing journal. I will try to keep it shorter today for a change.
Before I start the journal congratulations go to Nick who certainly lived up to his name today hooking and beaching a good sized hatchery buck this morning. The steelhead tipped the scales at Fred's Custom Tackle just under 15 and a half pounds. This fish put "The Master's" name on the top rung in the annual Wally Hall Junior Memorial Steelhead Derby. Nick also picked up a nice cash prize for the first steelhead weighed in that was over 15 pounds. This gives the rest of us mere mortals a target to try and beat.
I got to the river a little earlier than usual and found a couple of anglers I know already at the KE run, we visited for a while waiting for enough daylight to make that first cast, all of us in anticipation of some early action after yesterday's success. As the boys were there first I gave them first choice of the run and maybe I should have left the run to them and moved on but I stayed for 15 minutes or so in hope of a wild for the tube. Helmut then made his way to the run so I said "you take my spot as I am going to give the "Root Run" a try".
I position myself just below the lower root wad and fish the run for around 5 or so minutes. Water conditions even after last nights rain is perfect and the speed of the run is like it was when I connected with my first fish here a couple of weeks ago. The Maple Leaf drennan drift is not interupted so I move to another run but the action there is similar as the KE and the "Root Run" so I start back up river. As I start to pass the "root run" I decide to try fishing above it a tad by standing in the riffle, just before the gradual drop off. I am not sure how many casts I actually made but it must have been less than 5 when the drennan that is bouncing up and down in the wavy part of the run is suddenly gone from my intent eyes. A quick flip of the wrist does the job as a brief head shake is the beginning of another battle with my quarry. The steelhead respects the run for a few seconds before heading for the "Broken Rod Log Jam" ( those that read an early post from this week will know how it got this name)
This time to try to avoid this rod and tackle busting jam I just let the steelhead run. A thing in my favor was the fish when it left the "Root Run" it was near the middle of the river. As the line from my reel was of course disappearing in a hurry I had to first scramble out of the water, then over several logs washed up on the gravel bar by this years high water. With the sage rod held high as I could I easily cleared the "Broken Rod Jam". My next problem would be if the steelhead continued down the rapids but lucky as I reached the end of the gravel bar where I could go no further she had not gone down the chute. At this time Helmut had come down from the KE to help me tube the fish if it was a wild which I hope it would be. I am able to coax her out of a bit of a boil into a bit of a back water where we see it is a hatchery fish in the 11 pound range. I snap a couple of pictures for Rodney's ID request before I release her from my grasp. She had a small seal bite on her belly and if we post a picture you may notice it and a single sea lice near her tail.
I was disappointed she had not been a wild but with that seal bite she most likely would not have been a good candidate for a brood fish as I believe infection could have been a problem down the line.
I stay in the area for a while but I find no further action so I decide to check out a new location as lots of anglers are now appearing on the scene. As I move to the run I meet up with Cammer and had a good visit for a few minutes
As I arrive at the first run my Cell phone rings just as I ready to make my first cast. It is Nick who tells me all about his catch of the day and maybe of the year to date among all anglers on the Vedder. I congratulate him of course but why how does he always seem to get the big ones.
With Nick now finished for the day he has left his fishing partner of the day Pistol Pete to fend for himself for the rest of the day.
As I just complete this journal Nick gives me a report Pistol Pete did not need a a guide after all and picked up a nice steelhead. Maybe he will tell us about it.
As I walk to the top of the run I see fresh blood on the rocks so a fish had been taken there this morning. If there is one there should be more I think. As I work the run from the top down another angler stops by and starts fishing the little side channel behind me. I notice he is fishing too deep for my liking.
When I finish fishing the run I notice I am out of the roe bags I tied this morning so I switch to a prawn tail and go to the top of the run to see if a steelhead may like this offering. As I get partway down the run the other angler comes over from the side channel and cuts in below me.
So I decide to slip over to the 20 foot or so wide side stream. It was only about Three feet deep but the entrance to it was excellent. The prawn tail is looking a little worse for wear so I switch to an egg sack.
As I mentioned I was out of my roe sacks I had tied this morning but had some others that I had picked up a couple of days ago in a parking lot. They had either been thrown away
or dropped by someone, they looked ok to me. There was about 24 in the bag if you lost them, I have most of them left, let me know.
Anyway I slipped one on and as I walked down with the drift the float is gone, I am surprised especially on the first cast, one also wonders maybe you have found a snag. I do not strike as well as I could and the results is nothing. It is 6 or more casts before it happens again, float downtown. This time I connect and I know it is a small fish right away thinking maybe a large dolly. The fight is short as this fish when I first see it I know it will not challenge the "Masters" steelhead. My next hope it is a wild but no it is another hatchery fish, a small buck, no more than 5 pounds. A quick picture for ID purposes once again and he has gained his freedom. A few more casts in the area then off to lunch at Woody's Grill that I talked about yesterday. I order a mushroom burger with fries and it was one of the best I have ever had, give it a try when in the area and saw hi to Steve. He opens at 6:30 am on the weekend and 9:30 during the week, closed Monday. A free breakfast once again with the first fish of the day brought in.
Sthdslayer and Ken drop in for a burger also and Sthdslayer reports he has released a hatchery doe in the 12 pound range.
With about 4 hours left in the day it is time to check out some other areas for future reference. I find no fish but see one angler sitting on a log while his partner fishes. I find out later he indeed had taken a fish so they were in the area I was checking out as well
.
Near the end of the day I run into good friend Gary and we fish together and I snap a couple of scenery photos.
Nothing happens for either of us so another day ends as well as the week. It was a good week for a number of anglers in between the river being not in the best of conditions for a day or so. I was happy to land 6 and contribute 2 of my wild steelhead along with another angler's fish for the brood stock program that started on Monday. I believe the hatchery now has 10 of the 70 or so they require.
Tomorrow the river will be busy of course and I think I will go out and take some picture but I may take the fishing equipment along as well as the steelhead season sort of gets to you doesn't it.
We will be keying up some pictures shortly including "The Master's" derby leader that sort of makes my fish pictures look, well you know.
However I have a personal record hook - land ratio of 9 for 9 not counting the two I have rolled. Sorry for sort of boasting a bit but does it really matter that much. If you won a million dollars I guess you would tell someone and to me the steelhead is a million dollar fish the true monarch of all gamefish. Hope all members of this forum connect with a fish or two this weekend, see you on the flow.
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Topic: The Master Was Truly That Today, Plus Vedder Report, Jan.20 (Read 4845 times)