My 13-yr-old son's first steelhead! NEW PIC HOST
On Friday, it started out as a quick evening trip to test some new spey rods with my 2 kids. We left the house about 4:00 PM, stopped for gas, made a couple wrong turns, got to the river sometime before 5:00.
The area I had planned to go, because I rightly assumed it had a nice gravel bar where 3 people would have room to cast, did not work because we could not find a trail there! After wasting nearly an hour, we drove downriver.
We stopped, looked at the water, and thought we could find a spot upstream a bit. So we grabbed the rods, walked a ways, and found a place where we could get in the water and have room to cast. Problem was, 2 guys were already in the area. They turned out to be nice, above the call of duty nice. I asked the one closest to us if he was working downstream. He told us to "go ahead". He was really pretty close, so I asked, "Are you sure?" "Absolutely" was the reply. They were trout fishing, and I think he was just being exceptionally nice in deference to my kids. Or perhaps he just wasn't interested in the same water I was. Whoever you were, if you read this, a big thanks again. Classy; I hope I would be as great in similar circumstances.
I've gotten reasonably confident in reading new steelhead water, and this water just smelled like steelhead. Unfortunately, there really wasn't room for 3 of us. So I had Olga go first, since she knows the different casts to use in different situations, and I stayed back to help Roman.
The current here had a nice velocity gradient that kept the fly line pretty straight, so I just had Roman use the snap-T and send the fly almost straight across river. Early on, while I was still talking to Roman, his small unweighted fly got snagged fly in slow but not shallow water. I replaced it with an even smaller fly, on lighter wire for ease of casting, and went downstream to take some photos of his casting.
I had taken just a couple of pictures when he says, "I've got one," kind of quietly. I challenged, "are you sure?" He replied "yes." Knowing how a rock and a belly in the line could fool the inexperienced, or especially if he hung up on a limb moved down by the recent high water, I asked again, "Are you sure?" "Yes" again. "Really???" "YES, IT'S SWIMMING!" About then, I had gotten close enough to see his knuckles getting rapped and he said "Ouch" as the reel spun in a blur when the fish headed back toward the Willamette.
During the battle, Roman asked me to take the rod, because he was afraid to lose the fish. Of course I refused! After a long, slow battle--there was no way to follow the fish--Roman coaxed the fish back upstream, between the willows, and into the shallows where I grabbed it for him.
His first ever steelhead was a typical hatchery hen of 6-7 pounds, nice and bright as would be expected of an early summer fish.
My other young spey guru was a great sister and cheered for her brother, and tried hard to get into a fish herself, but it was not to be on Friday. But with her casting skill--she has a better loop than I and can consistently throw 60-70 feet with snap-T's and single speys--it should be very, very soon.
A great start to summer steelheading for the Koran family.
--Bill
Making the cast
Hooked up!
Following the fish...
Coaxing it back upstream...
Getting close...
Dad, I'm tired...
Happy speyfisher!!!
On Friday, it started out as a quick evening trip to test some new spey rods with my 2 kids. We left the house about 4:00 PM, stopped for gas, made a couple wrong turns, got to the river sometime before 5:00.
The area I had planned to go, because I rightly assumed it had a nice gravel bar where 3 people would have room to cast, did not work because we could not find a trail there! After wasting nearly an hour, we drove downriver.
We stopped, looked at the water, and thought we could find a spot upstream a bit. So we grabbed the rods, walked a ways, and found a place where we could get in the water and have room to cast. Problem was, 2 guys were already in the area. They turned out to be nice, above the call of duty nice. I asked the one closest to us if he was working downstream. He told us to "go ahead". He was really pretty close, so I asked, "Are you sure?" "Absolutely" was the reply. They were trout fishing, and I think he was just being exceptionally nice in deference to my kids. Or perhaps he just wasn't interested in the same water I was. Whoever you were, if you read this, a big thanks again. Classy; I hope I would be as great in similar circumstances.
I've gotten reasonably confident in reading new steelhead water, and this water just smelled like steelhead. Unfortunately, there really wasn't room for 3 of us. So I had Olga go first, since she knows the different casts to use in different situations, and I stayed back to help Roman.
The current here had a nice velocity gradient that kept the fly line pretty straight, so I just had Roman use the snap-T and send the fly almost straight across river. Early on, while I was still talking to Roman, his small unweighted fly got snagged fly in slow but not shallow water. I replaced it with an even smaller fly, on lighter wire for ease of casting, and went downstream to take some photos of his casting.
I had taken just a couple of pictures when he says, "I've got one," kind of quietly. I challenged, "are you sure?" He replied "yes." Knowing how a rock and a belly in the line could fool the inexperienced, or especially if he hung up on a limb moved down by the recent high water, I asked again, "Are you sure?" "Yes" again. "Really???" "YES, IT'S SWIMMING!" About then, I had gotten close enough to see his knuckles getting rapped and he said "Ouch" as the reel spun in a blur when the fish headed back toward the Willamette.
During the battle, Roman asked me to take the rod, because he was afraid to lose the fish. Of course I refused! After a long, slow battle--there was no way to follow the fish--Roman coaxed the fish back upstream, between the willows, and into the shallows where I grabbed it for him.
His first ever steelhead was a typical hatchery hen of 6-7 pounds, nice and bright as would be expected of an early summer fish.
My other young spey guru was a great sister and cheered for her brother, and tried hard to get into a fish herself, but it was not to be on Friday. But with her casting skill--she has a better loop than I and can consistently throw 60-70 feet with snap-T's and single speys--it should be very, very soon.
A great start to summer steelheading for the Koran family.
--Bill
Making the cast
Hooked up!
Following the fish...
Coaxing it back upstream...
Getting close...
Dad, I'm tired...
Happy speyfisher!!!