Fish stories told here

[OnTheFly]

With every fishing season, there is always one day one moment one amazing thing that happens that stands out above all others. And if that one magic moment happened in the only day you fished in the entire season, it would fulfill your fishing needs for the rest of the year.With that in mind, I invite you to share your best fishing stories and your most awesome times on the water.

It was the start of July and loosing sleep the night before a fishing trip was common for me. It was one of those early summer mornings that had a stillness to it accompanied by cool air and a vivid blue sky. It was seventy five miles from my driveway to the day parking area at Olallie Lake and it was going to be perfect. At least I thought so anyway.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the area, the Olallie Lakes basin is situated at the base of Mount Jefferson and is one of the most picturesque places in the state. It is the headwaters of the Clackamas and it’s also the home of some very large fish. I managed to pick up a couple average trout, trolling on my pontoon boat but nothing big. I wasn’t too concerned about it because it was still early in the day. That’s when I heard the thunder. I was hoping the billowing clouds would blow over but the weather had other ideas. The storm convinced me to remove myself from the lake at 1:00 in the afternoon. This time of day at Olallie is a pivotal point to decide what to do next. The lake is fifty miles from anywhere so it’s a coin toss whether to drive home or try for another lake and hope you can get ahead of the storm. I chose the latter.

Through miles of narrow mountain back roads, some dirt some paved, I made it to Clear Lake just east of Mt Hood. It was cloudy but not raining. I launched my eight foot toon boat and began my troll once again. There was a little wind on the water but not too bad. One other boat went by then I was alone. There were thick clouds in the direction of Olallie from which I came but they did not advance. Then, as if somebody flipped on the lights and turned off the fan, the breeze stopped and the sun shown below the gray sky illuminating the ground and the hillsides. It was a photographers dream. I found myself on a lake of glass bathed in a spectacular glow of early evening sunlight. The splashing on the water caught my attention. Fish were clewing in on adult midges everywhere. With floating line now installed and a #20 Griffith Gnat carefully tied onto my tippet, I began casting. On one particular cast, I felt the rod load up nicely and at the end of it, the little fly gently landed on the water only twelve inches from a natural. My magic moment came when the fish ignored the live midge and took my own hand tied fly.

 

[Slick]

Nice images Fly. Those are the lifetime memories that make it worth all that we do for our sports. BTW, have you ever fished the "new" Clear Lake at Mt St Helens?

 

[GDBrown]

I'll add my story after this weekends trip to the Deschutes! I'm getting ready but it's taking longer than I thought.

Slick, I don't think there is public access to Clear Lake north of Mt. St. Helens.

 

[Slick]

I'll add my story after this weekends trip to the Deschutes! I'm getting ready but it's taking longer than I thought.

Slick, I don't think there is public access to Clear Lake north of Mt. St. Helens.

I was thinking of Coldwater Lake. I know there are some large fish in there.

 

[markasd]

It's early a.m. - on the coast during the fall about ten years ago. Been chasing summer steel all that summer, this was kind of the wrap it up trip for summers. Little brother was throwin drift gear and bobber jigs - me with a few flies, one leech to be specific. Told him I was goin fly only , he gave me the "ya ok" grin... He thought I'd change my mind. On the water at day break, swinging that leech through the first run - halfway through I get slammed! Nice fight to release a sweet native summer run.. Goose egg for little brother. Up to the next run... Same results. Oh boy, this is insane I thought. Little brother has this confused look, I just grin. On up river , I sit out the next run and let LB fish it - strikin out after ten/fifteen minutes I step up toy the top ofthe run and proceed to strip out line and make a few casts and LB stops me and wants to make a few casts... Sweet I thought!! Sure, go ahead! With a few pointers he's actually gettin it out on the seam, but haneous at mending... He's done after ten minutes. I just took the rod with the line still out... In the tracks he was standing, I cast, mend and WHAM fish on!
That was it - time to head out. In just a few hours this went down.. Memories for ever.

 

[OnTheFly]

This story is true but it happened to a neighbor of mine not me but I thought it was worth telling.

One day my neighbor Dan and a buddy of his decided they would fish for summer steelhead at the Salmon River by Mt Hood. This particular spot was a short distance from where the Salmon River dumps into the Sandy. Anyway, Dan hooks into a belligerent summerhead and, like most of these fish, he had no control over it during the initial fight. All he could do was hang on. The fish took Dan downstream where the two rivers met then bolted out of the Salmon and into the Sandy River where it crossed over to the opposite side and took a rest while deciding where to go next. At this point it was a stalemate. As the fish layed there hunkered down, Dan tried to knock the fish loose. He challenged his line to the breaking point but the fish could not be pulled back across the fast moving current. It was then, he handed his rod to his buddy. He knew right where the fish was so his plan was to drive his truck around and net the fish from the other side. Now bare in mind that there were other fishermen around but none were aware of Dan's fish close by. Dan appeared from the brush on the opposite side of the river and dashed down towards the water with his net. So imagine you're out fishing, standing in water up to your thighs, minding your own business, and some guy comes out of nowhere with a net, runs right between you and another fisherman and drives a net into the water, pratically at your feet, and pulls up a nice chromer.:shock:

 

[lilsalmon]

This story is true but it happened to a neighbor of mine not me but I thought it was worth telling.

One day my neighbor Dan and a buddy of his decided they would fish for summer steelhead at the Salmon River by Mt Hood. This particular spot was a short distance from where the Salmon River dumps into the Sandy. Anyway, Dan hooks into a belligerent summerhead and, like most of these fish, he had no control over it during the initial fight. All he could do was hang on. The fish took Dan downstream where the two rivers met then bolted out of the Salmon and into the Sandy River where it crossed over to the opposite side and took a rest while deciding where to go next. At this point it was a stalemate. As the fish layed there hunkered down, Dan tried to knock the fish loose. He challenged his line to the breaking point but the fish could not be pulled back across the fast moving current. It was then, he handed his rod to his buddy. He knew right where the fish was so his plan was to drive his truck around and net the fish from the other side. Now bare in mind that there were other fishermen around but none were aware of Dan's fish close by. Dan appeared from the brush on the opposite side of the river and dashed down towards the water with his net. So imagine you're out fishing, standing in water up to your thighs, minding your own business, and some guy comes out of nowhere with a net, runs right between you and another fisherman and drives a net into the water, pratically at your feet, and pulles up a nice chromer.:shock:

Thats a good one OTF

 

[FlyBum]

Good stories!! I'll try to take the time to write one down soon. The State Trooper escort off the river, the "hookup", the lightening, oh and some fish stories too!

 

[mrlindeman]

Awesome! Truly awesome.

 

[OnTheFly]

Cabo 2001

Cabo 2001

It was a cool but comfortable late January morning as the four of us boarded the charter boat that would soon leave the marina at Cabo San Lucas. It would be a two and a half hour boat ride up the Sea of Cortez and our anticipation was fierce at the thought of fishing for Dorado and Yellow Fin Tuna. Underway, we could see the Baja shoreline that consisted of narrow strips of beach backed by steep cliffs and the barren hillsides beyond. Groups of pelicans flying low to the water like strafing aircraft were abundant along with the occasional sighting of a grey whale. Halfway to our destination I noticed a very small boat that appeared to be on an intercept course. Soon, two Hispanic men pulled along side of our charter boat and started transferring live anchovy bait in coolers from their questionable buoyant craft. I wondered where they had come from in such a small boat.

It felt like early summer as the sun came up when Skipper slowed to a trolling speed. With a stout rod and a well maintained Penn reel, he pulled out line with only the bait fish attached and no weight. Not more than a few minutes had gone by when the rod suddenly loaded and it was fish on. Brad took on the first yellow fin of the day as he was handed the rod then positioned himself in one of the two ‘High Chairs’ at the back of the boat. Brad was quite stocky and has no problem winning arm wrestling with most people but this fish about turned him into jelly. Soon, the fish was aboard and a photo taken.



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[OnTheFly]

In the distance, the Dorado came out of the water a good five feet. The iridescent colors were unmistakable. This time it was Tommy’s turn to get a workout and, for awhile, all he could do was to hang on. These are strong fighting fish that hate to be hooked and it made Tom pay dearly for it. Eventually, the struggle ended with another fish on board.




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[OnTheFly]

Fish on and this time it was my turn. I climbed into the High Chair, dropped the rod butt down into the holding cup and held on. [There is no other way to hold the fishing rod other than this method because the star drag is set so tight and the line so strong that it is nearly humanly impossible to hold the rod upright by hand.] As the fish violently took out line against the firm drag, I could only imagine what kind of physical forces were taking place inside of the tight reel. As the fish started to tire, I was able to raise the rod up then reel down again and again. The sun was higher now and began to shine deeper into the water and as if someone switched on a four foot fluorescent light fixture, the reflection of the tuna brightly glowed ten feet below the surface. At the precise time, the deck hand drove the gaff down then muscled the exhausted fish on board. “Seeksty poun” said Skipper as he determined the estimated size of the Yellow Fin.




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[halibuthitman]

Ive had this moment every time I fish....

 

[brandon4455]

that is an awesome story..and with pics!!! let me dig into my memory and see what stories i can dig out LOL

 

[OnTheFly]

Ive had this moment every time I fish....

The stage is yours......

 

[eggs]

Very cool fishing story! I need me some warm water deep sea fishing again.. ohh and I am digging the old school calf athletic socks! Got any extras??

 

[OnTheFly]

.. ohh and I am digging the old school calf athletic socks! Got any extras??

Yes, as a matter of fact, I've got several of them and I'm keeping all of them until they come back in style.....

 

[eggs]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I've got several of them and I'm keeping all of them until they come back in style.....

damn

 

[john montana]

My friend Mctage had just landed the biggest fish of his life on a fly rod. We were feeling good. After taking some pictures and a few moments to collect ourselves, he stepped back out into the water, looking for more. I sat down for an extra few seconds, happy to watch him fish and reflect on our day as it came to an end. How often can you close a day watching a buddy land a personal record? It was worth an extra moment of reflection.


Truthfully, I would have been content to let the darkness fall without another bent rod, but Mctage soon hooked up again, hooting as the fish peeled line off of his reel. I reached for the net and used it to push my self up off the bank, and with a smile started the short walk through the shallows towards Mctage and his battle. I took my eyes off him for less than a second, but it was long enough to see the big black shape of a marauding fish cruising slowly by, just two rod lengths to my left. With one hand I flipped a soft hackle into the path of the bruiser, holding tight to the net with my other and certain the fish wouldn't take. Instead, the cavernous mouth opened, and the slowly sinking fly was hoovered up from nearly a foot away. I set the hook one handed and dropped the net as the fish blasted for the depths.

A few moments later I witnessed Mctage near the end of his battle, but I was still locked in...the fish would sprint for the flooded trees in the distance and I strained my 7 wt to the fullest to keep him from the destructive branches and trunks. Three times I brought him close, and each time with a flick of a powerful tail the fish was twenty feet away and gaining steam. Mctage hollered in triumph behind me,
but I barely heard him, intent on the give and take of an extended fight. Finally, the fish rolled on his side and I slide him ever so closer to my net. With a final lunge and near primal growl I scooped up the monster! Dropping my rod, I turned to Mctage and let out a whoop of joy...his stunned expression said it all. Moments later the digital scale settled on just over 31 lbs. We taped the fish at 38 inches long...a true behemoth.




What a cool thread otf..hope the stories keep coming!