The steelhead roe I got from my Thanksgiving day hen cured up perfectly. I donated 1/3 of it to friends and the other 2/3 sits insulated in foil and newsprint in anticipation of hungry winter steelhead.
I left the worms in the dirt box and grabbed 2 boxes of spoons and a few swivels.
Sometimes, I regret not bringing the whole arsenal of gear. There's always that thought about an hour in to a so-far-fish-less mission... "DAMN! If only I had my..."
Today started out that way... After 2 hours of wading, crossing the river and flinging spoon of various weights and colors... I finally hit paydirt in a scrappy 5# up-runner hatchery buck.
I'd been drifting mostly 1/4 oz spoons all morning but once across the river in deeper/faster water... I figured a switch to 2/5 oz. was in order.
It was a good call as the denser body of the 2/5 ounce BC Steele (1/2 and 1/2) got down, stayed down and moved more slowly through the run. I cast slightly upriver into the top of a tailout, reeled like hell for a few seconds and then let the river work its magic. I can't be sure if my spoon bumped the nose of the fish or if it came out of the cascade and followed it downriver before crushing it in the glide. My guess is that the former occurred since it was hooked in the lower palate.
A fish chasing a spoon downriver from right to left will usually result in a left-side of the face corner or upper palate hook set.
Whatever the case, he was not at all happy about his new dental plan and he made enough runs and jumps to make me think he was a she or at least a wild fish... turned out to be neither.
Not out of the ocean long enough to REALLY display his manhood... but enough of a kyped lower jaw, elongated body and jaw hinge to say HE and not she.
Not a true chromer but damn nice and bright and still sporting a few swashes of chromium on his tail rays...
I snapped a few pics, wiped away the blood and tears and sent him back home. It was cool hooking up on the gold/silver as I hadn't used that pattern for a long time. I thought for sure I had it all dialed and that I'd be hooking at least a few more fish... NOT!
The only other solid hookup I had was on a rock in water to deep to navigate and recoup my spoon so I broke it off and called it a day.
Amazingly, that was the first spoon I've lost in weeks so it didn't hurt too bad. my back, on the other hand, was KILLING ME so I picked the right day to pack light and leave early.
Spoon fishing is regarded as a brainless endeavor by many steelheaders but I have to disagree. Yes, one CAN catch fish on spoons without a lot of calculating, adjusting, or refined techniques but like anything... there are so many variables involved that one can make it as simple or as complex as s/he wants. I'm starting to believe that the more one questions and answers, experiments and puts theories in to practice, the more successful that angler is bound to be.
I've yet to read the books of the masters (Davis and Herzog). I will get to them eventually but I enjoy learning by doing more than by reading so I'm taking that route first.
Today, I fished some very different types of water and realized that although my gear (ultralight spinning rod with slow action, fast taper and 6# test) was suitable for most of the runs I fished... my drifts in some of the water would have been optimized by having a more moderately tapered, heavier-powered casting rod with thicker line and perhaps a few 2/3 oz spoons.
More on this subject later.
Mark
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