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Ontario Tribs Steelhead

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The Fisherman

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I spent three day last week on my annual early November steelhead trip. Did some crick stomping and some Salmon River flogging. It was a typical steelhead trip in that there was no rhyme or reason to much of it: four landed (+ one rainbow) day one on the creeks, not a touch day two on both creeks and Salmon River, then six landed the last day on the Salmon. 

 

Skunk is off one hour into the trip, always a good feeling. Gleaming bright steel even in low light conditions shortly after sunrise -- not that we could see the sun as it was pouring rain.

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More fresh chrome. I never get tired of the cheek colors or the contrast between gunmetal top and silver flank.

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I hooked this beauty about a rod's length away in some whitewater at the head of an intimate run. She made a few acrobatic leaps, then bolted downstream over some rapids to the pool below. I had to scramble over some rocks to land her, but both steelhead and angler were no worse for the wear. 

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Not much to report on day two. The water was up, stained, and leaves were an issue. Thus spanked on the creeks, I hit the Salmon for two hours late afternoon. Guy below me hooked four. Guy above me hooked three. Me? Not. A. Touch. So goes the steelhead battle. Another mystery: last year I didn't get anything on little black stones on the Salmon. The fish wanted the bling. This year, they couldn't keep their mouths off 60 Second Copperheads and Copperhead Stones.

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Happy Birthday to me. A nice present, but I ended up returning it. 

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Read this in your best baseball radio announcer impersonation voice: "Fouled off. Just got a piece of it." I dropped three fish the last day. The reason for this one was obvious. A fouled a second and pulled the hook when I saw it. The third was operator error due to a lousy hook set.

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Last steelhead of the trip. Thanks to everyone who was so kind about sharing water, netting fish, and trading flies. What a great way to spend a birthday.

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Steve Culton

"We fish for pleasure; I for Mine, you for yours."
-- James Leisenring
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Dick, the first thing I do when a steelhead comes unbuttoned (after I get what I feel is a prompt, strong hook set) is to check the hook point to see if it's dinged or if there's a telltale scale. So, this was such a case: I set fast and hard, the fish boiled, bolted, and came off. The scale thing doesn't happen often, but when it does it's usually irrefutable evidence.

 

Steve Culton

"We fish for pleasure; I for Mine, you for yours."
-- James Leisenring
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