A day full of little buggers!

Really unique day today.  Theoretically .. I went about 25 for 50.  Realistically ...  I went 1 for 3.  Got this nice hen Steelhead (29").  Fished an awesome stretch of river that looks like it will produce a ton of fish when conditions are right.  Today it produced a ton of stocker Browns, all about 8" long.  Little buggers ate all my chartreuse spawn sacks!

Put in a long day ... up at 4:00 am, 2 hour drive, on the water from 6:30 to 4:00, then a 2 hour ride back. I'm bushed!  Good night!

Is it tomorrow yet?

Taking the day off tomorrow to do some fishing in a new place. I'm really looking forward to do something different ... and experimenting in an area that has potential to be outstanding. Special credit to my buddies Scott, Matt, Nate and Troy for beating me there and sharing some of their experiences.

It could be a really cool experience ... literally. Forecast is for 17 and windy. Better throw on an extra set of thermals.

Finally figured out how to improve the quality of my video and avoid the "camera toss" technique Tom and I used on that Steelie last Friday. I guess they make these things called tripods now. :) I'm going to pick one up on the way home tonight and give it a try tomorrow, assuming I can get something to bite. Should be quite the display, setting the hook ... then setting up the tripod ... all while fighting the most powerful fish God has placed within our beautiful neck of the woods!

I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully we'll see ... film at 11:00!

Thanks, Tom

Fished with Tom Wendel yesterday and picked up my Brown. Thanks, Tom! It looks incredible on the wall of my man cave!

Steelhead from 12/31/10

Another Beautiful Chrome Steelhead

Went 1 for 1 today fishing with my friend and taxidermist Tom Wendel. This gorgeous hen steelhead took about 10 minutes to land. Watch for the video to be posted shortly.

A Day of Flurries

Caught a pair of Steelies today ... went 2 for 6 with one break-off at the hole again. I need to look for new leader line! Fished for 9 hours (7 am to 4 pm) and had all of my bites in two different flurries ... one from 11:45 to 12:15 (2 for 4) and the other from 2:30 to 3:00 (0 for 2). Spawn accounted for 5 of the bites with the other coming on a small lake shiner.

Gorgeous day ... 30 degrees and sunny. Found all of the fish in the shade near pumps. I struggled today until I found that pattern on my 5th move of the morning. Sometimes you just have to keep working ... and your efforts will pay off. I drilled a lot of holes and just kept hopping until the pattern became evident.

Supposed to get rain and melting the next few days. Hopefully that will pick the bite up a little. Everyone seems to be struggling to some degree.

Steelhead on the ice!

Big Brown on the Ice

Tying up some sacs tonight

What could be more fun on a cold, snowy December night than enjoying a beer, watching your two least favorite football teams play (sorry to my friends from Chicago :-))on TV, and tying up a few dozen fresh spawn sacs? For those of you who aren't familiar with the process, it starts with this ...

and ends looking like this ...

I prefer to tie my sacs in orange and chartreuse mesh (bridal veil) using magic thread. I like them about the size of your thumb nail but will go smaller at time, specifically when fishing clear water.

Good, fresh spawn sacs are difficult to find, especially those made from Brown Trout spawn. When you find them in a bait shop they will usually cost about $.50 each. Fishing 3 lines for 10 hours and keeping fresh sacs on ... you can go through a small fortune in spawn if your buying it.

Here's an easy-to-follow guide to tying sacs.

Frustrating Day!

Did not lack for action today ... had 14 bites, 4 hook-ups, 3 broken lines, and caught one smaller steelie. Didn't end up fishing the virgin territory we hoped to because whitefish boats had opened up that stretch of river. Ended up traveling 90 miles south to more familiar territory. Unfortunately the water in that river was 2' lower than normal. Ended up in a marina where we had most of our action. The vast majority of our bites were extremely light ... they were tasting, not eating. Lost 2 fish on break-offs at the hole and another large fish on a strong run. Days like today remind you of why they call it fishing ... and not catching.

Gorgeous Steelhead through the ice.

Steelie from February of 2010.