Yes I am intrigued...Was it the car door or a fish that did this?
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Yes I am intrigued...Was it the car door or a fish that did this?
Ouch! That just isn't a good start or end of the day!
- Jeff
Like some sick obsession; I had been checking river flows and fish counts almost daily since my last attempt at salmon fishing two weeks ago. I was pretty encouraged when I noticed that the flows were coming down and the fish counts were coming up.
Two days before my trip (and after a warm spell) I noticed that the flows were starting to come up again. However the fish counts by the 14th were about six times what they had been. I got all of my equipment packed into the car the night before the trip. As I am still waiting for my spey rod to arrive, I only loaded my single hand 9wt into my gear bag.
My day started off at around 0300 when my alarm woke me. I hit snooze a few too many times and ended up getting out of bed by 0327. I got up got dressed and texted Chris to let him know that I was running a little behind schedule.
I met up with Chris, he loaded his gear into my car and we were on our way. The drive went by pretty quickly; as we talked about various fly fishing subjects to pass the time. Once we were getting closer to our destination the excitement of fishing for salmon began to grow.
When we drove by the “gauntlet” there were a lot of vehicles parked by the side of the road. We noticed an individual crossing the street; he had several Chinook that he was carrying. Chris said “at least we know they are in the system now”.
When we got to the first spot that we wanted to fish there were several people fishing that spot. We got back in the car and headed down river to the next spot. Once we got to the next spot we got out, got geared up and began to fish.
Well after about an hour or so of casting practice we decided to head back up river. When we got back to the original spot that we wanted to fish some of the people had cleared out. The boat was still there though. We got out made our way to the river and began to fish.
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After a little while I hooked my first fish of the day. Actually it was only a smolt; I removed the hook and sent it on its way. A few casts later I managed to hook a whitefish, I tell you it was a fierce battle on my 9wt ;)
We continued to fish the run when on one cast it happened. I felt a take and set the hook. This fish was a lot different feeling than the previous little guys. Unfortunately I only managed to experience it for a short time. Because as I started to fight the fish, he decided that he didn’t want to play anymore and popped off.
After a little while we decided to go even further up river where the water was quite a bit smaller.
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This is the area we probably should have started the day on. At first when we got there was not much of anything going on other than casting practice. Even the spin guys were not having any luck. As it was getting closer to evening the salmon started to give some nice aerial displays as they made their way up river.
I never managed to hook another fish the rest of the day. It seemed pretty slow so I found Chris and said let’s get out of here and try another day. I went back to the car and was getting my gear packed back up when one of the spin guys hooked one. Chris ran down to check it out, the guy ended up getting tangled up on some underwater brush. Chris managed to get the fish but it slipped out of his hands and swam away.
Despite not landing any fish on this trip I can’t wait to get back and try it again. I had an absolutely fun day; the only think that would have made it better would have been landing an adult Chinook. I am not really sure why am drawn to this type of fishing as I have not landed one yet. Part of it is the fact that it isn’t easy to catch them (unlike a brown on the O). Part of it is just getting out and having fun with friends. Also I want to feel what it is like to really fight one. Well maybe my third time (in a couple of weeks) fishing for them will be a charm.
Ps: Chris’s did not: Slam his rod in the car door, step on it, drive over it, snag it, etc. etc. etc. Good thing he brought a spare rod though.
Nice looking water Sasha and like a famous guy once said and penned, "Sometimes it seems that the least important part of fishing is fishing." Roderick L Haig-Brown.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
My wife and I were pretty proud last night. It is no secret that our 6 year old daughter has autism; despite her challenges she was able to graduate kindergarten. So in the fall she will be off to 1st grade!
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Beautiful little girl. She's a keeper. I have a granson with Asperger Syndrome (High function Autism) and it causes you to love them even more deeply perhaps than a child without disability. Something about defending the defenseless brings it out. Cherish her.
Wow Sasha that is great. What a proud moment for your family. So happy for you all and proud of your little girl. Keep it up Dad!
Thanks guys! We are very proud of what she has been able to accomplish. At age 3 she hardly had two words and now she is able to go into 1st grade. She has a condition known as fragile x (one of the known causes of autism). She is high functioning, but not high enough to be classified as Asperger's.
started pretty early when my alarm woke me at 0300; I got up and was on the road by 0330. Today was a little bit different. You see I had been checking the flows since my last Chinook trip in anticipation of going again. However the flows were pretty high so a Chinook trip was out for today.
Today?s destination was about as opposite as you can get from what I had been doing. I left the 9wt at home and took a couple of my 0wt rods along for today?s trip.
After a bit of a drive I arrived at my destination at around 0730. It was a cool and foggy morning; I got geared up and headed to the creek.
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The creek looked just like I remembered. I got into the water and began to fish. It did not take long until the first willing resident came to hand.
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I worked my way up stream catching fish all along the way. I will admit it was nice to get back to throwing dries upstream to trout. I had been so consumed with my Chinook quest I had almost forgotten the joy that is ?creekin?.
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Continued to to 10 photo per post limit.......
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After awhile the fog began to break up and I could enjoy the scenery. My stomach started to growl; so I decided to head back for a quick lunch. After I ate I decided to check the time it was already 1345. So I said to myself ?I?ll just fish for another hour???.Yea right!
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I went back to the creek and resumed fishing. By this time there were fish rising everywhere. After catching a ton of brookies and bows I thought to myself ?It must be an hour by now?. So I decided to head back.
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Continued again (for the same reason)........