After months of carrying the long stick around as supplementary tool in my arsenal, the day had finally arrived to string it up. The sun was high and the Sand Martins began to emerge from their tunnels in the river banks and glide over the large tail-out, picking off stoneflies. It was one of those moments when you could feel the momentum of nature and sense that the metabolic rate of everything around you has been stimulated. It had been a long winter watching the indicator and I was itching to trick the chrome giants with something other than an egg pattern. I had read a good deal about spey fishing and talked to several people who were very experienced using this method. However, none of the time spent reading or talking fish in fly shops would prepare me for the event that was about to transpire. The water was still on the cold side, they say the magic number for swinging flies is 40 degrees. I don’t carry a thermometer but between the swarms of swallows and the small pods of steelhead that were moving upriver every twenty minutes, I knew there were some players around. The pool was a hundred yards long, waist deep and walking speed. The river bed is pea-sized gravel, the ideal holding pool for steelhead on their spawning run. I waded in at the top and proceeded with the cast, swing, step, until I reached the end with no results. My ego was bruised but I decided to switch flies and walk back up to the top and do it again. Kranefly (Nate) was on the other side of the pool fishing egg patterns with leaping steel on his line, what seemed like every other cast. Determined as ever, I started to feel frustration set in but stuck to my game plan. Three quarters of the way down the run it happened. The tip of my 14’ rod was an inch or so above the surface of the water when halfway through the swing I felt the rod lunge forward and the cork slide through my hand a solid foot, all the way to the reel seat. The placid pool exploded into a froth of whitewater and spray as the giant took to flight, end over end, cart-wheeling down river. All I remember is yelling “WOW”. Nate crossed the river as I was beaching the fish after a solid five minute tango. We snapped the picture of my first spey rod steelhead, dislodged the hook and proudly watched as it swam back into the depths of the pool. I had heard a lot of descriptions regarding the take of a steelhead on a swung fly, however none of them do it any justice. This is one of the intimate moments in fly fishing that one cannot depict.
now it begins!!Wonderful story!!Maybe my first spey steel too!! thanks….frank
Nice work brother.. I was looking forward to seeing some great spring females… they probably now are feeding like they do in the spring time here in Argentina one must always hold on to rod.. hopefully I will meet up with you all this summer or fall. Alex
http://www.patagoniaflies.com
Beautiful chrome!! Congrats…I am probably going to take a trip down to the salmon river next weekend as long as the weather holds up. Good job again!!
nice work whip! .. beautiful fish …. i hope to get a chance to make one more push out your way for some spring steelhead …. if so, maybe i’ll throw the big stick in my bag and we can take a few swings .. and you can teach me a few of your tricks … …. what kind of line setup do you roll with?? interchangeable?? if so, what tip were you using with that fish?? or mabe no sink tip at all??? let me know . thx. … awesome work.
Sweet. whippa getting it done on the flag pole. Can’t wait for you to get me into some of that action!
You got me all juiced up. Congrats on your first Jolt! There is nothing quite like the grab of a steelhead on the tight line!!
Great job.
Whippa, Congradulations on your first of many spey steelies. Now I can’t wait to get my sspey rod and start swinging for them.
Sweet fish tale whip. Way to slay with the spey. Good looking fish.
outstanding, on the spey you gave me chills man.
tight lines
J-
I was throwing a 15′ shooting head for a tip. I think the sink rate was 8 ips. Can’t wait until the water warms up and we won’t need a tip…..just the floater.
Anytime…just give me a heads up a few days in advance. Would love to meet up on those flats we spoke about.
Dave
Sounds good Bro. I’ll be making quite a few runs out to the island…see you then.