ogilvie Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Since we returned from the Calgary Show we have been busy renovating the little store and getting business done. Yes,I have been out fishing(steelhead) several times and blanked . But we had a bit of rain that spiked a few of the Rivers that I occasion...so yesterday Morning by 6 am I was out of here and on my way to my special place...had to drop off the Kick Boat and fishing stuff near the trail...drive about 4 miles to the destination and walk back to the trail(hitched a ride 1/2 way),this is a very remote region and I was very lucky to hitch this ride! About a 1 km walk into the trail I picked up the gear, carry everything through the woods and down a very steep slope to a plateau that reveals an incredible waterfalls and barrier to all fish. It was lightly snowing and a bit windy,perfect Steelhead weather. It takes about 10 minutes to inflate the Kickboat and I'm off,working the warer below the falls. The spray is a bit much at times so hood was on . Normally all I ever seem to land in this area is Cutthroat Trout in the 15-18" range. Landed One and had a few touches...too much spray so off I go again....As a rule I don't get into any Steelhead for about another Mile or so and this day held true. Once to my Honey Spot I guided myself into position with great care,the water was a bit off colour so my odds were better. A number of years ago I landed 7 fish in this river useing a certain colour..and to this point I hadn't landed or even hooked into a Steelhead with any colour this day. So,I tied on this colour intruder, tied at home the night before. Second swing "Voila, a tug and a great battle from a Steelhead of about 4 lbs...Small for this River. "There has to be a larger fish in this run" mumbleing to myself. I was useing the Tamar,12'6" Small Spey Rod,,,great little tool..matched with an Elixir line tipped with a 14' fast sink poly tip. A quick cast upstream about 1:oclock and letting out plenty of line for a long Swing...the cast was only short about 60', the main current was taking the belly too fast so I began to straighten out the line but it pulled back....a Steelhead about 15lbs and Dime Bright let off a run that took me into the backing before I could grab the reel and adjust the drag...after a magnificant battle and great displeasure at being disturbed ,the fish came to me much too easily,I was thinking Hollywood and this fish was thinking F...U...He came into a quiet area with water about a foot deep...he took One Look at this alien and bolted ,leaving me with a camera in hand,1/2 smoked soaking wet cigar stuck in my lips and a grin on my face.Great to be alive... teh next 2 miles was perfect conditions but Notta. Another often overlooked slot produced another fish about the same size but this time ,on the Same Fly,he came not so close and in faster water decided to haed back to the Ocean with the fly and leader attached... Smiled all the way home,even though I had to sit in a SNow Storm and wait for a bus that had slid off the road and restricted traffic totally from both directions. What the heck was a bus doing out here anyway?? loaded with a girls class of future biologists visiting some remote Marine Biology Station in the Middle of Nowhere. The bus finally managed to be slid into a moveable position and for me, now a 60 km trip home in a blizzard,warm as toast,happy as a clam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alhuger Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 That's a great story Courtney, thanks. What material do you usually use in your intruders? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirocco Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Excellent read, sounds like a wonderful day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Great story Courtney, thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogilvie Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 If I can ever find out how to post pictures on this site ....Yesterday was actually one of those days that only comes along a few times in a lifetime. The story in a few paragraphs did it little justice but had to be said...I am going to send Sirocco the picture of the Water falls...maybe he can find his way to post the pIc' C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigbadbrent Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 8 more days 8 more days 8 more days 8 more days 8 more days 8 more days 8 more days too far away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogilvie Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 A picture tells a thousand words and stories... and sets up a memory system that wakes up ever so often...to the discomfort of our loved ones sometimes...yet we must prevail the guilt and venture on..To have a Steelhead look at you with eyes resolved to death only to be released to fight another day is truely remarkable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDone Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Lucky B#stard!! Weekend is finally here and we're looking at a high of -24, but it will warm up on Monday . Good to here you got out Court. I know you were itchin to get on that stream. Send me the pics I can post them for you. Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headscan Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 What the heck was a bus doing out here anyway?? I think it's obvious he was taking people out to fish your water. The driver was watching you fight that big boy instead of the road, thus sliding off it. Fortunately at the same time everyone's rods broke from the impact, leaving them all to think it a bad omen so they packed it in never to return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirocco Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Beauty Spot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogilvie Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 I think it's obvious he was taking people out to fish your water. The driver was watching you fight that big boy instead of the road, thus sliding off it. Fortunately at the same time everyone's rods broke from the impact, leaving them all to think it a bad omen so they packed it in never to return. Yeah,thats what happened...like that story! Also,thanks Sirocco,the pic...how did you do that? C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirocco Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 No worries! The pic is 1.5MB directly out of the camera, and the upload limit on this site is 100KB. Therefore I had to dramatically downsize it... essentially I saved it as a low-res jpeg (I could go into all the details for web saving but they wouldn't help you much). Lots of programs can do this for you with a few clicks of the mouse, although I'm not familiar with any specific ones that do it well. Hopefully someone else can help out in that department and in the mean time I'll do a little research. Or feel free to send me the images and I'm always happy to post them for you! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigbadbrent Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 get yourself a photobucket account, it resizes it for you, and then you just do a link to it using img tags on both ends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 By far the easiest way to resize photos is to download Image Resizer from the Windows XP Powertoys page at Microsoft. Right click in Windows Explorer, Resize Pictures, choose a size, done. About 3/4 of the way down on the right side. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloa...ppowertoys.mspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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