Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: Steelhawk on March 03, 2006, 07:26:26 PM
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Went out for a short trip in the morning around 8:00. Started at the lower at Bergman section. It was pretty dead there. Did not see any action at all and water was gin clear and low. Looked upstream and saw long long line of fishers at Lickman run, but didn't like to go up to mix in with the gong show, so I don't know if it was good up there.
I was trying to spot hot actions like Chris used to describle at the Lower to determine my starting point, but couldn't find any. Decided not to waste time in those shallow & clear runs, and moved up river to a deeper run. There were a few guys in the big run, but the tail out was surprisingly vacant. They must have finished their hunt there and moved up. I surveyed what they were using. Also noticed that the tail out was just beginning to have the sun ray, so I decided to try something not used by other guys, something flashy. 2nd cast, the float buried with a hard take, wham, a large steel was on the run. It sure felt heavy, but it was not a spectacular battle though. It was not making strong runs nor headshakes. Frankly, it fought like a spring, so I was begining to think I had a rare winter spring on the line. I once hooked a super chromer spring early March in the Train Bridge area, so it is possible to hook one at this time.
Well, it is still very hard to get it close with its weight on my 8lb leader. A gentleman was kind enough to drop his fishing to help me land it, a super chrome wild doe about 15 lb range. Not sure why it did not fight more, as it looks ocean fresh and has no seal bite, and according to the gent who fished from first light there, there was no other hookup besides mine. It is not a 2nd-hooked fish. So why so sluggish in the fight ? ??? Anyhow, still grateful for that hookup, as there was no other hookups around the area. By the way, those DNE spoon hooks I am testing are really sharp. Haven't lost a fish on them yet.
Had to leave at 11:00 to work, so no afternoon fishing. Here are the pics for today's fish and yesterday's. Can you guys see them now? Thanks for the tips about photobucket.com.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f179/funfish1137/steelie15b.jpg)
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f179/funfish1137/steelie15a.jpg)
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f179/funfish1137/steelie1a.jpg)
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f179/funfish1137/image7.jpg)
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f179/funfish1137/steelie12lb.jpg)
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f179/funfish1137/steelie8lber.jpg)
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By the way, after I filed the report, I got a call from my buddy who lives near to the river that the hot fishing was in the afternoon, and below where I started this morning. Gee, I need the steelie GPS reading skill like Montegobayman & his friends. Them guys always walked right into hot actions. ;D
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Very nice fish indeed!
Interesting comment about "seal bite"; a few weeks back I caught a nice hatchery fish and a fisherman walking by commented on the "seal bite".
If it were truly a seal bite chances are you would see more fish with open sores. In my opinion, what some people are calling "seal bites" are nothing more than fishing line marks. Both hatchery fish that I have retained this year have this marking where the scales are pulled back in a line which typically starts somewhere near or behind the dorsal fin projects downward at an angle (or is subvertical). Many of the posted pictures of fish on this site have these markings....I believe it is just your fishing line which is under considerable tension rubbing up the side of the fish as it battles to get away.
SNAFU
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When I mean a seal bite, it is a hole in the body, or a long tear of wound, exposing flesh. You are right about line mark, but a seal bite is very evident. The blood loss & the wound weaken the fish.
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Fun fish I believe I know the answer to why the fish was so sluggish. You said that you caught it in the tailout of the run, so the fish had probably just come up through the fast water and was still tired. The same thing has happened to me a few times. Was there a stretch of fast water downstream of the tailout?
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No there is no strong rapids. It is moderate fast flow connecting the two runs. There is no way that fresh 15# fish will be so depleted by that water. Also, the run/pool below is quite turbulent & deep, and practically not fishable. The whole time I was there, no one was fishing it.
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Sweet fish, funfish :D
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Very nice fish indeed!
Interesting comment about "seal bite"; a few weeks back I caught a nice hatchery fish and a fisherman walking by commented on the "seal bite".
If it were truly a seal bite chances are you would see more fish with open sores. In my opinion, what some people are calling "seal bites" are nothing more than fishing line marks. Both hatchery fish that I have retained this year have this marking where the scales are pulled back in a line which typically starts somewhere near or behind the dorsal fin projects downward at an angle (or is subvertical). Many of the posted pictures of fish on this site have these markings....I believe it is just your fishing line which is under considerable tension rubbing up the side of the fish as it battles to get away.
SNAFU
Interesting theory SNAFU. Never thought of it.
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thats a beautiful fish. nicest ive seen all year.
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NICE FISH
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Congrats William keep it up!
DaN
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What a beauty. Too bad still coup up indoor. :'(
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Awesome pics man, some of the nicest all year! Great job!! Those would look good in Steely Porn!! ;D
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Congrat to you funfish,nice fish,did you use your camera phone to take those pictures
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Really nice fish man.... must have just been a lazy fish.....hahaha...
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Thanks guys. Big T, yes I took the pics with my new motorolla cell phone camera. I just got it this year. Wish I have the Pentax underwater camera, then the shot would be even more awesome. Thickrick, yup, that is another lazy fish, but it took only 2 casts to get it as compared to 100s of casts the date before, hehe! The way hatch are cleaned up at the lower river, I guess I will stay lazy for a while, haha!
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Thanks for the report funfish and nice job! I managed to get out on March 3 as well. I posted this report on the BCFR forum...
Hey guys. It's definitely been a while, but I finally went for my first fishing trip this year. A buddy and I hit the Vedder yesterday (Friday) as we decided to take the day off work. Hit the run just after 7 AM and it was quite busy, but still plenty of room to fish. Not much action for about an hour and a half. Then a guy above me hooks a fish and just loses it close to the beach. About 10 minutes later, another guy above me hooks a fish and the battle is on. During that fight, another guy below me hooks a fish and we have a "double header". The two gentlemen land their fish - both hatchery fish of about 9 - 10 pounds each. So, they're done.
About five minutes after that, the drennan goes down and I can feel strong head shakes. The fish doesn't come out of the water, but rather just rolls underneath the surface. After some tugging back and forth, I lead the fish close to shore. A fellow angler shouts out "nice hatchery". At that point - I'm reminded of what FishFinder told me the night before. I told him that I wasn't really planning on keeping a steelhead, but then FF said that if I landed a nice chrome hatchery steelie - I'd be keeping it! Hmm. Anyway, the adrenaline starts to flow. One of the guys who just landed a fish looks into the water and yells out "it's a beauty!'. Oh my. I get the fish in close to land it, and I think I have him subdued - then my 6 lb leader breaks! But a guy standing right beside the fish picks it up and puts it on the beach! OK - I guess I'm done! The fish was actually quite a bit larger than I first thought. It turned out to be a 15 pound hatchery buck (thanks to the guy with the electronic scale). My first fish of the year and first steelie on a gear rod!
Anyway - here's a couple of pictures...
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/Steelhead/P2230061.sized.jpg
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/albums/Steelhead/P2230053.jpg
We stayed until just about noon as I was hoping my buddy would get a hook-up. But then we decided it was time for lunch. In that time, I saw a couple of fish hooked and lost. However, it seemed to slow down. I wonder how the afternoon went. Anyone?
So - back to the fly rod or stick with the gear? Hmm... In any case - I hope to get out at least a few more times. Good luck out there everyone!
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great read... nice fish!!!!
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Nice pics and great fish. Congrats Flyfishin Magician. Not bad for the first outing. Gee, if you don't want to keep a hatch, you should have hooked my 15# wild and me hooked your 15# hatch. ;D
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Hey funfish - too bad we can't just turn back the clock and switch fish! Actually, my wife and I enjoyed a nice baked fillet of fresh steelhead the next evening. It was unbelievable! ;D