Wishin I could be fishin…

The last two opportunities I had to get out and fish, I only had an hour or so to fish before dark. In that time I only managed one hook up due to the low, clear water, and the pressured fish. The few fish in the system at that time had really taken a pounding by all of the anglers out there, making them very weary of the fly. Each of those fish I hooked up with the last couple of times out was lost. One was a quick “on and off” and the other was a real fighter, jumping several times and eventually fighting its way free (see my last entry). It has been a couple of weeks since I have landed a steelhead. I have been in class everyday this past week, and all evening on Tuesday and Thursday. The only chance I had to get out and fish was Wednesday night and that was ruined by all of the rain we received Tuesday night and Wednesday morning blowing out the rivers. Yesterday (Thursday) was a gorgeous October day, the sun was shining and it was about 65 degrees. All I could do was stare out the classroom window and wish I were out there on the river somewhere hooking into the red hot fresh run steelhead I know came in during the last rain we received. This weekend is going to be spent in class as well. Responsibility sucks… I just wish I could go out and fish.

Beautiful fall afternoon on the river

I woke up, looked at how beautiful is was outside and wished I could go fishing. Sadly, responsibility called. I went and did home work all morning and then went to class at 1:00pm. I got to class and it was canceled for the day. The fishing gods heard my prayers and answered them! I drove home, grabbed my gear as fast as I could and headed for the river. I was on the water within an hour of leaving class. It was a gorgeous day. The trees looked amazing in their fall colors, temps in the 60’s, and the river was in good shape to fish; it was as close to perfect as you get this time of year. The river was still a little low and clear, but the rain we got Friday brought the flow up some. I fished through a good stretch of water and nothing. I found a sexy looking run and started at the head of the run and worked my way down. About half way down the run, I saw a steelhead porpoise. I thought to myself, I’m in the right place. Next cast, fish on! This fish ran right, leaped out of the water, ran left leaped out of the water again, and then it charged at me! I tried to pick line up as quickly as I could, the fish leaped out of the water a third time; this time it was right in my face!! After the fish landed in the water the tension in my line was gone. I saw the fish jump one last time, free from my hook, and splash down a few feet down river from where I was standing. I lost that steelhead :(. I saw a couple of other fish porpoise in that run, I fished it until I had to pack up and leave with no more success. Sadly, that was going to be my excitement for the day. Losing fish is so frustrating. Either way, just being out on the river instead of sitting in class was plenty to be happy about. I decided that it was a great afternoon even if that fish got away.

Low and clear water makes for tough fishing

I have been out a few times since my last post with out much luck. The low and clear water conditions have made it extremely difficult to catch steelhead and I haven’t seen any smallmouth for a few weeks now. The guy at the local fly shop says this is a great time of year to catch BIG bass, so I’m sure they are still biting for now. In fact, he suggested I forget about steelhead yesterday, since it was 70 degrees, and head up river in search of big smallies. I had to be in a town on the lower section of the river for work, so I headed to the closest park afterward and fished for both smallies and steelhead. The nice thing about the low water is that you get to see the bottom contour and find good holding locations for later in the steelhead season. The only thing I managed to catch yesterday was sucker fish; at least I didn’t go home skunked! It was one of the nicest days we have had in October making it a pleasure just to be outside. The only thing I caught when I was out on Sunday evening was a beautiful sunset. Friday when I was out with a buddy, it was raining lightly all day. Not enough to bring the rivers up, just enough to make it cold and wet. The water was still very low. I managed to hookup with a steelhead and didn’t land it. My buddy didn’t have any luck at all. The fishing has been tough since we haven’t had much rain or the rain we had wasn’t enough to make an impact. I’m ready to start doing the rain dance… The five day forecast is calling for rain on at least three of those days and chances of rain on the other two. I hope the forecast holds up.

Hot Cleveland Steel

I went out steelhead fishing on Monday, and Wednesday of this week. The water has been low and clear, the river has been flowing at around 100 CFM. There was about 36” of vis, maybe more. Both days were pretty good for me. Monday was better than Wednesday. Monday I went 3 for 5. Two of the fish were on the small end and the third was a nice fat chromer! All fish fought hard and went airborne several times. It is awesome to have a fish like that on the end of your line and see it leap two to three feet out of the water, cart wheel, tail dance and head shake in an effort to get free. It is even better when you bring that fish to hand! The big fish I caught on Monday was the biggest this season for me so far. It’s nice because each time I was out last week, until Sunday I had hooked up and lost the fish each time. It’s good to actually bring the fish in. I think I was over anxious to catch my first steelhead of the season and tried to force the fish in causing me to lose them. Wednesday, I went 1 for 2. Nobody else on the river was catching fish either day; making me one proud angler. I only took pics of two of Monday’s fish; the first small fish and the fat fish. The close up head shot is of the larger fish.  I didn’t bother taking a picture of Wednesday’s fish as it was not photo worthy in my opinion. So far this fall has been a pretty good one for Steelhead. Now we just need some more rain to bring in more fish and to allow them to move up river and spread out throughout the river system. We are expecting rain today, snow / rain tomorrow and Saturday. That’s a real good thing in my opinion.

First steelhead of the season...

I went to the river today at about 10:30. I seemed I was late to the game; there were about twenty other anglers at the park when I arrived. I couldn’t find a decent spot to fish near the “honey hole” so I walked down river and fell into line. I fished a run that was just downstream from one of the deeper holes in this area. I did manage to catch a sucker fish. At least I wasn’t going home completely skunked. I decided to walk further down river to see what things were like around the bend. Before I made it around the bend, I slipped and fell in. Sadly, it was in about 12” of water. My boots are shot; the felt is worn away on the bottoms. When I fell, I wound up on my side and water got into my waders. To add insult to injury, these were new waders and now I have green stains all over the side and the butt. I was trying to be careful with the new waders since it was the first time I wore them on the river; so much for that. At that point I started walking back towards the parking lot since my entire right side of my body was soaked, from my shoulder to my toes. As I was walking back I decided it was tolerable to stay and fish for a while since the temperature was at about 50 degrees. Had it been much colder and I would have had to get into dry clothes as soon as I could. As I was walking back up river towards the parking lot, I noticed an opening at the “honey hole” and stepped in and began to fish. On the second or third cast I had a fish and off. Damn! That is so frustrating. I continued to fish this spot for a while with no success. I saw a guy I have seen at the fly shop several times. We chatted for a minute before I had another fish on! This steelhead I was able to bring to hand. The first fish of the season; woo hoo! It was not the largest steelhead, it wasn’t even a big steelhead; it was a small fish coming in at about 14”, a “skipper”. After losing 6 fish over three separate outings; I was very happy to bring this fish to hand, regardless of its size. At least my streak of losing fish was over! As I beached the fish and got hold of it, the fish flopped around in an effort to get away. While it was thrashing, I got hooked by the dropper fly. So there I was soaking wet, bleeding, with fish and hook in hand. It was a tough day for this angler. As tough as it was, I still went home happy because I caught my first steelhead of the season!  I didn't get a picture of the fish i caught today.  I am posting a picture of a fish that was about the same size from last season.

Burned by hot steel...

I hit the rive rafter work this evening.  I was there for about an hour and a half.  In that time I hooked into 4 fish, 3 of them were confirmed steelhead.  The unconfirmed fish threw the hook before I could get a look at it.  The first fish was about 30" and was a hot, hot fish!  It took me into the backing and leaped out of the water several times.  It was a great fish.  The other two steelhead were on the smaller end, one "skipper", and one average sized steelehead.  Sadly, I didn't land any of them or I would have had pictures.  The first fish threw the hook after a lengthy fight.  The second steelhead was on and off (a bad hook set I believe), and the third steelhead broke off.  It just wasn't my day.  The thrill of hooking steel was well worth the time on the water.  These were the first steelhead of the season for me and left me wanting more.  it started raining as I was driving to dinner after fishing.  I hope the rivers don't blow out overnight so I can head back out tomorrow

Wild NY trout

I was in the Finger Lakes area of New York this past weekend and had the chance to fish a tributary of one f the lakes. I was hopping for lake run browns or landlocked salmon. It was too early for the fall runs from the lake. Fortunately for me there were resident trout in the creek. The trout were small and selective. The water was gin clear and the creek was small, about as wide as one lane on a road at the widest and about a foot wide at its narrowest point. The banks were over grown and there was a lot of wood in the water requiring precision casting. The only fly that was attractive to the fish was a small muddler minnow. here are pictures of the two trout I caught.