Hawgstoppah Posted November 16, 2008 Posted November 16, 2008 So there I was, headed for Houston BC to pick up a load, and this was friday sept 5. I'd get to Smithers and buy my licenses and be on the river by about 2pm on the 6th... excellent! With high hopes I got to the fly shop in Smithers, got some old faithfull flies that got a lot of takes last year, and headed on in anticipation of chasing steel. I went to a run that I'd tried with Greg last year, and had seen some large fish hooked by others in. My first pass was a blanking... and as I headed back up the run, I saw a large fish roll right near the top of the run. I eagerly slipped in at the top of the run and let loose a nice long cast (using a TFO deer creek 7/8wt 12-6 spey). The fly must have looked just right, and the hit was hard and fast. The fish went screaming towards the middle.... no jump.... aren't steelhead supposed to jump??.... another 5 minutes of long speedy runs.... I kept working the fish in close only to have it run 100yards.... no jumps yet... finally I got it tired enough to get it to hand.... a COHO?? SWEET! I'd never seen one of these before! It was easily 15 pounds, a fella on shore said it might be closer to 18 or 20. I'll give it 15 to be on the safe side, but it was a dang nice fish. 34 inches long by 23 inches around. I managed another hookup that evening, and it was another coho, just slightly smaller. This one tore line and jumped 7 times.... as you can see in the pics, it was a much fresher fish.. and had a LOT more energy than it's larger counterpart.. It was a riot. it was starting to fog up... and a chill was in the air. I tried another half hour, missed a good solid take, and that was it. I was both elated and dissapointed at the same time. I had gone out in search of steel, and found coho. The coho were a absolute riot, but at the same time, my heart was set on a steelhead... hard to explain it... Sept 7th... The fog was so thick I had trouble finding my way back to the spot.. I finally did and got rigged up. It was supposed to be +17 and sunny today... and I figured I'd better get down and started early, since rumor has it steelhead have no love for bright sunny weather. The fog was thick along the path, and I found myself humming a tune from "a river runs through it". The scene was out of a movie. I got rigged up and was ready to start my first pass. about 10 minutes go by of rythmic casting and swinging... cast... swing... hope... trying to will a take with my imagination... come on you son of .... BOOOMMMM!!! BeeYYYaaaAAAHHH.... a few jumps and I knew this was steel!!! The 32 inch buck came to hand after a rather brief but spirited battle... and I was in heaven. This was my first 30+ inch steelhead, and only my second ever. Unfortunately, due to the poor camera I had, the pics of this one did not come out. It was a bit too dark. I got myself settled down and made a phone call (to brag, of course). And then I hopped into the top of the run. As I made a few short casts to get the line ready for some real casting... I was shocked when it went flying out of my hand and zipped through the guides and onto the reel and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZ holy crap!!! Another steelhead!!! The giant hen tore off for the middle of the river, jumping 4 or 5 times as she tried to get to the other side. I was still tired from fighting the first one, but I was running on adrenaline this whole battle. I worked her a bit closer, inch by inch, as it seemed this fish was just resting for her next run... and it was... ZzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ across the river again in a series of leaps and dashes that left me breathless.. about 20 minutes later I was finally able to get her into some shallows and tail her.... You guys may have heard the WooHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! in calgary.... this fish was a 36 inch hen... bright and fresh, that gave me the best fight of any fish I've ever hooked. I'd guess somewhere around 15lb... didn't get a girth on her she was just too wild and crazy to do much more than snap this quick shot and get her back where she belonged. So now I had hooked and landed TWO steelhead, and a total of about 3 half casts between them. Crazy. I was so pumped up. The rest of the day went as I thought it might, the fog lifted, it got warm and sunny, and the fish shut off. I did find a few working the top, and actually got them to rise to my fly, but I suck at waiting for a 15 or so pound fish to tighten up on it's own before I set the hook. I just couldn't do it. And yelling at yourself just makes you look like an idiot... especially when you look around and notice a few people on the path looking at you funny! I ended the day having gone 2 for 5. I was pretty pumped. 2 days of fishing, and 2 coho, and 2 steel, to hand. I had purchased my 2008 steelhead stamp, and was hoping to get another chance at using it, when I finally got to. It was a cold Oct 30th, and I had driven all night to get this day in. I went to the same run again, and was greeted by two guys who had fished it early. I wished I didn't have to wait for the fly shop to open at 9am. I talked to them a while, and they had each hooked one from the run. My heart and hopes were down a little, as there's only so many fish in the river, and this run was one I could actually get to with the big truck. I decided to stay, and began working from the top. The other two guys decided to go try another run about an hour later, and I continued my efforts. To describe this run - it's long and there's a lot of structure - and one must work quite slowly to cover it well enough to ensure the fish get a good look at what your throwing at them - and a quality "pass" through it takes about two hours. I was nearing the end of pass #1 when I got a hard hit and run.... the fish ran upstream... spat the hook, thrashed and was gone. DAMN! settle down!!.... 5 minutes later and about 10 yards downstream, another one!!! YEAH!!!! .... NoooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! DAMN! %^&(*$^&($^&^... %^&*()$^$%^&(......... lost it again!!!! 0 for 2!!! CRAP. You just don't get a ton of chances.... gotta make the best of them!!! ARRRGH! I continued my pass through the run, and then switched flies for pass 2. I'd go with a small egg sucking leeech this time... and about the same place as my first hookup, came another! I battled the fish for quite a while, though with the cold and chill... I did not get a jump. This was another really nice hen... 35 inches.... YES!!!!! Without anything to compare 'em to, the pics suck.... but they sure look like big overgrown bow river fish don't they? This 35 incher had a girth of 18.5. I haven't done any calculations till now, but the best formula for steel is length x (girth x girth) / 690. So she'd be right about 17.36lbs. I'm pretty sure the one I got in Sept that was 36 inches was a slight bit larger (maybe 18+ pounds). These big steelhead hens are amazing. They fight soooo hard. They really do look like a bow river fish in body shape... take a 20 inch healthy bow river rainbow trout picture, and compare it. Very similar... I wish I would have put something in these pics to demonstrate better the size... something like my hand. That's a quite large reel, probably the size of a hand in a fist shape. So... it was about 1pm and I had done it again.... steelhead dreams come true. I had lots of day left, and continued to work the run. I wasn't giving up just yet, although I had figured it would be a difficult thing to get another today. about 4pm... it happened. My mind was off somewhere else.... as it had been for a while thinking about the other 3 steelhead this year, when the take came. The fly was almost on the dangle, I had been wading a lot farther out on this pass to show it to them a bit slower. The head shakes felt hefty, and then the fish rolled and turned sideways... WoWWWWW!!! I knew right away it was a big buck, as the red sides were unmissable.... I was a good battle.... and I was so excited to see such a fine fish. This was the steelhead that you could put on the cover of any journal, any magazine, any dvd... anything. It was just perfect. I wish someone would have been around with a better camera, or even to take a few more pics ... with me holding this beauty. The big male slowly swam away.... I watched it for about a minute... I could still see its color when it was 40 feet away, and then it was gone. I let out a deep breath. That was the steelhead of my dreams, the very fish I'd hoped to catch, when I first started trying for steelhead. It was a most gratifying moment. Hope you enjoyed steelheadin with me Quote
rusty Posted November 16, 2008 Posted November 16, 2008 Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude...those are wicked! Can't wait until next year. Almost makes a guy want to take next week off and head up! You NEED a better cam! Quote
Hawgstoppah Posted November 16, 2008 Author Posted November 16, 2008 About the cam... yeah your not kidding these were taken with a 10 dollar gas station wind up fuji film peice of crap becuase my wife lost my digital cam. I've since found it... hey at least I have some pics!!! Could have gotten none... so I can't complain Quote
Tungsten Posted November 16, 2008 Posted November 16, 2008 Great report ,i think i did hear that WoooHHoooooo.I like that pic of the morning fog,it gives you a sence of what its like to stand next to stream with 32" reel breaking bows in it .Will have to make it out there one of these days . Quote
toolman Posted November 16, 2008 Posted November 16, 2008 Awesome report Brian...Of course the phone calls from the shoreline were equally thrilling and thanks for sharing those with me...Pretty exciting stuff when you are dancing with these beauties... Quote
headscan Posted November 16, 2008 Posted November 16, 2008 Really nice looking chrome. Love how they make that 12'6" rod look so small... Good on ya Brian. Quote
Brownstone Posted November 16, 2008 Posted November 16, 2008 Great report .. thanks for sharing Quote
reevesr1 Posted November 16, 2008 Posted November 16, 2008 Wow, didn't know I could feel such jealousy over some fish. Learn something new every day I guess. Awesome trip, better story. Quote
SteveM Posted November 16, 2008 Posted November 16, 2008 That is one sweet fishin' report, Brian; thanks for sharing the details with us... BTW, did you get a length on the buck? Looks longer than the 35" hen, in comparison to the rod. Very nice! Later, Steve Quote
Hawgstoppah Posted November 17, 2008 Author Posted November 17, 2008 You know what... I didn't. I kinda sized it up on the rod and thought it was about as big as the hen earlier which was taped properly. Maybe it was bigger than 35. I didn't really care. It was awesome..... wether it was 35 or 45 I didn't care... my heart was pumpin so fast and I was just in such awe... Quote
Mykiss Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude...those are wicked! Can't wait until next year. Almost makes a guy want to take next week off and head up! You NEED a better cam! Also need to find a fishing buddy to help tail and take photos. I show restrain with bowriver fish lying on the rocks but steel on the rocks is uncalled for. Please don't post this on any BC site its just ammo for the AMP for the Skeena. Sorry to stir the pot. I'm out. Quote
markd Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 Also need to find a fishing buddy to help tail and take photos. I show restrain with bowriver fish lying on the rocks but steel on the rocks is uncalled for. Please don't post this on any BC site its just ammo for the AMP for the Skeena. Sorry to stir the pot. I'm out. I'd have to agree.. Other then that, those are some decent fish..not bad at all Quote
Hawgstoppah Posted November 17, 2008 Author Posted November 17, 2008 With the bad cam it's hard to see but each fish is over half submerged in water. Quote
markd Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 With the bad cam it's hard to see but each fish is over half submerged in water. One head shake from that big buck, and it could kill itself on the rocks..first thing i was taught steelheading was the 'honorable foot of water' that you give each fish. Whether it's landing or taking a photo by yourself, they're in a foot of water. Just my opinion, no harm meant from it Quote
alhuger Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 Also need to find a fishing buddy to help tail and take photos. I show restrain with bowriver fish lying on the rocks but steel on the rocks is uncalled for. Please don't post this on any BC site its just ammo for the AMP for the Skeena. Sorry to stir the pot. I'm out. Dude, all the fish handling issues in the Skeena system do not hold weight to the gill netting, beach seining and general commercial fishing the system suffers. I do not often hear stories of dead chrome washing up on the beaches the rivers in the system and I suspect we would yes? But I see a great many photos of fish on or slightly above rocks, I am not defending the practice but rather putting it in perspective. Plus the AMP is not about fish being mishandled or conservation at all, it's about locals being pissed off that their water is crowded. BTW, it's not like BC residents are not in the habit of beaching their fish on their sides and then after flipping the fly out reviving them in the water. I have seen it plenty and I believe it's common place, right or otherwise. al Quote
maxwell Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 DUUUUUUUUDE u SUCK thank again for callin meon such short notice...... serious..... sick pics tho meng!!!!!!! Quote
monger Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 Congrats on a couple of great adventures. Thanks for sharing. Sounds like a great adrenaline rush. Quote
bhurt Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 Aswome photo's brain. I see that Dan Baily reel is treating you just nicely. Love reading the story Quote
Brownstone Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 DUUUUUUUUDE u SUCK thank again for callin meon such short notice...... serious..... sick pics tho meng!!!!!!! He did have a tear in his eye that morning Brian, but then It all got better with a couple nice whities to hand.. Quote
maxwell Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU*K UUUUUUUUUUUUUUU GREG was up in ******** lake actually when he called.... and was a killer trip but next sept B........ OH ITS ON BUDDY ITS ON!!!!!!!!!! Quote
Mykiss Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 Dude, all the fish handling issues in the Skeena system do not hold weight to the gill netting, beach seining and general commercial fishing the system suffers. I do not often hear stories of dead chrome washing up on the beaches the rivers in the system and I suspect we would yes? But I see a great many photos of fish on or slightly above rocks, I am not defending the practice but rather putting it in perspective. Plus the AMP is not about fish being mishandled or conservation at all, it's about locals being pissed off that their water is crowded. BTW, it's not like BC residents are not in the habit of beaching their fish on their sides and then after flipping the fly out reviving them in the water. I have seen it plenty and I believe it's common place, right or otherwise. al Al, No doubt there are bigger issues that these fish face and we could start a never ending debate to which is a bigger issue than another... But I feel the one that "everyone" can control is how you handle the fish. Not really sure if your trying to lecture me or just trolling for something? If its a lecture then spare me please...If your trolling then PM me. The AMP true is not a conservation-based regulatory plan...however it does have in its scope angling etiquette which is not only "manners" to other fisherman but how you treat the resource being the fish. So again spare me your lecture. And if BC residents want to practise bad handling habits then thats there prerogative but does not make it right....Not sure where you came up with that idea anyhow cause most locals I'v meet on the river rarely even take pictures. I'm out. Quote
Brownstone Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU*K UUUUUUUUUUUUUUU GREG was up in ******** lake actually when he called.... and was a killer trip but next sept B........ OH ITS ON BUDDY ITS ON!!!!!!!!!! ROFLMFAO.. gotta bug someone..stuck on the east coast pouring rain 60 km winds :$*%&: Quote
maxwell Posted November 17, 2008 Posted November 17, 2008 u out there awating the football game Quote
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