Skykomish Report - Chasing those Early Natives

Followed up Brian's and my Friday trip with a Saturday float with my father-in-law. River was up a smidge from Friday's rain but not enough to make a difference. As we fished through Jack Daniels, a driftboat with two long-rodders worked through IRS. One then pulled out and walked up to fish the upper water. A few minutes later he was hooting and hollering and into a fish. The fight was short and the fish won. We managed to go fishless until right before the take-out at Lewis Street where my Father-in-law tied into his first fish ever! Of course all the coaching on "set the hook and then let them run" was forgotten and he pinched the line to the cork and after 3 or so seconds of thrashing the surface, the fish left with the fly. I told him not to worry, I doubted there was anyone out there that had not done something similar. (I think back to the Snake fish that woke me out of a daydream and startled me so bad I broke him off on the hookset.)

May the rain gods be generous!!!
Duggan Harman
aka Sinktip

Sounds like a classic day of winter steelheading. The blustery weather invigorates the soul and makes creature comforts of home seem that much warmer and nicer... but it doesn't take long before the itch comes back and on goes the neoprene. Every hookup is a gift but they don't come easy. The mind wanders as unruly clouds roll by. The ritual of rhythmic casts and swings is interupted by something a little different which intensifies into the undeniable reality of thunder shaking the rod in the hands and lightning streaking and clapping in the current as the feeble equipment tries to manage the mayhem. With luck the sheer image of nature's potential given glaciers on stone pillars to melt them slowly and several thousands miles of open sea - surrenders it's hold in the icy mystery and comes to the shoreline to burn it's image into our brains and cameras. And there is no weather nor toil that can ever fade that out of our lives.

God, I miss it!