Columbia River Steelhead

My plans for last Thursday evening went to hell on a blustery NW wind.  That happens a lot on the Columbia.  The forecast for Sunday was breezy but summer steelhead are here and I needed a fix err fish.

When I hit my launch, I was amazed to find that the air was relatively warm, so I stashed my drysuit in the hatch and paddled out in shorts and a fleece.  I don't think that there was a way to win this game as I alternated between shivering and sweating all day. 

Since I know the bottom in the area I was fishing is all sand, I installed my drift anchor arm.  It was nice not having to deal with my river anchor and buoys in the heavy current.


Amazingly, the river is still really high and the currents were ripping.  After an hour of watching my U20 repeadly buzz and then stall, I decided to switch over to the more predictable shrimp tipped Spin-n-Glow.  And then I waited.....


And waited....


At least I had a couple of drive-bys to keep me interested.  It's amazing how much hope can be packed into half a second as your rod tip dives and the clicker sings.

Luckily, 3 times is indeed a charm.  The half second of joy was followed shortly by a rod pinning run.   I could have sworn this was a Chinook.  The fish never jumped.  Instead, it stayed on the bottom, making several blistering runs. 
When it came time to net my prize, I had a heck of a time dealing with the heavy flows.  I'm pretty sure I put all 15lbs of my leader to it's test.  It really would have been nice to be able to drop off anchor at this point. 


Once in the net, its adipose came into view.  And within a second, ODFW showed up in their new boat to ensure a speedy release.


Now I know where the invasive species permit money went!

-Spot-

Great report and beautiful fish.  To bad it wasn't fin-clipped.

Glad to hear it went better than Thursday. Hopefully next time it's missing that adipose.

Sweet fish. Do I see cannons mounted on the deck of that ODFW tank!?


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Sweet fish. Do I see cannons mounted on the deck of that ODFW tank!?


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And torpedo launchers.

Nice looking fish!

Nice fish!!!! 

Beauty fish Spot! shame it wasn't clipped. Man i'm getting the jones for something silver and flashy and drag burning

Great report spot! What's up with that new boat? Maybe should used the money instead for 5 smaller boats. Nice job spot!

Nice Spot.

Thanks Guys.

I've got a map full of X's I want to try.  Hopefully one will pay off in a keeper.

-Spot-

Nice fish !!

Thanks Guys.

I've got a map full of X's I want to try.  Hopefully one will pay off in a keeper.

-Spot-

Send me a copy of that map. I'll take half and you take half.  We can cover more water faster that way.

Thanks Guys.

I've got a map full of X's I want to try.  Hopefully one will pay off in a keeper.

-Spot-

Send me a copy of that map. I'll take half and you take half.  We can cover more water faster that way.

Thirds!