Shaq arrived at my house at 4 am for the 2:30 hour ride to the Salmon River. We talked and laughed on the ride each pondering what the day would bring. Our destination was the lower river since there had been lots of salmon and steel entering the river in the prior days. At the river the run that we wanted to fish was open, but we were bookended by the yearly circus that invades the river in a desperate search for salmon. They perch in the runs waiting for the kings to pass by and then the lines descend into the water. The rest is not pretty. We tried to tune them out and started swinging large flies down the stretch of water unmolested by the snaggers. I personally love to swing flies and have been swinging flies for trout, smallmouth, and salmon for years and feel very confident with it as a method. I have caught steelhead on the swing mostly in the spring on the Salmon. In fact my first trip ever steelheading on the Deschutes River, 18 years ago, was all swinging flies. Also on that trip was the first time that I ever saw anyone fish with a spey rod. It was impressive watching by friend lay out 100+ feet of line with little effort on that huge water. I threw all the line I could with my single hander, but neither of us touched a fish in 3 days on the water. Most of my fishing was either in waters where I had plenty of space for backcasts or where I had access to a boat. When I first fished the Salmon River in the late 80’s it was all chuck and duck and I could never quite get into it. Yes, the fishing could be great, but the methodology made my mind numb. I would see people fishing the same seam all day and slaying the fish, but even if I had that spot I would get bored fishing over the same small piece of water and as a result I could never get into it. There was something about it that didn’t fit for me. Back in those days it was a 5+ hour drive and the river held little draw as a destination for me. Now fast forward 15ish years and I now live within a relatively easy striking distance and have been using the methods that I have used to catch trout and salmon elsewhere and a whole new fishery has opened up for me. This coupled with finding people who think the same way makes all the difference. Many people are using indicators and swinging flies and that works much better for me. The other factor for me has been fishing with Shaq and seeing the damage a spey rod can do on this river in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it. Shaq only uses the spey rod on the Salmon and watching him use the spey over the past year has convinced me that my next rod with be a spey. I have seen him bounce the bottom, indictor fish and swing flies and with each of those techniques he can reach spots that I can’t get to, get to spots with more ease than me and mend and control the line better than I can with my single handed rod. I am convinced that the spey rod is a more efficient tool to fish the river with. I can be almost as efficient with my single hand rod bouncing the bottom and indicator fishing, but when it comes to swinging flies it isn’t even close. This last outing proved that like no other. As Shaq landed two steelies and lost another all on the swing and all I managed was a less than fresh king on the swing. I basically could not reach the fish. Shaq says, “It’s a quality of life issue, I’d rather catch one steelhead on the swing than a bunch bouncing the bottom, plus it gets one away from the crowds and keeps one moving.” I couldn’t agree more. I personally would rather fish like that than spend all day in the same spots as everyone else.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
WOW! … that is a beautiful steelhead. i could stare at that fish for hours .. infact .. i think i might.
Wow! Great video. I can see what you mean about where you fished and where you didn’t. What a difference!
Shaq, I think that this video (and another one of your recent videos with the spey rod) could put me over the edge with my thoughts about spey rods. It’s really impressive.
And now we get credits at the end of the video. Perhaps it’s the first in what may soon be a long tradition for F&F?
You know…. when I was younger (and more hip) to be a “swinger” meant a totally different thing!
Really exciting stuff, guys!
Just a beauty….way to go guys! The lifters are a bit intimidated by those wide flats where they can’t see the bottom. Glad to see you capitalized on it. Outrageous video, love the sequence with em’ ripping through the water. Kinda’ tarponish. Nice read Robin.
Nice Steel cannot wait to be there. Nice video too.
I had seen the vid briefly before it was up but the story was new to me. I can say that wrh summed it up perfectly and it was a very fitting read. I have been fishing the Salmon River for over 15 years and have done it all. I started out snagging, it was legal then and that’s how I was taught and that’s what everybody did. I then grabbed a flyrod and learned that. The evolution continued with tying flies, reading about west coast steelhead and a guiding stint in ALaska where swinging flies for salmon was what we did. Upon my return from ALaska, I was armed with a new set of flies and techniques which had worked there and I found, work on the great lakes fish., However, I had not made the commitment to swinging flies exclusively. I would try it on a slow day when nothing else worked and every once in a while, I would hook a fish. Well this went on while I tried swinging more and more. I remember when I first started fishing the salmon and someone would hook a steelhead. Woops and hollers would go up from thew crowd as the steelies would magically appear. I wanted to catch these fish so bad. I then became good at fishing for steelhead and they seemed like just another fish to chuck lead at, although the fights were still legendary. Now, I have made the commitment to swinging flies for steelhead and they are magic again. When that line tightens up, the rod get ripped out of my hands, I am awed at the power and the fact that it works. They are a powerful aggresive fish, curious and when they move for a fly, the strikes are something else. I can truly say that I remember every fish that has crushed my flies on a straight swing, It’s what keeps m,e going back. MAlinda, from Malinda’s FLy Shop in ALtmar pointed out. Everywhere steelhead reside in the world, people are swinging flies for them. Just not here. Well, I for one am out there to change that. I land a steelhead and people gather around again to see the fly, shake their heads and wonder, “I thought they wouldn’t hit” well, I say they do. THis year, I have swung flies only. I have hooked more steelhead than salmon, although I have had some CRUSHING strikes from male kings, THey have all been males, maybe it’s a territorial response. The other nice thing about the swing is that the fish only see the fly so 12-15 lb tippets are the norm even in low clear water. When big steel strikes, If they get a good hook set, it’s a done deal.
Gret read WRH, I would hate to see what you could do with the spey, there would be no stopping you. GLad I could be a part of the footage and looking forward to the next trip!!!
Wow, nice fish…I mean fishes. Dime bright and from the looks of it, full of fight!
I fish primarilty with spey rods and there is nothing like a take from a steelie on the swing.
I believe I just might as well, I could have held that fish for hours but he had better things to do.
Wow shaq, unbelievable fish, suddenly my albie and salmon thoughts switched to steelhead! Once again beautiful fish
Austin
Great video Robin. Geoff is definitely perfecting his skills. I have told him he has been having one hell of a year already. I first got to fish with Geoff this spring on a tributary to the Hudson for striper. He used his spey rod then also. Since then I have to say I have seen a ton of opportunities where a spey would be perfect for the situation at hand. I just may have to try one out myself. Great work and great fish guys.
Nice job Wil,
I went the next day and had to leave the fly-zone, before I threw my hat in the water. It wasn’t a circus, like I expected it to be, but if I foul-hooked one more old salmon, while casting to a nice steelie I was eyeing, and eventually got, I was going to lose it. I was telling Shaq, i need to replace my busted spey and now I’m convinced I need a spey. The challenge of “deep nymphing” isn’t there anymore. As Geoff said, the swing is the thing, the tug’s the drug. Does this make Shaq the KING OF SWING? laurens legend
Funny opening to the video. My problem is I can’t even sleep the night before.
Great fish!
SWEET Shaq. Hey, you and I have talked about the spey before and I mentioned I had one. I bought it mostly for saltwater, but figure it will work for Steel. Only thing is it is a 9/10 wt. Is that way to heavy??? I actually don’t mind being over gunned. Let me know what you think.
Keith
I use a 14 foot 9/10 for kings,. (I was using it in the vid) and in high water, heavy sink tip applications…perfect. You will be surprised how much a 10 weight spey bends, noit like a 10 sinbgle hander
Cool!! All I need now are some patterns for some spey flies….oh yeah and a river full of steel!
Thanks Shaq
Keith
I am from New Mexico where a size 24 midge and some 6 or 7x is what the trout love. Needless to say the 40lb snag’n brick and a hook egg rod set up was a new sight to me on the salmon river. I set out with a little more weight on a rod i had reciently inherited from my late grandfather and hooked into a couple fish swing’n a couple wooly buggers and egg patterns and shure enough i was hooked on the salmon river. i invested later on in a spy rod and a large arbor and a lighter single handed rod so i wouldnt break my inheritance rod. I have since fished the river two more seasons and love it. your posting is picture perfect to my sightings on the river and must say you have hit the nail on the head for many of your points
keep up the good work and good luck on the river.
adios,
Paul
What a superb way to introduce spey to all us beginners!!Thanks Shaq,you better believe my spey comes up in Nov.As you say,one hard slam swinging flies makes the day,not volume,but quality….frank