S
SmallStreams
0
Since I vowed that I would learn about steelhead and salmon this year after many decades of being a summer trout fisherman, I made my first attempt yesterday on the Salmonberry River with a couple friends who are equally novice with steelehad. President's Day was a holiday for all of us.
Why the Salmonberry? Well, we have good trout memories from the '80s & early '90s, know the stream reasonably well, and are also interested in how the trout are doing up there without any fishing pressure. A bit of Internet research says it's a late run, so since we missed the earlier fish, it seemed like a good idea in our neophyte minds...
On the trip in, the Nehalem was on the muddy side, so we were pleased that the Salmonberry was not. It was high and fast, visibility 6'-8' when the surface wasn't roiling around. We didn't see any fish moving around, but after working our way upstream checking the slower holes, we caught a couple baby trout. Eventually, at the last hole we tried, I had a large trout follow my lure (large krockodile), but not connect. The hole was large enough and had enough structure that the three of us had been casting hardware in many ways for about 45 minutes and we weren't crossing lines, so it was a bit of a shock when the adult trout was spotted.
Shifting and moving around on the shore, I finally got to glimpse a dark steelhead rise up off the bottom and take a snap at the krockodile in earnest as the lure swung into shore. That was both a thrill and a disappointment when it missed by the skin of its teeth. We kept trying for another 15 minutes, but never did see any more fish.
So the questions are:
1) Had the steelhead just been laying on the bottom mostly ignoring us or was it cruising through or newly arrived?
2) Is it normal that one doesn't see them for the most part?
3) Is it normal for them to ignore lures until you bounce them off their nose?
4) What would best help my fishing in this situation?
Why the Salmonberry? Well, we have good trout memories from the '80s & early '90s, know the stream reasonably well, and are also interested in how the trout are doing up there without any fishing pressure. A bit of Internet research says it's a late run, so since we missed the earlier fish, it seemed like a good idea in our neophyte minds...
On the trip in, the Nehalem was on the muddy side, so we were pleased that the Salmonberry was not. It was high and fast, visibility 6'-8' when the surface wasn't roiling around. We didn't see any fish moving around, but after working our way upstream checking the slower holes, we caught a couple baby trout. Eventually, at the last hole we tried, I had a large trout follow my lure (large krockodile), but not connect. The hole was large enough and had enough structure that the three of us had been casting hardware in many ways for about 45 minutes and we weren't crossing lines, so it was a bit of a shock when the adult trout was spotted.
Shifting and moving around on the shore, I finally got to glimpse a dark steelhead rise up off the bottom and take a snap at the krockodile in earnest as the lure swung into shore. That was both a thrill and a disappointment when it missed by the skin of its teeth. We kept trying for another 15 minutes, but never did see any more fish.
So the questions are:
1) Had the steelhead just been laying on the bottom mostly ignoring us or was it cruising through or newly arrived?
2) Is it normal that one doesn't see them for the most part?
3) Is it normal for them to ignore lures until you bounce them off their nose?
4) What would best help my fishing in this situation?
