Mike - kicking a float tube around is good physical (and mental) therapy.
hope all goes well and you're back fishing soon. Best wishes for a speedy
recovery. Bart
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 4:52 PM
Subject: Final fishing report for a few months-aka Steelhead fever!
> I am off to the hospital in the morning for a major knee surgery that will
> put me out of fishing for at least 3-4 months so this will be my final
report
> for awhile.
>
> On Sat. I went Steelhead fishing for the first time with a friend. He
uses
> shrimp under a bobber so I played along figuring it was better to fish the
> experts way and maybe get a steelhead my first time out vs. not having a
clue
> and watching him catch fish.
>
> We fished the Snake/Clearwater confluence out of the Clarkston area and
found
> it pretty slow going. Lots of fish were breaching but we only saw two
fish
> caught. We had 7 strikes. 4 of which were good ones but for some reason
we
> didn't hook up. However, it was more then enough to give me Steelhead
fever
> and I had to find a way to get back out and take a crack them with a fly
rod
> which leads me to todays report.
>
> My friend is well connected with a DFW Biologist and he had told him about
a
> little river in S.E. WA that has a tremendous Steelhead run. I also
recalled
> a cousin talking about it so I rolled the dice that I would get lucky and
> headed down there early this morning. It was basically a blind shot in
the
> dark since this stream is so small there are no fishing reports on it. It
> sat downstream of the Clearwater so I was hoping that I would find fish.
>
> To make a long story short, I was too early for the run. I talked to one
of
> the guys at the fish hatchery and he said that only one fish had made it
so
> far and that was back in July so obviously a misguided fish. Thinking my
day
> was ruined, I headed back downstream to a likely looking hole to see what
> kind of non-migratory trout I could find. Boy was I pleasently
surprised.
>
> I pulled off by a bridge in a little no name town and waded down to the
first
> deep hole. Second cast, nice little rainbow of about 12 inches. A few
casts
> later I pick up a 16 incher hatchery fish (adipose fin clipped) on a
nymph
> down deep. In about a half mile of river I picked up around 20 fish
between
> 6-16 inches. About half were wild and the other half were hatchery fish.
I
> did see one fish about 17 inches that I couldn't bring up and had a follow
> early on with what could have been a small Steelhead. Its tail was
scarred
> up like it had been digging in the gravel. Anway, the fish were lots of
fun
> and they saved the day.
>
> A couple of quick questions for you Steelhead experts. The fin clipped
fish
> I talked about seemed too large to be small steelhead. Do some hatchery
> steelhead never make the run out to see and stay in the river year around?
I
> would assume that just as every rainbow is not a steelhead, not every
> fingerling in the hatchery makes the trip downstream. I will have to
profess
> my total ignorance on the topic.
>
> Keep up the great reports. I will be living out my fly fishing dreams
through
> your reports. Now I wonder if I can mount my rod to my crutches:0)
>
> Mike W.
> Spangle, WA
>
>
