As I was walking in, I spoke to another angler who said he had caught a couple of fish. I had a good feeling. I worked a heavy run that usually holds fish. Nothing. As I got to the top of the run, I felt the first few drops of rain. This was not good. The river was still running high and was barely fishable. Any additional rain would blow it out for sure. With more rain and snow in the forecast, this was the last time to fish for the foreseeable future.
I knew it would begin raining harder at any moment. I had a choice to make; head to the car or keep fishing. I did what any self-respecting angler would do, I kept fishing. I couldn’t give up. I moved up into the tailout of the next pool where I hooked into a nice fish. The fish jumped a couple of times and started running down river into the fast water. I followed the fish downstream keeping pressure on it the whole time. The fish jumped one last time as I worked it towards the bank. As I got it into the shallows the fish made one last effort to run before I landed it. The few scattered drops of rain had developed into a light drizzle. I took a couple of pictures and released the fish.
By the time the fish swam out of my hands, the weather had deteriorated from a light drizzle into a steady rain. I figured there was no better way to end the day. I headed to the car. The rain got heavier as I walked, then ran to the car. The river rose quickly and got muddy. When the rain and snow stops in a few days, it will take an additional 3-5 days for the river to drop into fishable condition. I caught that fish just before the weather went to hell. None of the streams around here will fish for about a week. That fish was the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
Wining fish!
Steelhead love egg paterns
