March Steelie VideoHi Speed Only
I think somebody could make a lot of money by designing a 12 step program for steelhead addicts. You may not know it, but there are alot of addicts amongst us, living only for their next hit. Steelhead addiction transcends all race boundaries, income brackets, political preferences and gender. Maybe you know a steelhead addict or maybe you think that a loved one might be slipping down the slippery slope. In any case here are the signs, symptoms and cure.
The Signs:
1. Fly fishing season for the Steelhead addict starts in October and ends in April.
2. The steelhead addict will unintentionally begin to isolate himself from his long time trout fly fishing friends.
3. Lack of interest in anything not steelhead related.
4. Holiday’s such as Christmas are seen as opportunities to feed their addiction.
5. Family vacations no longer involve warmth and fun in the sun. The addict will try to convince his/her family that places like Michigan are wonderful places to be in January.
6. The steelhead addict will try convince himself and others that 500 miles is not really that long of a drive.
7. The steelhead addict will be convinced that 15 degree temperatures are not really that cold.
8. If you think someone you love might be a steelhead addict. Check your phone bill. If there are lots of calls to dam/waterflow hotlines, there is a problem.
9. Check the computer. A steelhead addict will inevitably have an alarming amount of steelhead photos, flies and steelhead related web pages. He/she may be using a covert name while operating on the internet.
10. The steelhead addict is never satisfied. Enough is never enough. The end of one steelhead trip plants the seed for the beginning of another.
The Symptoms
1. Constant ruminating about steelhead
2. While steelheading you find it difficult to stop. You ignore your basic needs such as eating and going to the bathroom. Many steelhead addicts will stand in one spot from sun up until sundown.
3. Difficult to concentrate at work
4. Extreme agitation when water levels rise or fall
5. Extreme agitation with changing barometric pressure
6. Impulsive decisions to drive hundreds of miles to far away rivers
7. Obsessive thoughts about egg patterns and stone fly patterns
8. Extreme jealousy when friends are going steelheading without you
9. 2,3,4,5 weight fly rods are collecting dust
10. Hoarding and stock piling an excessive amount of fluorocarbon
The Cure
Unfortunately there is no proven cure.
The fist step is admitting it…
I Caddishead (Todd) am a Steelhead addict.
Great tune by the way!
I kray lutz of Glenrock Wyoming will soon be a steelhead adict, but right now am a trout adict ( but they go hand in hand)
great story and nice video
Hey caddishead –
I Jeremy Cameron am a steelhead addict. So what’s the second step?…
Glad you like that song – I wrote that a couple years back when I was living in Reston Virginia (the internet hub of the world) during the .com era. “The Perfect Life” is of course said and sung with much sarcasm. The song tells the tale of the things i saw during my time down there and seeing everybody living and striving for “the perfect life”…..when i got to the end of writing the song..i decided to make it twist into something comical and ironic..if you listen to the story within the song….the last verse indicates that through all of the criticisim i pointed out about “the perfect life” – i infact ended up with the “perfect life” … so i ended up liking the song because it’s easy for all of us to say, “oh i don’t want this and i don’t want that..” but at the same token “we find ourselves trying to make more money to buy new things and do what we want to do” so i guess it’s a fine line between recognizing what is and isn’t important and also recognizing that we do in fact need certain things to do the things we want to do….anyway – glad you like the song. i thought it was fitting for a steelhead video – because there is not a thing about steelheading that could be associated with the “perfect life” – the weather is nasty, the steelhead people are typically a little rough around the edges, accomodations are drab and only have the bare minimums and nothing about steelheading requires anybody to have new clothes, new cars, champaigne, crystal glasses…….
I am slowly recovering from my last trip steelheading it has been roughly a month and I find myself sleep deprived and waking from vivid nightmares of the lady behind the counter at the redwood. Good article I have yet to see the video my computer is acting funny down here in fla. I am sure it is well put together though.
Step #2: Believing that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity!
We all know that there is really nothing sane about the chrome addiction. I’ve been known to drift a run for hours with leaking waders and 32 degree water temps.
Great blog Jeremy. The signs and symptoms really hit home for me.
I did catch the last verse. Thats why I love it! you hit the nail on the head.
I was in the same boat with ModemMedia(www.modemmedia.com) A huge interactive agency in its heyday. Money flying everywhere. I left before the big crash and cashed in my stocks in time..few
Howdy!
Wow, that is great! Finally some good weather-and awsome fishing!!! The camera likes the reel!!!!! You will have to make me a steelhead addict! Great video, glad you hooked up. Tight lines
Austin
joey – i missed ya on the last trip – it was strange steelhead fishing without you. i kept listening for you saying, “There he is” when a big steelie took your fly. Our honey hole did not produce AT ALL! Pat at the redwood said to tell you hello.
Yeah, I have many of the same symptoms for Trout, Bass, even panfish. They say those are ‘Gateway’ fish; I may be headed down the road to the Hard Stuff, but, thankfully, I’m already past the point of self-help and whenever my closest friends try for an intervention, we end up fishing instead. One of these days, we won’t even be aware of it, and we’ll be hitting the NY Thruway bemoaning only the cost of the toll.
Thanks, good read!
~Mike