How to lose a fish

C
ChezJfrey
Given the recent criticisms, I will elaborate.

After gridding out the stretch of river with a bobber and nightmare jig. I switched to a spoon. Here's the full setup:

Gear1.jpg

2/5 oz. Cleo in chrome/blue with the treble replaced with a sturdy 1/0 siwash, slightly twisted with pliers to offset at the hook bend. I fanned out casts, starting about 15 ft. out, adding a few feet to each cast, all the way to the far likely water. Then I moved down about 30 feet, to a new spot. I was standing about a foot from the water's edge, and aimed my first casts close in, covering the area near me and just below me on the swing. After that, I aimed for the further reaches. My first cast past mid-river was targeted at a 62 degree angle upstream (I know, I know...don't tell Bill Herzog). I tilted my rod back, and snapped my wrist, stopping at about 60 degrees and releasing the line from my right fore-finger, letting the rod-load, fling the spoon out 39', 8.17"" (measured with a laser rule).

Cast1.JPG

I closed the bail, and almost immediately the line stopped moving in the water. Rule #1: If your line stops moving, set the hook immediately! But here's my dilemma...I hadn't yet reeled up the slack line from the cast. I thought of a happy place...fields of poppies from Wizard of Oz, and uttered a gentle phrase within the acoustics of the canyon walls..."Muck boots and split shot!" I simultaneously leaned back, hurled the rod backward as far as I dared without hitting the trees behind me, and reeled as fast as I could. Sure enough...when the slack is taken in, the rod tip starts pumping and I see several, bright flashes beneath the water where my spoon should be.

Then, the now perturbed fish, starts to bolt to the far side of the river and my drag starts to sing. Phew! My frantic actions to set the hook with all that slack appeared to have worked...I think I got it. Then the feat all of us steelheaders both revel and fear...the leap! The fish erupts from the surface, with some mighty head shakes, and I watch my spoon flip back into the river. More gentle eloquence escapes my lips, "Spun fur on a leech!"

I hope there are a few things we can take away from this...well, except for a fish, because that thing's long gone.
 
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H
halibuthitman
Spun fur on a leech... Priceless!!! I bet hertzog would have landed that fish.. And then procceded to write 7 shipoopity books about it-
 
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O
OnTheFly
It's true. During the first half of the fight, all you're doing is hanging on. The 'leap'. Sometimes I think the fish do that on purpose; to show themselves then spit the hook right in front of you. The fisherman's reaction is always the same...eyes closed, head tilted back and screaming...OHHHHHHHHHHHH
 
I
igquick
You just reminded me of the giant fish i lost the other day...it took my bait while still fishing, and swam towards me...i picked up my rod to reel in the slack, and a giant bath tub sized swirl hit the surface in front of me and the only thing i was reeling in was the bait....why did u have to remind me! Lord have mercy on us fishermen!!!
 
C_Run
C_Run
You know, everyday I get up early and , while the coffee is brewing, I go check the unfriendly, boring fishing forum just praying ChezJfrey will have caught another steelhead while the computer is warming up. Well, even though you did not get the fish, today you did not disappoint. Actually, I had a similar experience during my brief winter steelheading experience this year. I thought the stopping of the spoon was a snag and after three gentle tugs to dislodge it, the fish went three feet in the air and the spoon landed at my feet.

I keep worrying that some day Bill Herzog will jump out from behind a bush and give me an "F" in spoon fishing for steelhead because of all the things I do wrong.
 
M
Mad dog
halibuthitman said:
Spun fur on a leech... Priceless!!! I bet hertzog would have landed that fish.. And then procceeded to write 7 shipoopity books about it-

I'm pretty sure that Bill would have caught that fish, then sat on a rock at the rivers edge and cried for a while and then wrote 7 shipoopity books about it! :lol:
 
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D
dozer365
The last couple fish I've lost, have been easy to shake off. I just think shoot at least it wasn't 5 in a week. Lol. Seriously though. Good thread. Let's go up and slay sum summer this weekend? I made a decision to get one Friday. I blanked in may. Gotta start June off right.
 
B
bran_man
Ah the life of a steelheader...
 
R
rippin fish lips
bran_man said:
Ah the life of a steelheader...

:) Chez, if it makes you feel any better, i havent touched a fish since May 2nd or something like that lol
 

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