Back to reality, sort of

Like they say, all good things must come to an end, eventually...

We have spent the last 7 weeks up north chasing steelhead, and now we are back home. Back to work, back to traffic, pavement, houses, chores, and other things that get in the way of good steelhead fishing. The time home has given me the opportunity to reflect.

Jay looking for some late season lovin

This trip has been an amazing experience, a trip of a lifetime, the kind that you wish you could experience every year, but you know it's not always going to be possible, and it will haunt you just knowing that it's out there. For me, Steelhead fishing is what I look forward to the most, the thing that dictates where I live, and what I attempt to plan my life around. I am relatively new to the game, it is just that I became addicted early, and now, it rules me.

Gotta have the pirate flag - 12 day float

Unlike other trips we have been on, some of us knew what we were after, what we thought it would be like. When we traveled through Mongolia last fall, we had no idea what to expect, so we experienced the ups and downs together, it was easier on all of us because we didn't know if we were having good fishing or bad. Brian caught his first steelhead last spring on our trip up north. It was the first time he had ever picked up a double, cast a skagit, or dropped a loop. He picked it up, fast. This trip we watched Brian fine-tune his casting and swinging, throwing lasers every day, sun up to sun down. Thad joined us as well this fall, he had never cast a double either. He adapted, and earned every fish he landed.

Brian, from Florida, throws tight loops

Thad, with a well earned buck.

The fishing wasn't easy. We were on water we hadn't fished before, unsure about access points, unsure if the fish were there, but we kept swinging, and found enough to keep us focused. Sometimes the fishing was lights out, 6 or 7 fish from a pool, grabs on the hang down, grabs as the fly hits the water, spotting fish, catching spotted fish. And other times, it was tough, 5 anglers taking turns fishing different pieces, days and days, nothing. It was steelhead fishing.

Jay and Owens in a feverish tying session - back yard gazebo - somewhere in British Columbia

Like our trip in the spring, we got to build some great relationships and meet some very cool people. People who have given their lives to steelhead, inspiring folks. We nearly killed our old man friend, Tim Pask, who got giardia (which is likely my fault..) and lost a pound a day for 25 days, we almost burned down his house too - read his post on he chum here .

1 river, 8 days, 1 fish

As the trip went on, we all settled into our grooves, anticipating the time we got to spend in flow each day. Before we knew it, the snow was starting to fall, and the water was getting colder and colder. Most anglers had left the area, we pushed on, not every plan worked, we left rivers untouched, and kept searching. Eventually the rivers started to ice, and it was time to head home.

Jay can't feel his hands because the water is 35 degrees

We had heard some positive reports from our home waters and drove all day and all night to find this...


More later.