Another week has started and another journal about my steelheading experiences on the Vedder River. As always a warm welcome to all reader and posters on FWR.
With the dropping water conditions I had a hard time were to start my day. Different water levels mean runs that may have been unproductive before but the drop of a few inches may turn them in "The New Hot Spot". The KE and "The Root Run" have become distance memories to me of good fishing now past. In all fairness The KE may still be holding fish, should check it out one day.
I decide to make my first stop at "The Torpedo Run" and "The Upper". Arriving at the parking area shortly after 7 I am very surprised to see only one other vehicle ahead of me.
Maybe the other anglers who have fished this area the last week know something I do not know as I have not fished it since Friday when nothing was taken on the left bank side.
As I pass the garbage bag I have placed on the entrance to the trail out to the river there a few days ago I am pleased to see it is half full. I will empty it on theway out.
As I reach the river there is no one on my side, should I start at the "Torpedo Run" or "The Upper". As The former is closer I slip in to the top of the run, what a difference from last week when a solid brown and green picket fence was anchored in at first light.
It is a pleasure to work from the run from top to the bottom but no one is home. I wonder if it may be a little low but with the overcast morning and a nice chop on top should still hold a steelhead.
After 10 minutes or so I decide to change runs and trot up to "The Upper". Just as I start to walk I see Gofish coming over the bank.
He joins me at "The Upper" and we work it through from top to bottom before I head back down towards "The Torpedo". Just as I start at the top of the run another angler comes and settles in below me.
I have made 2 or 3 casts and The Maple Leaf Drennan" plunges downward, I promptly set the number 1 gammy and we have ignition.
I inform the angler below that I have a steelhead on and to start I think it is a fair sized steelhead. It wants to head back down from where it has come so I oblige. I tell the angler I will get out of his way so he may be able to pick up this steelhead's partner. As I get it near the beach gofish has joined me and is ready to help with the tubing if it is a wild. It turns out to be a hatchery buck, one of the smallest I have ever caught as it is in the 4 pound range but fought well for his size. Gofish gently removes the hook and the now released steelhead scoots away.
Just after we have release the steelhead we see a dead wild steelhead on the edge of the gravel bar. It has been half eaten by gulls I guess, how it met its end is anyones guess. I snap a picture of it, Rodney may post the picture later if he wishes.
Gofish heads downstream and I upstream to fish the two runs we have been working before I head to "The Steelieman Run". The West winds is starting to blow as a high pressure ridge seems to be moving in. The wind is making things cold on the hands and difficult to get a good drift but "The Steelieman Run" provides some shelter from the wind.
I see gofish wave as it looks like he is heading to his spot that he likes to fish, up river, I return the wave and continue fishing. A few minutes later I hear something behind me and I turn to see gofish appear from the trail above. I am in the middle of a drift and as I look back at the Maple Leaf Drennan it is gone from my view, good timing gofish.
I do not think I had time to strike but I am ready on the next cast as 2 sets of eyes are peeled on the red capped drennan. My heart is beating a little faster as well. In exact same spot down it goes, am I every ready but the strike results in two head shakes and is gone. I get no second chance and I kid gofish how if I had not appeared at the wrong time on the first take my average would be 2 for 2. I get lots of mileage out of that but of course it does not really matter as there will be lot more chances in the days ahead, I hope. But it was surely a 20 pounder that I had on my friend.
We try a couple of runs above but the wind gets the best of us and we head back down river going our separate ways. I hope we hear how he did later this evening. On the way back down I see John has taken a small hatchery fish, the only one I have seen besides mine.
I am hungry so head to the Leaf Mobile for my bagged lunch and some steaming coffee. I then try to find a place out of the wind and do some exploring. I find a couple of good looking runs but have no takers in them but file them for future reference.
I then move to another location and just as I get there an angler is into a wild doe, still time for tubing but with the hatchery nearly at their 35 total of does we have been told to hold off until the 15th. The doe has fallen for a fresh ghost shrimp." The Master" who is working today phones for an update and I tell him what I have had and seen. He says reports are coming to the store of a fair amount of action on the system today.
I work the run until the end of tubing time then I move around and find a few floats including two balsa floats Trout Slayer has used in the past. I chase one down river and when I retrieve it I see it has the Riverside Fly and Tackle on it. Is it yours Aaron?
As the day nears an end I check one remaining float catch and get two more floats. I had put the rod away but a nice slick behind a log looks inviting for a few casts. I get the pole and after a few cast behind the log the float is down but I am caught off guard as well as tired after a long day and I do not strike properly. Whatever it was will not come back so I finally head home wrapping up a fairly successful day in landing one fish in 3 chances.
With the clearing skies and cold temperatures on the horizons this will surely see the return of strong Easterly winds. This means we will be seeing weather that we usually have during steelhead season. We have been spoiled this year as we have not had to fish in temperatures that ice up the guides. As "The Master" said today the cold weather will take the fair weather fisher off the river but not me as I have another adventure to experience, more steelhead to tube and of course another journal to write.
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Topic: A Dead Wild Steelhead, The Journal, Feb. 13, On the Vedder (Read 3766 times)