Super Steelhead Sunday

     Living up to tradition this will make my 20th consecutive Super Bowl that I have made it out for at least a few hours before the big game.

 It all started back with my Good Buddy Jonboy up on the north fork of the Stilly. I remember it as if it were just yesterday. Cold wet and we had two different spots one of them was where he fished from time to time and the other one that I fished quite a bit.

     We both needed to be somewhere that day so we left his house at 7 and we were at the water in 30 minutes. only to find someone had beat us to it. 

    Back down the road to the spot that I knew about and thru the woods we went. The run was in good shape we flipped a coin to see who got the top of the run work down while the other waited. Jonboy got to go first and when he got halfway through I took up the top we only had about a hundred yards to work. Three cast three steps.

  On my second step, close to our side in close just as I was ready to strip back in I got the tug, set the hook and the fish took off back down river and was between Jonboy and the shore. Jonboy had to duck and lift the line over his head while the Metalhead made a beeline into the middle of the river. Once in the middle it was up and out doing the tail walk and dance.

   I got to shore and started picking up line and running down river until I couldn’t run no father. Stopped by a bunch of trees that over hung the river and a very very deep hole. I backed up river feeding out just enough line but keeping it tight, out up to my waist, standing my ground and slowly I was able to work it back to me.       We played the tug a war game back and forth many times. He wanted to get into the over hung trees and I wanted to keep him out towards the middle. I took a step out a bit deeper and found myself up to the top of my waders. The cold, cold water started flooding in just below my extended arm pit. Like I said the water was cold. Jonboy came out into the water and grabbed the back of my waders and pulled me back closer to shore. The only thing I could do gasp for air, hard to breeze and catch my breath, I changed hands with my rod, and felt my line and rod go limp.          Damn I lost it after all that. But after getting almost to shore now about knee deep I started putting the line back onto the reel and it went tight again. The head shake was back and this time the tug a war was all in my favor. Soon my leader was close to the tip of the rod I backed up onto shore and drug the Buck with me.       Just as Jonboy went to conk it the hook popped out and it flipped back into the water. Jonboy had the net ready and scooped it up.

    I had to fight for that one, so I’ll never forget that first Super Steelhead Sunday. I’ve had some days that I caught fish and as many that I didn’t just like today. I had a tug and that’s all that I really needed to keep me going back.

     Today I had my good Buddy Gary with me it was again cold at 26 to get started and after only a couple of hours being in the deep freeze, waist deep with my bum knee it will go down as another day to remember, no matter who wins the big football game. 

Thanks taking the time reading and I hope you enjoy.