Troutski
Bentrod and myself decided to try our luck at Leaburg on Monday morning, the current is really blasting through that little lake. Water temp was 50 degrees at the dam and 49 in the back, the morning was slightly overcast and not a puff of wind until around 10:30; if you fish Leaburg you understand. The water was crystal clear and a bit above summer levels, we hit our favorite starting point just about sunrise..just a bit of light on the water. We got the boat anchored and picked up the gear and the light popped through the overcast and I swear you could see the bottom perfect in 15' of water. We each picked up a couple of nice little Native Trout and pulled anchor and drifted down stream a bit ; mind you we are fishing with very light gear. Trout tackle...he (Bentrod) was fishing a spoon and absolutely schooling me on the proper method of working the water. I cast my spinner up to this nice riffle and let it drift and sink with just the hint of action, and on the swing :shock: I feel that all so familiar but subtle pause in the action. You know what I mean, the I lifted my rod tip and got a tug back and the game was on...you know you have fun fish very quickly. First thought: did I retie that knot :think:. Line ripping Steelhead flashes the boat just before this fish bolts for the fast current, drag screaming I try to come to grips on what not to do. Funny how your mind seems to go into instant denial, OH MY !!! Each time we tried to net this animal it would just turn sideways and peel off 10 yards of line (did I retie that knot) when we finely got the beast close enough to the boat to see the size we kind of looked at each other and said "we need a bigger net". One more time the fish takes a run and heads for the bottom of the boat and Darrell pushes the net in between the boat and the fish - almost in the net, well the head was out on one side and the tail was hanging over the other, kind of like a large fry in a small fry package. Mouth wide open the entire fight, used every trick in book this fish did. The only reason I was able to land this fish was because it was post spawn, probably 30" long but built like a snake. Huge head and very long not much weight, maybe 6#...Nice Native fish, great fight and bragging rights for the rest of the day. He (Darrell) out fished me 2-1 but the one each of us remembers is the one that filled my net. Here are a couple of pictures...honestly without Bentrod this fish would only be a story. He even snapped the pictures....Home by noon thirty and a quick nap before work...all in all a great day on the water.
Chuck
Chuck
