Another gorgeous day on the Manistee—today with Pat and Terry. Salmon were readily available, with some looking pretty far gone, but others surprisingly strong and ready to cooperate. Toss in some chrome steelhead, and one had the makings for a most enjoyable day. Pat connected with two steelhead on Steelhead Orange egg patterns and landed the pretty 10 lb. hen he holds in the picture below and which I am releasing. Pat did a masterful job on this fish, which in typical fall steehead fashion, leaped, burned line at a blistering pace, rolled up on the flies, and in general tore Pat up. But he hung in there, managed the fight well, and brought her to hand. Great job, Pat! Some salmon also took the Steelhead Orange egg with others taking old reliable, the Antron Hex. The day was marked by some early guide traffic but later little boat activity was evident on the river. The number of bank fishermen was virtually nil, compared to the hordes at the height of the run. So, all in all, a picture-perfect day. Thanks, Pat and Terry, for a terrific time. Hope we can do it again.
Tom Kuieck
