Plenty of steelhead action early morning and later in the afternoon today with longtime friends and customers Bob and Ron. The fish were especially powerful and fast today, and the teenager fresh hen that Ron lost after she took him a good 40 feet into his backing was the largest steelhead my customers have hooked this spring. An experienced steelheader and fly fisherman, Ron, by his own testimony, never got control of her, helped undoubtedly, too, by the heavy 5,000 cfs plus flow. Toss in one of my nail knot failures, and we hooked them, fought them, but found them a bit net shy! Here, though, Ron poses a buck that took a shine to his offering.
Guiding is about boating fish, to be sure, but when one has guys like Bob and Ron, who understand that not every steelhead hooked is one landed, it’s a joy to have them in the boat. Toss in the usual smack talk that these two have down to a science, and one has the makings of a most delightful day. Thanks, Bob and Ron; I loved every minute of it.
Captain Tom Kuieck