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"Slippery Steelhead" Video Hi Speed Only

Steelhead fishing is a passion, an art, and an obsession. Experience and dedication reward those who have chosen to make Steelhead fishing one of their life's greatest pursuits. It was around this time last year my friend Jeremy first turned me onto the thought of catching a Salmon River Steelhead. I will never be the same... It must be a lot like the feeling a compulsive gambler gets when it has been to long since his last time at the table. Websites like fliesandfins fuel the addiction like the unrelenting marketing efforts of our local Indian casinos. Soon enough you find yourself spending hours each day online monitoring Salmon River water levels and the 10-day weather forecast for Pulaski, NY. I had been fighting the urge for weeks due to the brain numbing cold seen throughout the Northeast in the month of January. Finally a window of opportunity with the forecast calling for temps in the 40's all weekend. I get on the phone to see if I can find anyone looking for a quick fix. A few emails and a couple phone calls later I am packing the truck. In bed by 10:00 pm, up and out the door at 2:30 am to meet up with the boys. We need to be on the road by 3:00 am if we want a shot at being the first to cover some prime water in the morning. A quick stop at Fat Nancy's and a

10-minute drive, it is time to fish. Now, my Steelhead experience is rather limited considering it has been less than a year since that fateful day. However, I have managed to keep company with anglers far more skilled and knowledgeable than myself. I can only hope that with a little luck and a few more years I will be one of the guys clearly getting in the zone. You know who they are; they're the ones with all the fish on. In no other fishing situation is getting in the zone more important than in winter steelhead fishing. If you're not down in front of them you might as well be taking a nap on the bank because the odds of a hookup would be about the same. With each trip I learn new ways to get down faster, drift more slowly and stay connected with the bottom. With a little imagination you can get a sense of the contour of the river bottom based upon the ticking of your fly, giving you clues as to where to expect the strike. Of course this comes at a price. For me it involved 4 dozen flies, 85 yards of fluorocarbon and a quick blast back to Fat Nancy's to buy all the other essential materials called for by the latest technique. The guys I made the trip with have over 35 years of combined Salmon River experience and it showed with lots of solid hookups. We worked hard but when we weren't hooking fish we were laughing on the bank of the river or working up a five-star meal on the Coleman grill. In the end we had a million laughs, captured some great footage and created memories to last a lifetime. Or at least until the next Steelhead fishing adventure. What's the 10-day forecast for Pulaski?