Tales of fishing outings, all true!


* Klamath River - Oct. 19th
I was on my way up to the Klamath River on Friday the 19th when I got a call from the guide that the river was blown out After driving for almost 3 hours, I certainly didn't want to turn around and go home so I thought I'd go fish the lower Sac in Redding after hearing Brain talk about it during our October meeting. I also thought I might head to the Trinity but heard that was blown out too. 31/2 hours later, I was fishing the lower Sac. Fishing was supposed to be red hot (according to the Fly Shop) but I found it less than so as did everyone else I talked to. I fished several other spots on the lower Sac on Saturday with no fish (discount one snagged salmon and one small smolt). Same with everyone else I talked to as well. Frustrated, I was going to head home buy thought I'd check in with the Fly Shop to see how the Trinity was. A great guy at the Fly Shop convinced me to head to the Trinity in spite of the crowds. Best steelhead run they've had in 20 years or according to him. So I brought a map, some flies, indicators, and headed out.
In the motel room, I studied the Trinity map and picked what I thought was the most remote spot on the map I could find knowing that it would be crowded on the river. The next day found me driving down a gravel road in the dark before dawn through some brush to where I finally came upon the river. It was in great shape and it was a great Steelhead type of day: misty, clouds hanging over the mountain tops, and grey, almost rainy sky.
Right where I parked, there was a good run below a riffle and I saw some rising fish. I made a few casts but couldn't hook up. Upstream was some really nice looking water and I tried to get up there along the river but was turned back due to brush and deep water. Somewhat frustrated, I headed back to the run when another guy drove up. We chatted and he asked if I was "local" because of being in this spot and not many people knowing of it. I knew I had made a good choice. We talked about the area and I asked him how to get upstream and he said there was a trail in the brush. I mentioned the fish I saw and let him have the hole. I headed upstream bushwhacking most of the way and sometimes crawling on my hands and knees.
This trail was not meant for humans and I don't think deer would have gone down it either. I finally got a look at the river through an opening in the brush and then I saw a huge steelhead came up out of the water and land with a huge SMACK. I waded around to the top of the hole, got into position, and started casting. It took a few casts to get the right drift and then my indicator when under. I set and felt a nice pull, felt exhilarated then it all came flying back at me. Darn, missed the grab.
After untangling the bird's nest and getting my confidence back, I cast a few more times, got a great drift, and again the indicator went under only this time I had a solid hookup. I knew this was a large fish and it made a nice huge leap. Classic! It took about 15-20mins to land. As it was coming in, I saw a green thing stuck to its back. It reminded me of a turtle we rescued in Costa Rica that had got caught in a net. I thought it might have been part of a drift net or maybe some spin casting rig. I finally got the fish in. A nice 26" 9 pounder. Beautiful fish. I also saw the green thing was a fish tag with a number and return address. I clipped it off and stuck it in my waders not thinking anything of it except to mail it back to the address on the tag. It took me about 20 mins to regroup and start fishing again. There were fish still rising in the hole but I just couldn't get a good drift and so I headed downstream walking the river and fishing.
After wading across to my car, I set my rod down and noticed a few people on the bank that weren't fishing. They were talking on radios. I went over to talk to one of them about the fishing, etc. and saw they were waiting for a raft. That was the only boat or people I saw on the river all morning. I also noticed that the fish I was fishing to earlier came up about the same time as the raft was putting in. One guy in the boat remarked that it must have been a small trout. I thought better and got my rod, made a few casts, and down goes the indicator and its FISH ON! Another nice steelhead. This one a female about 6 lbs. As I was bringing it in, one of the guys remarked about it being a nice fish but not a native and I could tell by its clipped fin. I then remembered the green tag I took from the prior fish and asked him about it. Apparently it's a bonus tag - worth $10. Hey, I'm now a professional steelhead fisherman hunting steelhead to get their tags. It might just offset the price of the strike indicators. - Larry Schork

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