Good Friday
11/03/23
The parking area was full up with lines of vehicles when I arrived in the morning. It was if I was late for early mass. I parked in the grass giving way to any other late vehicles. I’ve fished this area before, for steelhead, some years ago so I was sort of familiar. With all the vehicles though I wasn’t sure I’d find a pew empty enough not to be crowded shoulder to shoulder.
When I got to the water I looked down creek where I had fished before. I saw a few fishermen just before the bend that I knew flowed into a deep hole. I looked upstream and there was only one fisherman pretty far up, by himself, casting a fly line.
The water, between him and I, was flat water but the leaves upon the surface showed there was some current flow. The section was wide enough, and with the slightly tinted water, there might be some steelhead that was somewhere in between him and I. I just had to find them. Being I was late for mass I decided to walk up stream, towards the fisherman, and fish my way to where I started.
I carefully crossed the creek in shallow to knee deep water, feeling the cold water, to the path on the other side. As I walked the path upstream I kept an eye on the water trying to spot any fish. Once up, close enough to talk to the gentleman, I started my quest. I asked him if he caught anything yet and he friendly replied no, the fish weren’t biting. He mentioned ‘I should have been here yesterday.’
I knotted on a Triple Threat streamer and proceeded to cast across creek and let the streamer drift downstream. Not knowing how deep the water was I’d add weight now and then. Slowly I waded down stream casting my fly line. Now and then people would show up and walked behind me or stop and fish here and there before the entrance to the creek. I didn’t see any of them catch anything and they moved on. About half way between the guy and the place I entered I got my first strike. I felt the slightest tug on the line, like what you might feel walking into a thin spider web, and I yanked back for the hook set. The line straightened immediately and took off like a bat out of hell, one might say.
He took off upstream peeling line off the spool. The fly line cut threw the surface water like a Ginsu knife slicing threw a Big Jim Chili pepper. I tightened the loose drag a couple of clicks trying to slow him down. Upstream he came to the surface ferociously shaking his head before going back under. The sound of the splashing was heard far enough the guy upstream turned to see the commotion. The fish kept his distance swimming down creek in a hurry. I was able to reel in some of the slack line before getting the line tight towards him again. We proceeded to battle it out one on one. A couple of times I got him towards the bank before he broke me off and headed back to safety. Oh well, the fight was real, and though I was going to release him anyway, it would have been nice to land him.
I stuck around the area casting out trying to fool another. Down creek I noticed a couple of fellows caught 2 steelhead not too far from where we entered the creek. They had been there for a while. After about 20 minutes they waded out and headed upstream. I was already casting my way towards the spot but kind of hurried a little faster to get there before anyone else.
By now the sun was showing through the overcast sky but the water was still tinted enough not the expose the fish out further. The water didn’t look too deep on the other side, along the far bank, but on occasion I could spot a tail fin or two cutting the surface so I knew they were out there. A far cast, with a Triple Threat, out from the bank didn’t take too long of a drift to get a taker. The way the line took off it was if the steelhead swiped it like a Barn Swallow swiping a bug out of mid-air. He headed straight for the far bank and stopped abruptly, raised its head out of the water trying to throw the hitched hook. Not being successful, he sprinted upstream like the start of a race with a gun shot. Not too far he shot completely out of the water, forward, and his wet rainbow side glimmered in the sunshine. He plopped into the water like a mushroom anchor being thrown overboard. Once the rod sections bowed with a tightened line again he turned and swam down creek. He gave a couple of head shakes, as if to check to make sure I was still hanging on, as he swam. It took a while but I finally got him calmed down enough to get him to the bank safely.
It always feels good getting one to handle!
It wasn’t too soon after that I knew I had a fatty on. This one wasn’t as quick and active as the other but its weighty body had the butt of the fly rod in my gut trying to keep leverage on him. The rod bent deep at times when he took off unexpectedly. He roamed around outward, as if he was looking for help, to help get him loose. He didn’t have any success with finding a friend to help im and I got him in to handle also.
Less than 20 minutes I had a chromer showing off its skillful aerobatics in mid air with more moves than a trapeze artist. Each time she entered the sky she sparkled like being dressed in sequin under circus spot lights!
I must have been at the right spot for feeding time.
I lost one somewhere out there after a hectic fight. I scored one more to my hand before 1:00. It was if bells chimed and brunch was over.
After that things slowed down dramatically. I tried everything from sucker spawn, Glo-bugs, wet flies and nymphs with only a quick tap or two I couldn’t hook up too. The best I did was with streamers. Others I talked to weren’t doing any better either. Most of the fellows commented I should have been here yesterday. “The water was cloudier and the fish were biting.”
About 3:30 I called it a day and headed back to the parking lot. The air was getting chillier and the clouds moved in covering the sun. Along with that the wind picked up and the abundance of falling and the flow of leaves made it irritating trying to find water between them. I’ve been out since 7:30 and the spurt of fun I had was fulfilling enough I left on a good note like after singing the last hymn before leaving church!
~doubletaper
