My son Cadhan and I decided acouple of weeks ago that we would go steelhead fishing instead of watching the Super Bowl. I called a good friend of mine "'Loren" from Fish Tale Guide Service and we made the date. Since our favorite team was out of the playoffs, next year "HAWKS", it really didnt matter to us who won. We left Bonney Lake for Seattle and took the ferry To Bainbridge Island,and headed for the coast.
The snow just before Crescent Lake was pretty tough to drive through but when we started to get close to Forks the sunset made it all worthwhile. Lots of snow all around town made us slightly wary of the next days' weather.
We set out very early and after a hearty breakfast it was time to hit the river on this cold clear morning. We were very excited as we had'nt been on the river in the driftboat in awhile and it was Cadhans' first steelhead trip to the O.P. The rivers are a little low right now even though the snow was everywhere it still has'nt started melting higher up.
Fished the river hard using Float/Jigs, Side-Drifted eggs, and tried to stir something up with plugs. Most of the morning was spent trying all techniques to get into the fish. Even though we were getting skunked the scenery was definetly worth the trip.
While pluggin a nice stretch after lunch Cadhans' rod goes down FISH ON!!!!!!!!!!! and it was his turn to hopefully get his 1st steelhead ever. The look of total joy on his face will be something for me to remember for a long time.
Loren was very excited after seeing the fish jump, we knew it had some size to it. He gently talked to Cadhan about how exactly to fight the fish and how to react to its runs and jumps. The fight was really an awesome spectacle to see, as I had never caught a steelhead of this size in my many years of fishing. I was so happy to see that his 1st was going to be a nice one maybe even a trophy. Cadhan faught the fish like a champ and Lorens top quality gear did the trick for us.
The fish was a beautifuly colored native buck with a perfect rose tint in the cheek and following back along the lateral line. We did'nt measure girth, measured 36" in length, maybe someone can guess weight. We guess somewhere around 22-24 lbs, and fish was released healthy.
I hope that some of you can catch a steelhead like this yourselves. I hope that someday soon I can catch one like it myself. Give Loren a call, he is listed in the guides section on the site. I would reccomend a trip with him even if he were'nt a good friend. His boats and gear are top notch. His humor and gentle demeanor are perfect for a being a guide and you can tell he loves fishing. You can't help but have a great time with him.
What a great day we had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Loren you're the best.
The snow just before Crescent Lake was pretty tough to drive through but when we started to get close to Forks the sunset made it all worthwhile. Lots of snow all around town made us slightly wary of the next days' weather.
We set out very early and after a hearty breakfast it was time to hit the river on this cold clear morning. We were very excited as we had'nt been on the river in the driftboat in awhile and it was Cadhans' first steelhead trip to the O.P. The rivers are a little low right now even though the snow was everywhere it still has'nt started melting higher up.
Fished the river hard using Float/Jigs, Side-Drifted eggs, and tried to stir something up with plugs. Most of the morning was spent trying all techniques to get into the fish. Even though we were getting skunked the scenery was definetly worth the trip.
While pluggin a nice stretch after lunch Cadhans' rod goes down FISH ON!!!!!!!!!!! and it was his turn to hopefully get his 1st steelhead ever. The look of total joy on his face will be something for me to remember for a long time.
Loren was very excited after seeing the fish jump, we knew it had some size to it. He gently talked to Cadhan about how exactly to fight the fish and how to react to its runs and jumps. The fight was really an awesome spectacle to see, as I had never caught a steelhead of this size in my many years of fishing. I was so happy to see that his 1st was going to be a nice one maybe even a trophy. Cadhan faught the fish like a champ and Lorens top quality gear did the trick for us.
The fish was a beautifuly colored native buck with a perfect rose tint in the cheek and following back along the lateral line. We did'nt measure girth, measured 36" in length, maybe someone can guess weight. We guess somewhere around 22-24 lbs, and fish was released healthy.
I hope that some of you can catch a steelhead like this yourselves. I hope that someday soon I can catch one like it myself. Give Loren a call, he is listed in the guides section on the site. I would reccomend a trip with him even if he were'nt a good friend. His boats and gear are top notch. His humor and gentle demeanor are perfect for a being a guide and you can tell he loves fishing. You can't help but have a great time with him.
What a great day we had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Loren you're the best.
