05-07-08

“When it rains, it pours…!” Wow! My good friend and former colleague, Tom, and took a good old fashioned soaking today. Nonetheless, Tom pressed on, despite a very poor bite early on to a break in the rain and some willing chromers! Just goes to show, that persistence is paramount when things look less than lovely. When the fish wouldn’t cooperate, we stepped down in size and went drab—small stone flies and peach colored egg flies turned the trick—along with longer leaders. The run is clearly on its last legs, but we cast to hens turning gravel much of the day. Then, too, Tom took the ugliest fish of the year—a battle-scared buck, which he caught twice in the lips with different fies! Talk about heart! In his prime, the male surely would have gone 10-12 lbs. but there he was, seven pounds or so with his dorsal fin nearly gone, caudal fin worn to a nub, and spotted lesions all over him, all the while defending his lady and taking flies. What great fish these steelhead are! Here’s hoping that we can get some more play out the run. Thanks, Tom, for hanging in there when the wind and rain made it pretty nasty on the Big Mo. Happy for you that your determination paid off.

Tom