Friday, October 16, 2015

Steelhead opener on the Met.


   It’s still dark thirty with our waters already on, we pull into the parking lot only to find the lot just about completely full. There is just maybe enough room to park Doctor Dave’s small car.
   The three of us have our headlamps ready, to assemble our rods, it only takes a afew short moments to be ready to walk down the dark hillside through the brush and into the River, across we go, the water level is low and really the only thing one could see is the movement of other headlamps.
     As we get to the south side of Miller’s Crossing all we can see is the flicker of headlamps moving along the rocky shore on the other side.
     Dave, Gary and I stop just before the second groups of rocks. This looks like a good spot between a set of lights from the other side. I set my sling down, string up my Winston Spey with my Nautilus. It has a Skagit 410 gr. head on it, I leave it for now put a 12’ long leader on another 2ft of tippit, and yup I tye a Disco Dolly Parton on Just to show Gary that even the Metalheads like it.
        Gary take a reading of water temp 46 a bit cold to skate a fly. I think, but I’ve got to do it skating is the ultimate rush for me,
   We hear a splash either someone has fallen into the river or a fish jumped. It looks like a prison break with headlights all of a sudden scanning the surface of the water. Just a FISH.
Dave heads out into the water about 20 feet below me and starts casting his single hander.       It’s still too dark for me. Then the splash in the water again. Another fish but this time someone has it hooked. Someone yells FISH ON. And you can tell everybody is heading closer to the edge on the rocks across river, and the splashing of the ones on the south side heading out into the water, the waders.
     I gave it just a few more minutes to get just a bit lighter so at least I could see the tip of my rod. Move my way out into the water, strip out the shooting head and maybe 40 feet of running line with a roll cast. I have to step out a bit farther so that my line is out past Dave for my retrieval, I take 5 or 6 steps out recast send the line and bug back out nice straight cast mid swing the tickle the tug and the lift of the rod and fish on.
Fifteen minutes later the sky is lite up and I can see clearly now, First SH of the year a Buck, No adipose fin, Hatchery, Keeper. Maybe 7 lbs. Bonked and recorded, hook and line checked, bac out into the water.
      I was maybe 20 minutes later my next fish Wild, then another Wild. A hatchery my fourth. (but it got away while I was removing the hook, I really didn’t want to stop fishing. It’s not even 8 o’clock yet.) Then I lost a couple of fish, Don’t know what went wrong they were on one for just a short time the other almost completely in and bang gone.
My day 9 Steelhead hooked, 2 lost, that I never saw, 5 Wild. 1 Hatchery I keep, and the hatchery that got away.
       Gary had a great day fishing above the pipe catching, landing more then 10 wild fish and two keeper. Dave also did good don’t know his numbers but I saw him with at least 5 and he had one to bring home.

We were back in the car heading home by shortly after 10 and I was home by 11:15. Gary needed to be home no later them 1 he had a game to officiate, and fish to take care of.

Thanks Guys let do it again some time during the week, Dark thirty again, is fine with me. 

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