R
RunWithSasquatch
0
I usually make several trips a year up the gorge. I know the area well, and think its some of the best bank access/ fishing around. So I made my first trip of the year up there, and it was cold, and lots of snow. Fished about mid way up to the deadline.
Started this morning with remembering the my wading boots had been in the back of my truck for the past week, and they were about as hard as a jawbreaker. Throw them in under the floor board for the ride over, load my gear, and off to meet my buddy at 6.
As far as the drive, most of it was not bad. The summit highway was no race track, covered with packed snow and ice, so it was easy going until Big Rock Creek. There was about 8'' of snow towards the top end of rock creek, and was pleased to see that there wasn't any log trucks running up there today, my buddies truck doesn't have a CB. We hit the top end near the 1000 line and see there is log trucks running from the other direction, and one is stopped chaining up, so its on your toes with all this snow around.... Few more corners, and we're on the brakes, and theres a log truck on his brakes, and everyone is sliding... get stopped, hes stopped... back up out of the way ( i know how much this pisses them off) so to top off the situation, hes on a hill, and CANNOT gett'r goin!:doh: We sit and watch for a minute or two and decide we better get out and go get our ass chewin', long story short, was a younger guy, who was irritated, but relatively mannered, had to back him a ways down the road before it got flat enough he could get up to speed and make the hill.
Finally, make it to our destination, and like anticipated, no one around.
So we get right to work, make our casts, battle the cold, and the fingers that felt like I stuck them on a skillet, rather than in the cold. I was surprised at the gear malfunction I had, my revo toro51 wouldn't disengage and free spool, so it was rendered useless until the sun started to shine, and the ice in it melted.
Very slow fishing, the water temp was extremely cold, not sure exactly what it was.
So after about 3 hours of putting in the work, something happens. Make a cast off a deep shelf, drifting a yarnie, and it feels like my slinky is dragging hard over a large rock in the bottom, I give a lift of the rod tip, and it continues to give the same feeling, so I lift a little more... and I feel a head shake, so i put the screws to it! And im waiting... and waiting... my friend joel looks at me wanting to know whats going on... and I go its a fish!.. I think?. So finally it starts moving, and I can tell its just too cold for it to do anything about the hook that just got buried in its mouth, I pull and it just stays put, I pull and it feels like a wet log, finally it takes off on a small run, and I feel better about the situation, so i start working it in, get a few small runs and then it just sits in the bottom of this deep hole, and stays so still, I thought it wrapped me on a rock, so i tighten the drag down quite a bit, and i give a long slow pull, and here it comes, makes it to the surface, rolls a few times, trys to run, and rolls some more, so i put it up on skid and joel comes over and tails it for me.... 31'' Hen that fought me like a giant stick fish. I bet she would have been a hand full in the lower river! Nice eggs, beautiful as always up there. Bumped a small grip of elk on the way home, but they got the drop on me before I could get a picture.
Started this morning with remembering the my wading boots had been in the back of my truck for the past week, and they were about as hard as a jawbreaker. Throw them in under the floor board for the ride over, load my gear, and off to meet my buddy at 6.
As far as the drive, most of it was not bad. The summit highway was no race track, covered with packed snow and ice, so it was easy going until Big Rock Creek. There was about 8'' of snow towards the top end of rock creek, and was pleased to see that there wasn't any log trucks running up there today, my buddies truck doesn't have a CB. We hit the top end near the 1000 line and see there is log trucks running from the other direction, and one is stopped chaining up, so its on your toes with all this snow around.... Few more corners, and we're on the brakes, and theres a log truck on his brakes, and everyone is sliding... get stopped, hes stopped... back up out of the way ( i know how much this pisses them off) so to top off the situation, hes on a hill, and CANNOT gett'r goin!:doh: We sit and watch for a minute or two and decide we better get out and go get our ass chewin', long story short, was a younger guy, who was irritated, but relatively mannered, had to back him a ways down the road before it got flat enough he could get up to speed and make the hill.
Finally, make it to our destination, and like anticipated, no one around.
So we get right to work, make our casts, battle the cold, and the fingers that felt like I stuck them on a skillet, rather than in the cold. I was surprised at the gear malfunction I had, my revo toro51 wouldn't disengage and free spool, so it was rendered useless until the sun started to shine, and the ice in it melted.
Very slow fishing, the water temp was extremely cold, not sure exactly what it was.
So after about 3 hours of putting in the work, something happens. Make a cast off a deep shelf, drifting a yarnie, and it feels like my slinky is dragging hard over a large rock in the bottom, I give a lift of the rod tip, and it continues to give the same feeling, so I lift a little more... and I feel a head shake, so i put the screws to it! And im waiting... and waiting... my friend joel looks at me wanting to know whats going on... and I go its a fish!.. I think?. So finally it starts moving, and I can tell its just too cold for it to do anything about the hook that just got buried in its mouth, I pull and it just stays put, I pull and it feels like a wet log, finally it takes off on a small run, and I feel better about the situation, so i start working it in, get a few small runs and then it just sits in the bottom of this deep hole, and stays so still, I thought it wrapped me on a rock, so i tighten the drag down quite a bit, and i give a long slow pull, and here it comes, makes it to the surface, rolls a few times, trys to run, and rolls some more, so i put it up on skid and joel comes over and tails it for me.... 31'' Hen that fought me like a giant stick fish. I bet she would have been a hand full in the lower river! Nice eggs, beautiful as always up there. Bumped a small grip of elk on the way home, but they got the drop on me before I could get a picture.
Last edited by a moderator: