What a trip its been. I have chased Steelhead all over the place. We finally found them in a little tributary. It was awesome. There was barely any water in this stream but there were lots of big Steelies and Rainbows. Pete was fishing to some Steelies by the waterfall and I was taking a break. Did not want to crowd the hole. It was not long before Pete yells “Fish On.” He handles her perfectly, but she somehow escapes into the quick/shallow water and she was off. John was next to hook up with a black stone fly. He landed the fish and it was a beautiful fresh Steelie. So, Estez egg patterns, big black stones were the flies of choice. We called it quits for the evening and I laid in bed all night thinking of those fish. I was up at the crack of dawn. I was at the creek in no time, standing in perfect casting conditions. I put the perfect amount of leader on, just enough weight and a pink egg sucking leach. I saw a fish jump up the falls, so I knew they were there. I casted into the tumbling white water. WHAM! She was on. I set the hook and kept tension on my line. She darted from one end of the pool to the other. She was looking for an escape and she found one. She got me into the quick water (that Pete’s fish had been in) but I was not letting her go. I ran downafter her and she darted into a tunnel. You know, the kind of tunnel that goes under a road. So there I was in the middle of this black tunnel with a nice steelhead just below me and all sorts of obstructions. Somewhow, I meneuvered her outta there and we were in a nice pool and I had all the room in the world. I landed her and life was good. So, here is what I learned. Look for fish. Cover alot of water. Don’t even bother fishing unless you know there are fish in that section of the stream. How will you know? You will see them. Sharpen your hook we lost a ton of fish because our hooks were not razor sharp. Know what your going to do when you get the fish on. Where are you going to go? How are you going to land her. Anyway, all these things I learned from John Rucando, a phenomenal guide. I watched him spotfish several fish and catch those fish. Now that is entirely different than standing in some crowded pool with a bunch of people and blind casting to fish that may or may not be there. What a great trip to the Salmon River. It will be hard to fish for trout/salmon anywhere else.
