Now that's what I call steelhead weather...

I headed out to the river this afternoon despite a steady light rain.  The river was stained and running a little high, the flow was around 425 CFS or so.  I fished a section of the river that I have been fishing frequently in the last couple of weeks, so I know it well.  We had a bunch of rain earlier in the week and the rivers have been all blown out and unfishable.  Today was the first day the river had dropped to a fishable flow.  I’m going to be out of town this weekend, so this was the only chance I was going to have to fish until next week.  I geared up and headed out.  When I arrived, the rain was coming down a little harder than when I left the house.  I had the river all to my self.  I fished down through a nice run that usually holds fish and nobody was home.  Another angler showed up just and as I began to fish a shoot near a downed tree.  I hooked a freshy between a bolder and the tree on the second drift.  I fought the fish in and was lucky to have the guy who just arrived take a picture of me with the fish.  I don’t get many “hero shots” because I’m usually by my self and I like to a secluded spot to fish.  I released the fish and continued to fish down stream into a fast, turbid run.  I fished through most of the run until I came to a nice soft spot between currents.  This spot just looked so fishy.  The rain had turned to snow.  I drifted through it and BAM, FISH ON!!!  This was a big angry fresh chromer.  It thrashed, jumped, ran this way and that… the fight was on.  I ran downstream chasing the fish as it ripped line off my reel.  The drag on my reel was screaming.  I was 50 yards down stream from where I hooked up; all I could think about was landing this hog for a photo.  I was doing everything in my power to bring the fish in and prevent losing it.  The fish was tiring and I began working it to the bank.  I finally landed the fish a got a couple of pics.  I was very pleased with the fish and my angler skills.  A year ago I would have broken this fish off trying to muscle it in.  Landing this fish took patience and finesse as well as a good bit of skill.  When I hit the river today, I didn’t have very high expectations due to the rain and high dirty water.  I had a much more successful day than I expected.  Today I was one serious angler landing two fish despite some tough conditions.  I was proud.

                                                                    "Hero Shot"

                                                                             Hog