Oct. 16, 1999
Thanks to: = Daniel Bortis
We started the day at about 4:30. When we finnaly reached our destination we still had about a mile to hike before we reached the river. We got there and all was quiet. We looked around for the coho but nothing to be seen but spawning beds. So we headed up river about a half mile and there we spotted a decent looking fishing hole. As we got closer to the river we spotted dark figures moving around in the water and sure enough it was fish. At least 150 of them. My cousin got the first cast and just a few moments later he gallantly yelled, "fish on!" Then I hollered in excitment "fish on!" After catching 25+ fish we decided to head up river. The next hole only held about 15 fish. We kept on hiking and about 1/4 mile up river was the jackpot. This hole must have held at least 300 fish. It was like a hatchery. We must of hooked about 15 fish at this hole. Of course after having our fun there we again decided to head more up river. About 1 mile up river we stumbled upon another fishing hole that turned out to be promising. The day turned out to be a 45+ fish day. The best trip yet. All but two very bright hens were released safely. I will be back there next weekend. FISH ON!
July 11, 1999
Thanks to: Kevin Kajita
Went out on Sunday morning and got myself a drift boat so me and a buddy floated a local river for summer runs. Spent most of my time getting used to the boat when my buddy fished. Brent has only been fishing for about a year and only hooked trout up till today. Went through the first couple of holes with no luck. Then as he was about to lift his spoon out of the water, smack this 6-lb. summer-run came out of nowhere and grabbed the spoon but he didn't hook it. The fish must have went under the boat because when he put it back in the water the fish shot out and tryed to grab it again. He set the hook and pulled the spoon right out of the fish's mouth and poof, it was gone. We fished the rest of the river with just a couple of whitefish and and couple of cutts. In the last hole I told Brent to toss his spoon into the hole. It hit the water and he said, "I think I'm snagged!" As the rod tugged back and forth, he realized it was a fish! After a couple of minute I could see it was a nice bright fish about 8-lbs. But as he hogged on it the line snapped like a bull whip. Later I checked his drag and could barely pull out line. He chalked that one up to experence. On another note the rivers are running high and fast. We had to pull out a lady and her kid who got piled into a log jam so be careful! But there's fresh bright fish in the rivers good luck and tight lines.
Jan. 31, 1999
Thanks to: Lance Henie
After reading (and learning from) these reports for the last couple of months, I figured it was about time I chimed in. I drove out to a small local river to do some fishing before the Super Bowl. The water was in pretty good shape when I arrived: running a bit high, but with 3-4 feet of visibility and not another angler in sight. I approached a small hole close to the bank where I know the fish like to hold. On my first cast of the day, using a light pink John's Jig and a balsa float, my float disappeared. I set the hook, and a feisty 5-lb. hatchery hen made a beeline for the the middle of the river and then shot out of the water. The hook held fast though, and after a brief but exciting fight I managed to land her. Fished for another hour without any more luck, so I headed on home to watch the game.
Dec. 19, 1998
Thanks to: Brian
Arrived at one of my favorite local rivers this afternoon to find myself walking down the trail in a fairly heavy snowfall. Walked into a favorite drift to see if there were any Steelhead in yet. After catching a few chums there, I decided to work my way upriver and continued to find a chum here and there. At the last drift I was going to fish today, my bobber went down hard, I set the hook quickly,and the fish ran downstream then rolled on top..........STEELHEAD!!! After a good battle I landed a beautiful 11 pound Native. I quickly released the fish and made another cast into the head of the run. Almost immediatly the bobber went down and I was into another bright Steelhead. This one was a nice little hatchery buck around seven pounds. Not a bad afternoon, although it was very cold, the fish seeemed to cooperate. And I never saw another angler,... not bad for a river within a half hour of a major metropolitan area.
Dec. 12, 1998
Thanks to: Brian Dingess
report = Well, the Steelhead are in...with a vengeance. My fishing buddy Mike Pulley has already limited twice and lost several nice fish. Great thing is, he hasn't even been a lot of times yet this year....pretty much catching fish everytime he goes. A few catch and releasers were Summer runs, red as a berry in color.The fish seem to be liking a jig tipped with sand shrimp or the old faithful clump of eggs. The fish are decent sized too and they're in pretty thick now. Time to get out there and pop a few! Seen a few REALLY nice ones weighed in from the Reiter Ponds area, so they're in there too.
Sept. 24, 1998
Thanks to: Lowell Schneider
Decided to go late for work today and get in a couple hours fishing first.
Got to the river just before daylight and walked in to the hole. By the time I
got down the gorge (hint) it was just light enough to fish. As I stated in my
previous report the kings are pushing the steelhead out of the lower river. That
was an understatment, they are driving them like cattle into the upper river. In
the two hours I was fishing I saw 15 to 20 steelhead move through some taking their
time others moving like freight trains.
The first one I hit on a jig about 15 feet in front of me. My bobber never moved as it
begain to dance with a mouth full of maraboo and beads. As I set the hook the damn
thing opened its mouth allowing my jig a free exit. Heart pounding and a little
pissed I continued on.
After a few fish turned down my jig I switched to sand shrimp. The first cast as
I was reeling back in I saw something out of the corner of my eye, it was one of
those freight trains that came out of nowhere. She chopped on my bait like a
piranha. Again I set the hook hard and fast just to watch my empty hooks fly back
in my face ducking as they flew over my head. She spun in a circle and just sat
there no more than ten feet in front of me. Still having yarn on my hooks I flipped
it out in front of her. She charged after it turning at the last second less
than an inch from taking. Damn Damn Damn!!!
[She must have] known I had to get my butt to work, [but] I just could not leave
without a fish. It was to HOT. I stepped from there about twenty feet back into
the tailout. Another fish had just moved up from the fast water. Shaking and heart
throbbing out my chest I cast above where she was holding as soon as the bait hit
the water she charged straight for it. As I watched her open her iron jaw and my
bait disappear. I wasted no time in setting the hook through the top of her head.
After three jumps immediately into the air each clearing the water by three to four
feet she turned and took a screaming run forty to fifty yards up river.
There she stopped and begain doing the twist for what seemed like ten
minutes. Several shorter runs later I slipped her onto the bank. WHEW!!
Hitting the head of the hole on my way out I spotted one about 15-lbs and another
smaller fish. Both would not take shrimp or two different color jigs I tried.
It gave me a sick feeling in my stomach to leave but I had to get to work. Its HOT HOT HOT and will continue the next few weeks. I will be going to work late a few times in the next several weeks maybe even take a couple more days off. I'll keep you posted. I won't tell you where I fish but I will drop hints for those in the know. For those who dont know get out there and learn thats what I did.
Sept. 16, 1998
Thanks to: Lowell Schneider
I decided to take three days off work and fish my favorite steelhead hole. Day 1 hit
3 caught 2. Day 2 hit 2 caught 1. Day 3 hit 1 caught 1. Each day I spent three to
four hours on the river and saw several fish and very few people.
Many fishers think
that in the late summer they have to wait for a good rain for fishing to improve,
but I have found over the years this is not true. Once the salmon start to move
into the lower river they push the steelhead out of the holes where they have
been held up for several weeks. These fish as they are pushed up river are more
aggressive than fish that have been in the area most of the summer and put up
on hell of a fight. I have always found it very humorous that most people that
fish the area see fish rolling in the middle of a hole and stand in one spot for
hours trying to catch them. These fish certainly can be caught however the more
aggresive fish are found in the tail out or head of the hole. These fish are on
the move and much more active.
I like to sight fish. 80% of the fish I catch in the summer I see before I catch.
This also helps me to learn the lay of the river bed so when I cant see in the river
I still know where there favorite holding spots are. Never give up on a fish you
can see until you have slapped it across the face with your bait. I spotted a fish
once for my brother and went down river to another hole while he tried to catch it.
After almost an hour I came back up to where he was still trying to get this fish.
I noticed his bait was drifting all around the fish within inches but not directly
at it. I watched his drift and depth for a few minutes adjusted my bobber
accordingly and took my cast. The fish did not move until my jig slapped her
in the jaw. She opened her mouth took the jig and the fight was on, both with
the fish and my brother.
Many times I have watched steelhead take a bait without feeling a thing. Even
fishing with a jig and bobber I have watched them take the jig and spit it
out without the bobber moving. If you can see them you can set the hook before
they spit (sometimes).
The river I fish is very well known but I do not wish to say where I'm fishing
because it's hot and will get hotter in the next few weeks and not very many people
are fishing it. I have many more tips on summer run steelhead fishing but I would
be here all day explaining them all. Good Luck hope I don't see you in my spot!!!!
June 27, 1998
Thanks to: James Matthews
Fished about an hour on a river to be unkown, used sandshrimp and eggs had 3 hits and
hooked one, nice 10lb bright steelie on, thought I stuck him hard enough but as I later
found out didn't. Saw 3 fish rolling the day before and had no hits.
June 1, 1998
Thanks to: Jonathan McNally
It was a hot day and I decided to head out and wade my favorite river. The water was reallylow and the visibility was quite a long way. Needless to say the fish were really spooky. I walked up to the head of the falls and cast my size 10 wedding ring into a nice riffle. Almost as soon as my line hit the water the rod tip bent and I had a beautiful native cuttthroat. I landed it quickly andturned it loose. I fished for four more hours and caught about ten more fish. All about 12-14 inches.
