All of nature’s elements were conspiring to tease the Steelhead back into their natal waterway. Sheets of ice cold rain, dark grey skies, punishing in-shore winds and most importantly increased water levels. The Salmon carnival has slowly trickled out of town and I’ve began to see some familiar faces at the shops and on the water. These guys are the real deal, they don’t plan trips out far in advance if in advance at all. Successful Steelhead anglers usually let the conditions dictate when they make a move, very analogous to the quarry they pursue. It was sweet to be back on the water with old friends and new ones as well. We started out well before daybreak and arrived at our destination on the river’s edge, as the sun came up. There is a feeling you get in your soul when you approach the water and the chrome is present. I can’t describe it in words but after you chase them around for awhile you develop a sixth sense of sorts and we were all on sensory overload. Jeremy directed Ed to his first drift of the morning and on his first cast his offer was slammed by a very respectable Brown and we knew instantly that today would be phenomenal. Within fifteen minutes we had all hooked giant silver steel, hooked being the common denominator of the day. Not only were these fish enormous, they were also RED HOT. We all got smoked several times by the ridiculous, blistering runs and cartwheel acrobatics as they tumbled down river. We put in a solid twelve hours and I wouldn’t even venture to guess how many we hooked. You really grow to appreciate days like this because in the Steel world they don’t come around very often. There are days in middle of January when all but the best anglers struggle to touch one. Up until a few days ago the conditions and numbers of trout have been somewhat grim, such a relief to see Mother Nature has pulled through and salvaged the season. Looking forward to doing it again soon guys, I’ll be waiting for that last minute call!
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- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
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- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
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- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Wish I could have been there. I was chasing Stripers off block island. You had much better success than I. The stripers did not show in numbers.
whip — sweet fish .. what a trip, so glad we made the run and it panned out, big time! …. lord knows, there have been many trips throughout the years where things don’t pan out so well and the steelhead gods are not so generous … unforgettable trip .. the fish were so hot it was crazy .. kinda like hookin’ an albie in the river .. awesome! can’t wait to do it again …
Nice job guys!!! Way to get it done! I need to go fishing! Maybe tomorrow!
whip,
what a trip to fish together for the first time. hope to be back soon, maybe sooner than later. the burger toss was the best! -Ed
Nice fish guys. And Austin, good technique. Changing rod direction can really help when fighting steel…but, of course, some of them just can’t be landed.
Nice work guys
great video and story. Hopefully I’ll be out there early November.
Those video’s never seem to end from ya’ll. Great job….jeremy hooks you up with some burgers. Way to go…hopefully this is an indication of how good the steelhead season will be.
twocan — good bumping into you and chromefinder, although i must say .. it didn’t surprise me … year after year it seems like every time i go steelheading i bump into you guys … big river, creeks, drifts and runs that i though “nobody” else knew about, etc… whereever there is chrome you and chromefinder seem to be there too! … see ya next time, i’m sure …
ps. it’s kinda funny when i bump into people from flies and fins on the water cuz i only know people by there screen name .. so it must sound kinda funny when i say to the a friend that i am fishing with, “oh, there’s twocan and chromefinder fishing above waterwhippa and kranefly?” … people must be like, “what the heck kinda names are those?” …. and the funny part is i don’t even know most peoples real names …. cya on the water.
good stuff. They certainly were hot that day! Had one of my best days swinging! Hot Chrome! Youzers!
What a perfect fish whip…musta been a hell of a battle.
Jeremey- another fine production! The burger hail mary was too funny.
Time to head west I’d say.
Good Stuff guys. Whip that is a cannon, just a perfect fish. J-bone killer tune. A town take it easy on ’em next time. See you in a week.
j
Sweet vid. Gotta love hot steel anytime they can be had. See ya on the riva.
thx man … did you notice the references to the legends? bobby d, dead, floyd, janice, morrison, zepplin etc…
No doubt Jer, Late October is tough to beat, their just so angry. Days like these are the ones that keep you out there, with an icecicle leader, flirting with hypothermia in the middle of January. I love that clip of popping the fly out with the hemo’s and all hell breaking loose. The hail mary was fantastic as well. Some of the runs they made did suspiciously wreak of albie!
Ed, I can’t think of better circumstances to meet someone under. What a day.
Thanks bro. Your in great shape, getting filthier as we speak
hey all, really glad to have been riding the train for the first steelhead push…..and super glad that we slayed! thats what it’s all about fish, friends, and well, more fish!
Yes, it is kind of funny i was telling some people we keep running into this dude from maine…. I guess being addictted as we all are we are bound to cross paths. It was a no brainer from the reports I was reading that the chrome is in full swing. I saw a bounce of chrome a few weeks back being hooked. Next week is Steelhead trip 08…It is going to be hard to beat 07…we hit some erie tribs and several days like saturday….so we will start on the catt or SR and work our way around. see ya next time..
oh yea i forgot…once i saw you coming through the woods I knew we were in the place. On the way up we talked that they might be in the fast water and then I see you and you say “they’re in the fast water”. The rest is history…hopefully we’ll see you soon for some more history. Did I see you take a swim crossing that stretch Saturday?
oh ya .. you saw correctly, i took an all out full dunk and basically swam a good way across that run .. definately not a wade i would have done with colder water … but considering the warm air and warm water temps .. it was actually refreshig .. well, ok that’s a bit of a stretch … but, i think i was already drenched from the driving rain that day .. so, wasn’t too bad …
that’s right .. chromefinder was telling me about that annual trip you guys do … i think i bumped into you last year while you were making your rounds through steelhead alley, sr and ontario tribs .. you guys were towing a drift boat if i remember correctly … good luck on this years steel tour, let us know how you do …. hopefully you guys can find a couple days like the ones you had last year with lots of chrome and all alone 🙂 …
That picture is worth a thousand words. last time I saw that beast it was hot and angry. I guess it finally submitted. Hats off whip. It was good to be out there with you all. I shall return soon, very soon.
Thats awsome, these videos just pump me up more for this next season. Great fish, great tune, and tight lines.
Wow – great looking fish all around…and one nice burger toss! You guys are killin me with these videos + photos….I feel a suicide run comin soon.
Keep up the great reports.
James
Amazing video.
And as always great job and happy to see you closed the deal… on that gem. keep up the great work whip.. and see you on the salmon next year.
Alex