First two summers...

C
ChezJfrey
Took awhile, but after nabbing this summer on a spoon, day before yesterday:

2014-05-19_16-03-31_969.jpg

I come back again today with a vengeance...10 lb. 15 oz, 31" bright side:

2014-05-21_19-40-50_21.jpg
2014-05-21_20-42-34_525.jpg

Same exact spoon caught both. I tried the troutmasta drift special, but couldn't get a taker...so of course I revert to my fallback instinct. :)

The fish on the 19th, was drifted on the far side of a rock outcropping, then back-pedaled behind, swung slightly, and as it started spinning in the rapid current, I backed it down faster, it dropped it down and boom, boom, zzzzzzzzzzz, fish on.

Today's fish, drifted down, then swung into a ledge, back-pedaled to follow the drop off and right near the end of the swing, tug, tug, zzzzzzz fish on. Then it got weird...one of the stranger fish fights I've had. It stopped, then I proceeded to pull it in. Closer, closer, but no shake, no fight and I'm wondering, "Is this even a fish? Or did I just dislodge a branch or something that initially pulled drag?" I finally get my eyes on a silver streak...yes, it's a fish, but it's doing nothing. I pull it nearer, then it starts racing around, literally in figure 8s; I follow the whole ordeal with my rod tip as it loops around. Then it races down river. No leaps, and I didn't get a good look...is this a salmon, because it feels heavy and is acting weird for a steelhead? I work it back and now it's close enough to see it is indeed a hatchery steelhead. Now it writhes around, death rolls like a coho and it's bleeding; the thing literally swallowed the entire spoon. When I bank it, the spoon is entirely down the mouth and the hooks are buried in its throat and gills...that bulky mouth just inhaled the thing! 'Tis pretty big for a Clack summer!
 
troutdude
troutdude
Great report, and nice feesh!
 
D
dozer365
Dang that now weighs more then my biggest summer. U sure out fished me this year. First winter last fall. First springer this year and first summer and biggest summer. Gerrr!!!!! Now I shall chuck spoon
 
E
eugene1
Awesome, Chez!

Great to see the summers! Hope you didn't scratch that lucky spoon on the extraction.

Best,
 
B
Big3d
Amazing fish! Glad you got fishy. I'm gonna have to load up on hardware again. Perhaps I'm getting close to the minimum river donation for a fish!
 
D
Dizle
Man, I need to fish with you chez
 
T
Toyracer38
Nice fish Chez!
 
I
idaho_steel
Sweet fish!
 
R
rippin fish lips
Yeah buddy :) believe it to no chez, I haven't touched a springer or summer yet. It's killing me dood. Guess I better get of the drift fishing game and get back into the hardware game! It's so hard when you want to master another technique though!
 
C
ChezJfrey
rippin fish lips said:
Yeah buddy :) believe it to no chez, I haven't touched a springer or summer yet. It's killing me dood. Guess I better get of the drift fishing game and get back into the hardware game! It's so hard when you want to master another technique though!

Oh, I'm with you. I've been doing the same thing by devoting large chunks of time to drifting. Heck, I even dumped money on a new custom rod this last month just for the purpose after taking that trip with Ed and fishing his rods. I noticed a huge difference the rod makes for drifting and picked up 3 fish all while drifting that day. That troutmasta special I mention = green corky + black yarn because I think that's the combo he uses on the Clack this time of year.

Anyway, I go through the whole run top/bottom with drift rig, in a very tight pattern...but when it fails, I do it in wide pattern with the spoon and voila!
 
T
troutmasta
Great looking fish sir!

Ive been at my Fave spot lately. Went 0 for 1 on Tuesday on a Cleo so I went to the coast Thursday and got a fat springer.

Ive been picking them up (old winters) on the clack Freedrifting a sandshrimp tail.

Lets hook up spoon, I mean soon-
 
C_Run
C_Run
Chez, I was wondering if you are still counting. I recall feeling sorry for you a couple of years ago because you said , at the time, you had never caught a steelhead. But then you caught one, and then another , and then it seems like a never-ending streak.

I',m too ashamed to report on my own lackluster steelheading efforts any more which is mainly due to either not going or going and getting skunked.
 
M
mikeee2362
Nice Chez, now keep the streak going!!! Where you headed tomorrow?
 
E
eugene1
mikeee2362 said:
Nice Chez, now keep the streak going!!! Where you headed tomorrow?

Haha, good try, mike!

Keep posting the summer runs, folks!

Best,
 
C
ChezJfrey
C_Run said:
Chez, I was wondering if you are still counting. I recall feeling sorry for you a couple of years ago because you said , at the time, you had never caught a steelhead. But then you caught one, and then another , and then it seems like a never-ending streak.

I',m too ashamed to report on my own lackluster steelheading efforts any more which is mainly due to either not going or going and getting skunked.

Yeah, that was back in 2011, my first year steelheading. Blanked for the entire 12 months of that year...how things change when you keep to the grindstone and put the time in, eh? I hooked 44 steelhead from the bank last year.

I still keep track of everything in a log, because I'm still not as consistent as I'd like. Though I banked at least one steelhead for every month last year out of the Clack (and a couple in other rivers...but my goal was every month from that one river), I still go through dry spells here and there that sometimes last about 3 weeks and I'm hoping a log and continued refinement of technique and learning to drift fish better (I've hooked 5 that way this year) will get me that consistency I'm looking for.
 
C_Run
C_Run
My role model.
 

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