Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: obie1fish on March 19, 2024, 10:28:31 PM
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I wanted to share the story of my afternoon today. End result: lost fish and lost rod.
As all of you know, it was a gorgeous day, and all was going well. I wore shorts for the second day in a row, my translucent white legs blinding anyone I walked past.
I also got my March Madness picks in, put a nice patch on my waders, and went to see a good angling friend who has been under the weather for a while. We chatted about potential future fishing trips and the saltwater fishing we do in the summer. I left his place to try spoon fishing for a couple of hours, with the promise of a report upon my return home, probably after doing some yard work prior to dinner.
And so I went to the Vedder with no expectations whatsoever apart from a good walk and a chance to try a method I hadn't tried for steelhead. I was in my shorts, armed with an old setup of mine: a 7 ft Kunan one piece rod and Shimano Curado (the old green one), filled with 30 lb yellow PowerPro with 6 ft of 20 lb fluorocarbon at the end. In the past it was an awesome setup for spoon fishing for coho, and float fishing jigs for chums as well, the shorter rod being handy for fishing the Harrison in a boat. A box of spoons and a multitool was all the additional tackle I brought.
So I walked upstream, quickly fishing several pools with no results other than I was really enjoying how the setup was fishing. I made sure to change spoons to match the speed and depth of each pool and run. Working my way back down, I revisited a spot that's worked well for me and my centerpin setup. I changed to a 50/50 chartreuse Little Cleo and started in.
One cast went to the slow water on the other side, fluttered along for a few metres, then stopped. I set the hook into an immovable object that started thumping, and then took off. The big buck stayed in the pool, holding in the main current, not letting me budge him despite the pressure I put on the 20 lb fluoro. I got him onto my side several times, and after some more small runs, he came to the water's edge. I tailed him and reached to remove the spoon...
...and he took off from my grip, leaving me to watch my rod follow the fish into the main current, out of sight.
Needless to say, words were said. I hoped to look around to see if there was someone who would be able to latch onto the line and save the day, not to mention freeing the steelhead.
Unfortunately this was also a rare occasion when there were no anglers in sight, save for a fellow working his way down the other side from above. I shouted upstream to him, signaling for him to come down, but he just waved and went away. By that time my wife was on her way with a level wind setup. A full hour had passed, and I was starting to feel horrible about the fish, still attached to my setup, occasionally rising on the far side. I knew after the fight and all that time, the fish would be tired, to say the least.
My wife arrived, and I quickly managed to hook onto the line attached to the fish. I was able to bring the line up, but the rod and line was stuck. Unfortunately, the line on the other side broke, and further attempts both there and downstream proved futile. At least the fish was no longer hampered by the rod. I hope it's okay.
So if anyone out there fishing the mid section of the Chilliwack comes upon a 7 ft Kunan one piece and green Curado with yellow braid, let me know. More importantly, if you catch a good sized, coloured wild buck with a chartreuse/nickel spoon in its mouth, treat him kindly and please enjoy the spoon- it has quite a story attached.
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Wow, heck of day. One for the memory banks! Thank you for sharing.
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Great story! I see from your Lost and Found post that the rod has an important connection for you. Hope you get it back!
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that's a unique story and thanks for making the effort to release the fish from your lost rod!
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Thanks, everyone. My main concern was for the wild brood stock. I'm still worried about that fish, and wishing I was able to get to it sooner.
I forgot to mention: my lessons learned?
Lesson 1: Bring a net. We've all probably lost fish that would have been more gently captured and released if a net was in hand. Lots of people, including Rod, have said this for years.
My situation was another possibility. I know nets can be costly, but so is losing gear. And as you noted Clarki, losing a gift from my long passed father makes the hurt and regret even more pronounced.
Lesson 2: Loosen your drag at the end of the fight. I might still have my setup if I had remembered to do this simple step.
As with many people, I was already aware of these two steps, but figured I could get along without them. After all, it's only a couple of hours of afternoon steelhead fishing. What could go wrong? Ahhhh, beautiful hindsight. One of my favourite sayings is that my life is full of 3 second moments I want back.
I'm older now, but I guess I still learn lessons the old fashioned way- the hard way.
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As with many people, I was already aware of these two steps, but figured I could get along without them. After all, it's only a couple of hours of afternoon steelhead fishing. What could go wrong? Ahhhh, beautiful hindsight. One of my favourite sayings is that my life is full of 3 second moments I want back.
I'm older now, but I guess I still learn lessons the old fashioned way- the hard way.
It happens to us all. When our minds are set only on fishing we tend to be a bit reckless. I hope you are able to recover your lost items.
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I shared the story on FB and IG so hopefully someone will reach out if they found the setup.
Last fall, while trying to get my last hatchery coho of the day, bobber went down, I set the hook, somehow the rod slipped out of my hand and went flying in mid air. I also then somehow managed to catch it in mid air before it landed in the water... and it was my last fish of the day. ;D
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I shared the story on FB and IG so hopefully someone will reach out if they found the setup.
Last fall, while trying to get my last hatchery coho of the day, bobber went down, I set the hook, somehow the rod slipped out of my hand and went flying in mid air. I also then somehow managed to catch it in mid air before it landed in the water... and it was my last fish of the day. ;D
Much the same happened to me while fishing a spinner. The float went down, I set the hook and the fish reacted so quickly and powerfully the rod was yanked out of my hand into the water. There must have been some slack introduced as I could see the rod lying in the water within arms reach so I grabbed it and had quite a tussle with a hatch male steelhead of 8lbs or so which ended with it coming home for supper.
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Thanks for the story! You could try reaching out to Aquatic Monkey on Youtube, or Petr Herman, to see if they'd take a look underwater for the rod. I'm sure a cash reward and the promise of a cool Youtube video would be appealing! I don't know about Petr, but AM has done videos in the past where he's gone diving for lost items. He once went into a golf course pond to retrieve a full bag of clubs ::)
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Wow- some of you have some pretty nerve-wracking experiences as well! Coincidentally, that sick friend and I were just reminiscing about overboard rods in the chuck just before I hit the river!
Thanks for the tip, Blood Orange- I'll give it a look.
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Last week I saw an angler play a large wild buck twice. He landed it the first time and tried to take the hook out when the fish took off back onto the pool. He was able to grab his rod before it too went after the fish. He played the steelhead a second time albeit not as long as the first time and this time was successful in taking the hook out and releasing the fish. A dude across the river from where I was starting yelling at him voicing his displeasure at seeing the fish played twice! Moral of the story? Bring a net next time.
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A dude across the river from where I was starting yelling at him voicing his displeasure at seeing the fish played twice!
To what end? Some people just want an excuse to be cranky ::)
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Hows your bracket after today 😂
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That same cranky fella probably would have been pleased to hook that very same fish.
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My bracket's looking the same as everyone else's, thanks to Oakland!
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obie1fish, the setup is found! Can you get in touch with me, either message here, or message on FB or IG, or email info@fishingwithrod.com (preferrably the other way instead of email).
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That’s awesome !
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This is amazing! I contacted the kind soul last night and am arranging a meet!
Turns out the fellow who waved at me on the other side hooked up with the outfit the very next day! I had left messages at the local tackle shops, but he hadn't been aware of my notices until just the other day.
And get this- my wife was about to get me a new rod for my birthday yesterday, but the stores just happened to be sold out of the model. She sat me down to tell me this, and not 1 hour later I checked FWR to see the above post.
I'm ecstatic and extremely thankful for the good people in this world.
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Nice to read about such a happy ending!
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Thanks, Ralph- for sure!
A huge shout out to Mike, who waved at me that day, but had to make his way home before darkness set in. He returned the next day and caught my line and setup in the same pool; took it home, cleaned and lubed the reel, respooled it, and brought it out to Abbotsford on his way to Chilliwack this afternoon. Enjoy the Beany Weenies, and look in the bottom of the bag.
Thanks also go to Rod, who contacted with me with the good news. Your website does so much, and has had its share of "those days", but rest assured that this person doesn't just see it as a place to post fishing stuff; today it acted as a conduit to help someone recover something very important to him.
A very good service was done, and in doing so, a small corner of the world got to see that there are people out there who do give a damn, and whether they realise the importance of their actions or not, it really counts for something.
And thanks to those who weighed in on this forum as well as the folks at the tackle stores who took my lost and found info. This was a story of the profoundness of compassion by everyone. Another lesson learned.
Now I have to buy me a net. And loosen the drag.
Be well, everyone.
John
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That’s great news, John. And a wonderful story too.
So glad that you got your father’s rod back!