Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: allwaysfishin on January 24, 2008, 12:08:13 PM
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;D
Hit up some upper river water today at first light, fresh batch of prawns in the bait box and some 50/50 frenchies rigged and ready to go. Hiked in and fished some water me and blueback fished on derby day. Not a soul in sight.... everything was frosty and slippery..... just a wee bit nipply this mornin on the upper. Days like today i'm glad i built my rod with zirconia guides.... ice just doesn't like to stick to zirconia I've found.
I positioned myself at the head of the run which holds the deepest water and began close to shore, gradually moving my casts farther out. With an uneventful first hour slipping by, I switch from prawn to blade. My first cast with the blade got all screwed up and landed 1/4 of the way across the run, and i ended up with a minor backlash on my reel. I'm looking down at my reel, working the small tangle with my icy fingers....when i suddenly feel something pulling at my line. My float, which was resting in the shallows maybe 30 feet below me, is gone... then it pops up... in very shallow water close to shore. I can't do anything yet as my line is still slightly tangled on the spool. I'm figuring this pulling is just the current on my float..... but then all hell breaks loose. A larger steelhead is now violently rolling in the shallows, impaled on my blades siwash hook :o . I have no choice but to fight this fish, while still having a few loops of the tangle to work out of reel. After reeling up and feeling the full fight of the fish, it swims towards me, I reel as fast as i can. The steelhead, a nice 12plus pound buck... is now directly in front of me in the gin clear water. OMFG it's a hatchery I realize.... and then.... like Karma on speed.... the fish bolts out and down river, taking line. I give chase, adjusting my drag and keeping control.... and then SNAP........ the line comes to a dead stop as the fish hits the first of the still tangled loops in my reel...... fish gone :'(
Well, I sit.... on my defeated butt, light up a happy smoke and dive into fixing my tangled reel and re rigging as i lost it all, a 3.00 spinner and a 7.00 drennan..... sacrificed to the steelhead gods hehehe
I take my time, have a coffee and then, all the re rigging is done, I loop a fresh prawn to the hook and back at it. I fished the run up and down from head to tailout, switching from prawn to blade to jensen egg in the tailout and then it happens..... float down, hook set, i feel the weight of a thrashing steelhead and the battle is on. This fish zipped around in the run for a few minutes, jumping once...... but something wasn't right.... there was something else on this fish... but more of that later as the fish heads down river I give chase through one set of rapids and into a smaller run where i manage after probably 10 to 15 minutes to bring the fish to the shallows. I see instantly that this big steelhead is a hatchery buck...... about 12 maybe 14 pounds..... Then i see something else..... a 50/50 french blade.... hanging from his lip...... right beside the jensen egg and wool, which was also stuck in his lip. On further inspection...... my whole rig..... blade, leader, split shot and drennan as well as about 50 feet of mainline is all still attached to this fish....... I have not knowingly hooked the same steelhead in the same run in my years of steelheading.... but there was no doubt about this one.
so..... out came the bonker , marked my liscence and headed for home. I think i'll head up again tomorrow and see what i can sink a hook into.
Conditions in the upper are about 4 to 6 inches lower than derby day and gin clear and cold where i was fishing. Talked to two anglers on the way out.... they saw one smaller hatchery doe whacked at first light and 2 wild fish released in the run above and around the corner from my lil secret spot.
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Happy smoke. ;D ;D
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hehehe, i was being politically correct LOL
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Hey Thomas great read,thanks for sharing ,i cant wait to get out again and try my luck.
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Good thing it was a hatchery that you ended up bonking. Steelhead can be so aggressive that they will bite again quite quickly...it's happened to me a few times over the years. It's for that reason several rivers have been closed down to bait or should be if they have only wild fish. It's not because they might swallow the bait but because of all the additional stress put on the fish on the second hooking, playing, and releasing. Their chance of survival is much slimmer no matter how careful you are at not overplaying the fish, releasing it properly without over handling it. Just think how much stress the fish is subject to on a third or fourth hooking? It might live to go through the rigors of spawning but I doubt it would mend in order to spawn again.
A guy I know hooked the same 43 inch steelie (at least28-30 Lbs.) a second time within 15 minutes of releasing it on a spoon. It gave its all twice...it wasn't injured and it swam away but man, did he feel like crap, knowing it's chance of survival was poor to none. Sure , can't afford to lose fish like that on an endangered river like the Thompson. Not a problem on the Vedder, however.
It's always a huge surprise when you catch a fish twice...makes you think catching steelhead should be a lot easier than it is. Nice bonus, though...getting all your gear back besides landing the fish! Hate losing those drennans. >:(
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Now that was a great story!
;D
Nicole
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Go and buy a Lotto ticket Thomas. Great read.
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haha..Id say it was your lucky day!
Any pics of this hungry fish?
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Thanks for sharing your story Thomas, when are we going fishing? ;) ;D
Will
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i'm no longer posting glory shots..... not to brag but i have dozens of pics on the wall already..... it's gonna be a pretty special fish to merit photo's from me ;) and ... the biggest reason i'm not taking pics...... fumbling with my camera or cell phone to take pics has cost me about 1600.00 in camera and phones from them fallin in the river over the past 2 years ;D ;D I'm married now..... can't afford to be replacing these things ;)
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A Journal at its best, thanks for penning it. ;D ;D ;D
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this year my first cast in a fishy seam i hooked and lost a fish after some head shakes .... next cast float down im stripped... next cast got her...
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at least somebody had a good day..i came home from getting skunked today to find out my grandma passed away late last night..great story though made me forget for a min. i need a hundrid happy smokes :( :( :( :( :( :(
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What a story. Thanks for sharing. Like FA said, buy a lottery. Steelheads will usually bite again, but to have all the lines and float hanging around its body and still bite within a short time, that is amazing. Congrats.
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;D ;D Right on Thomas!! Great read too! I figured that you'd pull one outta there today, Congrats! Didn't hurt yourself chasin' em I hope, it's a tough run ;D? Weekend's a comin'!!
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Great read guy,
Sure pays to work the same water over.
Can't believe you got your gear back!!!
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nice story man
well done
nevet had a steel on a blade yet
two years ago i hooked into a wild male released it, cast back into the same run and hooked a wild female right in the same spot
a mating pair maybe ???
then i moved on to leave them too it :D
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blades have taken easily 50% of the steelhead i've hooked in the chilliwack over the past few years i've been fishing them. I started getting consistant results fishing them in certain flow conditions and even more so with spaced out spilt shot on my line. Chris saw me take one early one mornin a week or so ago... the float had barely settled when it disappeared. One thing about blades, when the fish decide to take em.... they take em pretty hard. Many guys don't fish em till it warms up a bit... I find current conditions on the wack to be just about perfect for success on blades. look for those seams that want to pull your float away from you at the same time it is floatin down river, then dead drift it like bait..... the current will do the rest. Also, don't cast upstream at all, cast 90 degrees to your shore position and this sets up the float to "bait" presentation better with a blade.
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Great read guy,
Sure pays to work the same water over.
Can't believe you got your gear back!!!
Especially the drennan. ;D ;D ;D
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i use 20# waxed flyline backing and tie it like a uni knot, 10 wraps to make a very snug float stop... i'm just glad that drennan didn't get smashed.
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blades have taken easily 50% of the steelhead i've hooked in the chilliwack over the past few years i've been fishing them. I started getting consistant results fishing them in certain flow conditions and even more so with spaced out spilt shot on my line. Chris saw me take one early one mornin a week or so ago... the float had barely settled when it disappeared. One thing about blades, when the fish decide to take em.... they take em pretty hard. Many guys don't fish em till it warms up a bit... I find current conditions on the wack to be just about perfect for success on blades. look for those seams that want to pull your float away from you at the same time it is floatin down river, then dead drift it like bait..... the current will do the rest. Also, don't cast upstream at all, cast 90 degrees to your shore position and this sets up the float to "bait" presentation better with a blade.
Blades are deadly if you know how to fish them.... allwaysfishing explained it perfectly..... I like using the blades in colder temps since they bite out of aggression........In deeper pools with minimal flow I've fished blades under a float and using a retrieve with good success..... hey allwaysfishing where do you get your french blades? since I find that the angeloes blades are sh*t....I used to order my blades from the states since they are heavier but they went outta business
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great read there "T" ;D gonna have to hit it again when i get another chance to go ;)
scruffy
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A few years ago, a guy landed a silver wild doe but didn't have a camera so I took a photo for him and emailed it later on. A few minutes after he released it, he made another cast and again hooked up! Once the fish reached shore, we were both stunned as it was the same fish. I asked, "So do you want another photo with that?" ;)
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I landed the same hatchery buck 3 times in an hour a few years ago... the third time he wasnt so lucky and I took him home, I honestly didnt think he would have survived after that...he loved his prawn and clown corky though... almost felt a little guilty...
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mmmroe... I deal with berry's bait exclusively for my blades, the blades sold there are brought in bulk from the states... I remember when i was workin there a couple years back.... countin out 10 packs from bulk bags on the slow days...
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Any blades that are top quality are manufacured by the Worth Company.
Maybe now that our dollar is par it is worth ordering them up from them.
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thats probably the only reason i dont use "silver" blades (nickel) they aren't true silver, they still flash, but compare the two and its like a normal bulb and an LED = HUGE! Normally i'll stick to brass, but the traditional copper comes out to play every once in a while when fishing is slow and need to get them to bite again
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i thought i misread ur report..TWICE :o....thats awesome....congrats man!
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Was gonna go out today.... but..... I slept till 9:30 a.m. :o and worked at home today..... perhaps tomorrow
I use nothing but 50/50 genuine gold/silver in either #4 french, #3 & #4 colorado both hammered or smooth surface. they are on average $12.oo per 10 bulk blades. No other blades have produced like the 50/50 finish for me.... it's a noticeable difference.
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blades dont work for me
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thats cuz you dont catch fish period
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Big deal they dont work for him, corkies dont work for me, its what you have confidence in, thats why steelheading as a beginner is so hard, cus u dont know what works because u haven't hooked anything on something
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A few years ago, a guy landed a silver wild doe but didn't have a camera so I took a photo for him and emailed it later on. A few minutes after he released it, he made another cast and again hooked up! Once the fish reached shore, we were both stunned as it was the same fish. I asked, "So do you want another photo with that?" ;)
This fish and AF's fish are quite different than some steelies we encountered. On a recent trip a guy told me he saw a steelie rolled just above where I was casting. It was a slow day (though ther water is perfect), so knowing a fish actually in front of us (in a small spot) is quite a motivation to spend quite a considerable amount of time to try to hook it. He joined in below me and we frogged the whole stretch of water for eons with everything in my arsenal - roe, shrimp, blades (silver & gold ones), spoon, worm, jig (& what has he). I constantly adjusted the float to get to varying depth. All for no avail. Some stubborn fish. :o I guess some of you may have encountered such instances. It makes one wonder why some fish behave so differently from others. ??? Hey I didn't even hook the steelie before not to say re-hooking it. ;D