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[steelieman]

I took a week off to go steelheading but it looks like the water condition is not the greatest now. Hopefully, it gets better. Weather report calls for more rain and wind though!!!

Watching the Canucks game and surfing for fishing reports. It doesn't look like much is happening so I thought what better then to come up with an interesting post.

I had my taste of connecting with my first steelhead in the year 1992. My buddy got me into fishing for cohos 3 years before that and normally, I would just stop around November. As a newbie, I would fish the Limit Hole around the cement block for cohos. During those days, I was taught to look, pull your rod back and hook a fish. I soon learned that it was not much fun hooking a fish in different parts of its body other then the mouth. I learned the art of curing roe and soon was hooking them properly.

1992- I decided that it was time to jump up to the big league so to speak. As usual, the Cement Block was my choice. As I live in Maple Ridge, I got information from Tom ( a local tackle shop )who taught me what to use- #4 gammy hooks and pink wool was supposed to be the killer bait. I remembered that it was really cold that morning as my buddy Markus and I made the trek up my favourite hole- The Cement Block

Light was just coming over the horizons when we started fishing. Within 10 minutes, I was into a huge fish. It was taking lines so quickly I had to run after it. With heart beating quickly and not much experience, I was trying to force the fish in quickly. I was eager to look at my first steelhead. Soon I felt nothing at the end of my line. When I got it back, my hook no longer resembles a hook anymore- it looked more like an "arrow" now. My first steelhead had straighten my hook.!!!!!!!

During those days, we normally stick to one rock and fish. It was getting so cold that I had to move around.We fished another 2 hours without actions until I moved down to the tailend. I was casting and casting and I was into a fish again. Before I knew it, the fish was running down so quickly, I had to chase it. The felt on my boots was stuck to the rock like crazy glue and I could not move.  ::)The fish got off again when I was trying to free myself. We tried until around noon before we decided to go home- so we thought.

When we were driving down and just as we passed the On The Way store, we saw this guy playing a fish. In 1992, the river runs right along side the road. We parked our car and soon saw this guy landing a hatchery fish of about 10 lbs. We decided to give it another try here. As we were walking down, the same guy hooked another and quickly landed his second hatchery fish. The limit on steelhead during those days were 2 hatchery fish. The guy was so happy that he came up to us to show us what he was using to catch his prize- a dime size peach coloured wool. He quickly cut out a 6" piece for us to try.

It was not long after that I was into steelhead number 3 for the day. I had adapted quickly and was able to land my first wild steelhead. Within the next half hour, I got 2 more and they were both hatchery fish- a 12lb and a smaller 10lb does. Markus, my buddy got into 1 wild and 1 hatchery fish. That was one amazing day.

My buddy Markus no longer resides in Canada. Over the years, I got better at what I was doing but that day will always be imprinted in my mind.

Oh yah- Sedin scored in overtime to beat the Ducks!!!

 

[Fish Assassin]

Sabourin's first win in the NHL !

[younggun]

I was no nube any more, i had been fishing for some 6 years now, i had graduated from trout to pinks then to chum then to coho and finally the springs. My 2 years steelheading without a fish had just ended or so i thought. I had pounded both the vedder and the chehalis, and had both years come out empty after watchin my dad hook some 20 steelies in that period. 
          I was not alone at my spot, it was the 2nd guy i had seen there in fishing that spot for 3 years.(The first was Eric Carlisle, a great guy who gave me a few valuable tips on the behavior of those cap coho) I had heard stories and read Eric's book on the steelhead in the cap, but never in my wildest dreams did i ever think that i would have the priviledge to hook into one of those magnificent and scarce fish. It was may 7 and i was at our favourite spot for the early cap coho, i was deep into the canyon after a 20 minute walk(hike). I had already hooked into a early jack chinook and a jack coho. I had been drifting the head and the main pool and had totally forgoten about steelheading and now was keen on hooking coho and chinook. 
          After hitting nothing in the main money spots steelheading clicked back in, and i thought to my self, the fish have to come up these rapids, its really shallow on this side and its really clear and pretty bright out on this over cast day. But on the far! side of the pool was where the bank was a granite wall and It had a couple trees over hangin the tail out. I set my float a little shallower and put my drift within 10 feet of the wall, but after feeling the bottom a couple times i snagged up and lost everything but my float. I re rigged and shortened up even more, i was surprisingly still tapping bottom every 2 feet but i was content on fishing that spot right on the bottom.
        I was hitting bottom quite often but all of a sudden i felt nothin and saw my float was still drifting!  After about 4 seconds the float slowly dipped under, thinking it was a snag i struck/pulled lazily, then i saw that my line was alive and moving slowly back and forth across the tailout of the run!  This slow tug of war ensued for about 15 minutes, and all that time he faught like a small chinook, but he never headed for the main water of the pool, he kept to the water in the tailout. I was using my first ever drift rod a 9ft diawa with a 6500 abu. This fish pulled extremely hard for its size. After fighting him for some minutes he dicided to wake up, the water was amazingly cold at this time of year, he came in close but was in the glare of the sun so i could not view my fish, then he took off across the tail out(being about 150feet in width) my abu screamed as he peeled my line off the reel. I finally tired the beast and swung him into a back eddy next to the bank, i walked down the bank to him and slowly saw the red sides of my unknown fish. All this time i had an experienced fisherman who had hooked one coho watching me but had thankfully stopped fishing when i hooked my steely. I finally got to my fish, and saw he was a steelhead!  THe guy asked if i needed help but i wanted the moment to be all mine so i politley regected his offer. I tailed the fish and had the guy take a quick pic of the steely on my disposable camera. (I have the picture on my desk top) I popped the #6 gammy out of his mouth(he had 2 other hooks in his mouth both were alot larger than my own, probably around the size of 2/0-3/0, must have fought hard cus the line was still on them, he had broken the leader, which looked to be about 15-20lb test) I put my rod down, and quickly had the fish back in the water, after making sure i had revived him to full strength knowing that cap steelhead were on the very low side in numbers. I released this beutiful fish back into the river, he was a late run steely of about 10 pounds, he was not a kelt, he looked like a large foot ball but coloured up quite a bit.
       The guys buddy came and told him to pack up and leave, so while the man was on his way i went back to fishing the same pocket, the very next cast i hooked into a massive coho for that time of year, he was about 9lbs. I could see that both guys were quite frustrated to have me hook into 2 fish, 1 being a steelhead and the next a large coho and them not have hooked anything exseptional. I brought that fish in aswell and had them help me land this wildly thrashing, bright fish. After bonking this coho i had all the fish i wanted, 1 jack spring, 1 jack coho, 1 large coho and i had landed and released a Cap steelhead. I packed up, put the stuff in my bag and walked out of this prestine canyon spot. I hopped on the bike and pedelled for 45 min home, all that time thinking of the steelhead that i had hooked.
        The capilano has now dropped in both fish stocks and fishability because of water levels. After this years floods i dont know what that faithful spot looks like. I now am still hopeful for the odd late or summer steelhead in the cap but i dont fish for exclusivly in this system. I was 9 years old at the time and was elated. I now have caught my fair share of steelhead and lost a few, but none have fought with the strenght and pureness of that fish. From that very moment of successfully landing that prized steelhead i have always had the burning fire and drive inside of me to poke at the depths of this sport that we fishermen call steelheading.

                                                                   THE END

[steelieman]

That was a nice story. Thanks for relating it to us

[Coho Cody]

good story! but you biked 45 to the cap canyon, and hiked in at the age of 9 by yourself

[steelieman]

Thats a diehard fisherman!!! I was surprised that you parents actually let you do that!!!

[younggun]

u do what u gotta do! A buddy of mine lived on the north shore, and i had my stuff at his house cus dad, me, him and his dad had gone fishing the weekend before but i forgot my stuff there!   Smooth. So i went to his house grabbed my stuff and hiked in, i was on a jogging trail for most of the way, i didnt tell my parents where i went though cus they would have 1 had a heart attack and 2 killed me! What can i do, i was desperate, i wanted to go so much so i saw a chance and took it. Mom and dad were pissed when i got home, but also happy that i was safe, and the 3 fish was a plus. But i did get grounded from the T.V. for 3 weeks, but it was well worth it!

[milo]

I will never forget my first steelhead.
It was late winter, end of February 2003. I hadn't yet met my current fishing buddies with whom I share the flow on a regular basis, and my fishing buddies at the time were into carp fishing during winter months. I grew tired of sitting in the cold waiting for the carp to bite, so I decided to give steelheading a try. Armed with information from the Internet, I bought an array of plastic worms, Jensen eggs, wool and colorado blades.
I pounded the Vedder religiously every weekend in January and February that year. I tried everything I had in my arsenal, but I never had even a sniff. 
Finally, one day, in pounding rain, I found myself fishing just above the Tamihi bridge, where the river formed an elbow and created a deep, slow pool at the opposite side. It used to be a very good spot which was busy most of the time, with at least one or two anglers working it at any time of the day. (Today that spot is dry, and where the pool used to be, there is just a big clay deposit.)         It was late afternoon, and I was slowly driving back to the lower river after yet another unsuccessful day upstream. As I was passing by the spot, I noticed that there was nobody fishing it, probably due to the inclement rain.
So I decided to park my car and give it a try because I had always wanted to try out that spot. I took out my backpack and my rod and descended down the short and steep muddy trail to the bank.
I positioned myself at the upper end of the pool, tied a pink colorado spinner under my 4-inch dinky float (there were no DNE foam floats at the time) and I cast into the pool. The float went down on that first cast and I set the hook, but nothing happened because I was fishing too deep, and I was snagging the bottom. I readjusted the float a bit and cast again into the pool, this time paying more attention to the drift. As the float reached the end of the pool, I started reeling in slowly. To my surprise, the float disappeared again and my rod tip bent. I set the hook and this extraordinary creature leaped out of the water with a big splash I will never forget. It took a run towards the bank and almost beached itself, only to immediately go back into the depth of the pool and stayed there giving me those delightful shakes. I managed to recover from my shock and awe and actually played the fish pretty well.
I beached the tired fish in the shallows and scrambled for my little pocket disposable camera. Times were tough those days and I couldn't afford a digital camera. There was no one around to give me a hand, so I fumbled to get in position with the rod in one hand and the camera in the other. All this was taking place in one of the worst showers I have ever experienced on the Vedder. As I fumbled with the camera in my cold wet hand, I dropped it into the water. It startled the fish, which went on for another run splashing in the shallows. I managed to get it under control and reel it in at my feet, right by the camera. So, I picked up the camera out of the water and snapped two pictures. Unfotunately, the pics never came out.  The camera got damaged from sitting in the water while I was getting the fish back under control.
Anyway, I put the camera down on the wet rocks and proceeded to look one more time at that magnificent creature. It was a beautiful 11-12 pound hatchery doe, chrome perfect. My first steelhead ever. My heart was still racing with excitement as I stood there, impervious to the rain and cold. Next thing I did was something that I never regretted: I unhooked the fish and let it go back to finish whatever business she had that day. For good kharma. 
Curiously enough, it took me four years to land another hatchery fish on the Vedder. It happened just 10 days ago on the mid river.  All other fish in between have been wild ones (not that there were that many, mind you. Maybe half a dozen total.) But it is that first fish that I will always remember fondly.
Even today, I often think of that fish and wonder whether she ever made it to the hatchery, or fell prey to another angler who wouldn't let her go.  I hope it's the former.

[DionJL]

Damn Straight I remember my first steelhead. Here is a copy/paste of the report I wrote the day of. (i'll try and dig out the pictures from my archives and add them in.)

well i hit my river of choice today after school. i get off at 12 oclock so i have lots of time to fish. so i headed out with the fly rod today thinking "I've fished gear for the last month exclusively, and no steel. and the dollies are just OK on the drift rod." so i take out my new 6wt rainshadow that was built up last september but hasn't realy caught much other than some small rainbows. so i rig up the rod with a type 6sink tip a few feet of 8lb leader and a nice looking purple egg sucking leech.

So I'm on the river and i walk down to my favorite fly spot. the water is near perfect today, maybe a little on the low side. so i cast in the fly and drifft a couple of times and work my way through the entire elbow pool. Nothing, nad, zilch. well i reluctantly leave my favorite fly spot to head down to some more pools.

I get to a new pool that i just went to for the first time 2 weeks ago. Its looking good. the water is slow and deep considering the water level on the rest of the river. so i fish through the first part of the pool. nothing so i move down. a few cast later i lose my hand crafted fly to a tree on the far side of the river. O well i got another 6 of those. "ahhh, lets change it up, i was getting them (dollies) on spinners the other day, lets try a 'rolled gold' ( a pattern Onthefly showed me). And hey, lets step down to some 6lb leader". so i search through my vest looking for six lb. "Damn it!" its not there. "ahh whatever 5lb will work" so i tie on a longer 4.5ft section of 5lb test mono on for a leader, finishing off the leader wheel. Now a new approach. I move down to the bottom end of the pool, the best part. Its deep and a bit murkier. lay a few casts out and figure the count till i hit bottom with the fast sink tip. next cast i start the retrieve right when i think the fly is near bottom. i get a tap. "was that a branch or a fish", i lift the rod tip either way. nothing so the next cast i shorten the length i allow the fly to sink. take a few strips in and another tug on the line, i set the hook and its a fish. a minute or two later i land this pretty little fish.



I was alown so i snapped the picture like that and quickly released the fish. And back to fishing it was. A few more cast and Bang! another fish, this one is big though. So i battle it remembering that i only have 5lb test attached to the fly. about five minutes later i land about a 3.5-4lb. dolly. i set the rod down on the bank while holding the line and try to pulll the camera out of my jacket pocket. finally i get it out. i turn it on and focus on the fish, i then try to manuver my hand underneath the fish to try and support it at the surface. "not likely!" he says, gives me a splash, snaps the leader and takes off. "O well, i guess i gave him a little too much time to revive".

Well there's not much left of the leader and no more 5lb left so i make the decision to use some old 7lb instead of bumping back up to the 8lb maxima. Would this prove to be a bad decision?

I tie on another rolled gold and procede back to my spot. i continue casting and counting and then stripping. i get another nibble on the next two cast. but i aint quick enough to set the hook. i lay another beautiful cast out, count, then begin to strip in. BANG!!! set the hook. another bigggggg dolly. Hopefully this 7lb holds out.
And then the fish launches itself out of the water, once....twice.....three times. "HOLY #@&%!!!! THIS AINT NO DOLLY! " . i begin to walk down river following the powerful fish. i hold my rod high to make sure my line does not get caught in the stump infront of me. UHHHOOO, the water is getting deep, only 10inches till my waders start filling up. Lucky for me the ground begins to rise as i keep walking, not that the water would have stopped me. i continue to battle the fish for close to 15minutes. A train goes by and i wave with a huge smile on my face. and the conductor does a double take when he sees my rod doubled over. Still the fish does not quit. Finally i get the brute to shore, adipost fin is still their, not that i would have bonked my first steelhead ever. i walk back up to my spot where my camera is. I get a few shots of the fish in the water.





Now i set the camera on the bank with the Ten second timer going. i set the rod on the bank and wait for the fast beeps to start indicating 3seconds till picture time. i lift the fish out of the water and get this shot.



the sun was directly behind my so i turned out slightly dark so i lightened the picture on the computer so the colours aren't perfect.

I guess the 7lb held up. I revive the fish, thank him for the pleasure of meeting him, and then send him on his way. i then take a seat on teh bank and try to comprehend what just happend. after a long break. i pick up the rod and fish again, not really hoping to catch anything else. my day has already been made. but i do catch another 2 dollies. i got a picture of one who dared to bite my fly.



Enough is enough. i have had my fun. Its now time to brag. I start walking back up river continueing to replay the best day of fishing i have ever had.

[steelieman]

Good story DionJL!!!!!!

[Rodney]

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/articles/2002/0202_03.html

[searun17]

Great stories guys.
As a kid i grew up bar fishing with my dad mostly for coho and sturgeon on the Fraser but i had allways heard of the great fishing on some of the others systems such as the vedder but i could only dream about fishing for the elusive ghosts of these flows,i would spend allot of time reading about steelhead and tried to learn as much as i could and awaited the day when i got my drivers license so i could head out and try to fullfill my dream of matching wits with some winter steel.In 1982 with drivers license in hand and somewhat under geared,IE 9ft rod no waders and a coffee grinder i headed out to the vedder fully confident with all the reading that i had done about steelhead i should have no problem hooking a fish or two,boy was i wrong it seems you cant learn everything just by reading all the literature you can find,i fished the river every chance i could getting soaked and freezing my butt off with no success while guys all around me were consistently hitting fish.At this point i was getting very frustrated and i guess one of the old timers that i had seen several times on the river must have felt bad for me and gave me a few tips to help me out.So with renewed confidence i decided to cross a little side channel and get totally soaked up to my knees with hopes of success,on goes a roe sack first cast nothin ,second cast more of the same,third cast float down ,fish on,can you say surprise,i almost fell off my rock,after a few small runs and some acrobatic leaps my first ever steelhead came to hand,a small hatchery of about 8lb.After admiring her briefly and realizing i was soaking wet and freezing i decided to head back to the car and home,on  my way back i bumped into the oldtimer that had given me some tips earlier ,after a short congratulatory conversation it was time to head home beaming from ear to ear and in a hurry to get home and tell my story.i will never forget that first fish and the trials and tribulations i went through for two seasons,i guess the words patience and perseverance ring true,to this day those two words are etched in my mind every time im on the flow.

[steelieman]

Nice read Rod!!!

[milo]

For years since I started river fishing on the West Coast, the illusive steelhead has been haunting in my dreams.

A purely linguistic question for you, Rodney:

Did you really mean to use 'illusive', or was that actually meant to be its homophone 'elusive'?
Fishermen usually refer to the steelhead as 'elusive' (difficult to catch), but in the context of your sentence it might have well been 'illusive' (deceptive, unreal).

A curious linguist wants to know.

[Rodney]

Damn linguists, don't they know biologists can't write?

I think at the time when I wrote it, I meant illusive, implying that people often talk about it, yet those who have never experienced the hunt almost find its existence a myth.