2008 Summer Steelhead Fly Fishing Challenge

[AndyK]

This is the thread for posting entries for the

2008 Summer Steelhead Fly Fishing Challenge

Leaders & Winners (http://karamanos.us/Fishing/summer/summer2008/summer2008.html)

Summer Rules (http://karamanos.us/Fishing/summer/summer2008/summer2008rules.html)

Entrants (http://karamanos.us/Fishing/summer/summer2008/summer08entrants.html)

Competition Thread (http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=195469)


Entrants are encouraged to post their photos to a separate thread showing all their photos and a description of their trip. Then just post their largest steelhead from that trip here.

Please don't post your pictures here unless you are an entrant in the contest. Do not use this post for commenting on entries or congratulating entrants. The moderator will remove replies or photos that are not part of the contest.

First entry is by Slow & Low:

http://karamanos.us/Fishing/summer/summer2008/slow1.jpg

32 inches caught on 12 May.

[TallFlyGuy]

Picked up this little guy this morning. About halfway through the swing he grabbed, I dropped the loop and then set the hook immaturely. Luckily my drag on my reel was set real loose. The fish took off on a run, and my reel was backlashing a little bit. Luckily it didn't snag up on itself. A real spunky fish. It didn't want to quit. Thanks to Steelie Mike for tailing it and the pictures. The fish measured out at 31"

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/08011.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/June080072.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/June08004.jpg

[TallFlyGuy]

Had one of the best mornings ever, yesterday! I woke up to lightning, Thunder and lots of rain. I was seriously thinking of not going. I'm so glad I decided to go. This first fish took the fly about half way through the swing. I felt a bump bump, then it pulled the loop about halfway out. I thought it might be smolt. Then another bump, and the loop went all the way out, I waited for pressure, and Bingo! My rod bent over and I swept the rod to side and set the hook. The fish took off! Farthest into my backing I've think I've ever been. To the point I was starting to get worried, and actually had to go down river to get him. He was right at 32inches.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/Firstguyandbeulah.jpg

Same fish, but fly in da Face
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/Firstguyandbeulah2.jpg



This was the second fish of the morning. He took the fly shortly after I cast and mended. I felt the grab, I dropped the loop and waited for pressure. I was rewarded with strong headshakes and lots of pressure. This guy took a small run, and then just bulldogged me the entire time. I'd get a little line in, and he'd take it back out. I'd get some more line in, and he'd take it out. I finally got him up close, and the rod I was using (a 7/8 Beulah), was tacoed. When I got him close he'd just lay his body in the current and take more line out. This went on for 5 minutes, and I was realizing I had a problem. Luckily 3 guys in a driftboat came down and I shouted for help. They wer able to help me tail it and land it for me. Thanks Jeff, and crew! A quick measure was 32 inches. When laid flat it was right at 35! My largest summer run to date.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/bigboylaidout1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/Bigboy1.jpg


http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/TwoBrothers.jpg

This third fish came later in the morning, again on the swing. She nailed the fly and pulled the loop out instantly. I didn't measure her, but I would say 29 or so inches.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/LilChromer.jpg

[Steelie Mike]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/SteelieMike/Steelhead/Cali4thJuly135.jpg
32 incher on a Decho 6126.

[Steelie Mike]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/SteelieMike/Steelhead/HF7-9-080052.jpg
Sleepy but till managed this 29 incher this morning.

[MikeT]

Fished yesterday and this morning. Finally scored some summer fish; one last evening and one this morning. Both were right at 28 inches. Not winning fish, but I feel like a winner today.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/P1000054a.JPG

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/P1000049a.JPG

Mike

[Steelie Mike]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/SteelieMike/Steelhead/HF7-15-080012.jpg
Still trying to find one that will match Justin's. Here is one from a couple days ago.

[TallFlyGuy]

I was able to get out again this last week. This fish took about mid way through the swing. Put on a real strong tug of war fight. Thought it was going to be alot bigger. Just under 30 inches Fun fun!

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/selfpic1.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/morningfish.jpg

[Slow and Low]

Not a winner but on the board. July 28th

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/thumbs/guided_steel_me.JPG (http://www.ifish.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/83111)
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/guided_steel_me.JPG

[Slow and Low]

Here's one I got on a four day float on the you know what.
About 30 incher mising one fin.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/30_incher.JPG

[cphatts]

Made my first Deschutes steelhead trip of the season and got lucky swinging. No contest contenders but I was able christen my new Meiser. This rod has special significace to me as my mom passed away from cancer this past winter and I applied some cash she gave me as a Christmas present towards this rod. As usual, Bob did a masterful job and even inscribed a message from Mom on the rod for me. It felt great to battle chrome on this special rod in this special place. The icing on the cake is the 1st picture was taken in the EXACT spot I asked my now wife to marry me last year. Whew....what a great trip!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/080902.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/080905.jpg

[C-lice]

Here's one from 08/20/08 at Mott Bridge on the North Umpqua.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/FishPics_032.jpg

He was exactly 31" long. It doesn't look like it in the photo, but bear in mind 1.) I was by myself, and this is the best photo I could get, 2.) I'm lifting his back 5-6 inches out of the water by holding him by the tail while keeping his head in the water, and 3.) I have really really big hands. I can pass a quarter through my wedding ring without the quarter touching the ring.

Anyway, he took a black Ugly Bug with an orange butt on the dead drift. He really fought well. No jumps, no huge runs, just concentrated violence. If he was an NFL player, I'd compare him to Earl Campbell. Not the biggest, not the fastest or most spectacular, but a really good one nonetheless.

He's my biggest of the year for now. Hoping I can improve on him. Been a bunch of 25"-28" fish this year...

[Slow and Low]

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_2007.jpg

36 incher, I mean 26.

[C-lice]

I've got one of those.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/FishPics_028.jpg

This little guy thought he was a world beater for about two minutes. Got two huge jumps and one long run out of him, and then he came in meek as a lamb.

[cphatts]

Alright......I'll play too.....

I got one of those 26 inchers last weekend PLUS I have the facial hair! I may not have a Slow & Low beard but my meager facial hair has been good to me lately with a few fish on the bank. I may look like a teenager trying to grow a mustache but if it keeps pumping out fish I'm keepin' it!

This nate hit a Fly DuJour mid swing on about my 5th cast of the morning. I barely had my Vison Ace head out of the guides and was still wiping the sleep from my eyes. 10 minutes, several jumps, and 75 yards of backing later I had her in the shallows for a quick pic.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/082301.jpg

[sothereiwas]

Got this 30" fish on Sunday after our tuna charter was cancelled.
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Kalama_8:24_web.jpg

We also had some mid July action on the D, but opted not to blow the whistle too early.
http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/Deschutes_July.jpg

[C-lice]

Here's a little breathing room.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/medium/FishPics_086.jpg

Got this big boy under Mott Bridge on a black/orange ugly bug 08/27/08. He was just a hair under 33 1/2, so let's round down to 33 1/4. Glad I was using my Spey rod! Even with a 9/10 rod he didn't come either fast or easy. Classic lightly hooked big buck fight--he wasn't going to wear himself out, and he wasn't going to come in. Big as he was, he never got into the backing and never really threatened to. But he took a while. Swam off healthy as a horse, though.

[cphatts]

I'll get this party started for September.....28 incher taken on a Silvey's Egg Sucking Leech Tube Fly swung on a Scandi line. Awful photo....I know! I was by myself and released the fish so I didn't want to dwadle too long for a good pic........plus my camera is literally on its last leg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/sept6240.jpg

[Slow and Low]

32" native hen taken you know where at the bottom of the club scene. Dryline, fly not to be named but you can see it if you look hard.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/P9210017_1_.JPG
Biggest of 4 behind two anglers out of my boat who were :bowdown: If you look close you can see the fly totaly inside the mouth.

[C-lice]

Caught this big boy on the North Umpqua on 09/20/08. He measured 34" on the button.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/FishPics_122.jpg

He took my fly just above Mott Bridge and I finally landed him below the big reef in the tailout at Sweetheart. This was the most demanding fight I've had with a summer steelhead, PERIOD. Even with my 14' 9/10 spey rod and 1x tippett, I didn't gain anything resembling control until the end.

He bit a big electric blue & black dubbing / black rabbit strip / black schlappen fly I call the Giant Killer, with apologies to Al Knudson. This fly earned its name when it accounted for a 36" buck from the same hole last July.

[Pelhament]

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/speyfish.jpg

Its not going to win, but I had to post something seeing as I never got my pictures back of the 34" I caught last month. This fish is 30" and was caught on a Black and Blue Moal leech, nothing to write home about. Except for the fact that it was the first fish I ever landed on my spey rod. I was practicing my Single Speys last night and got 7 takes and landed 2 fish. Pretty darn cool, I think I will "practice" a lot more now.

[cphatts]

Here's a few recent ones.....

I had a good later half of September and start to October numbers-wise but I have yet to break the 30 inch barrier....even on the Westside streams. I'm not complaining though....even the smaller ones are fun! Most have been taken on hairwing patrterns with a few on leeches....all on a Vision Scandi and floating poly.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/100408pm.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/100408am.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/92408.jpg

[TallFlyGuy]

Was able to get out for a few hours yesterday. There were a bunch of silvers all over the place, and I was dragging bottom with cabalero eggs trying to scrape up a silver. After crashing into the bottom a few times "nymphing" I asked myself...What the hell are you doing? So I put away the single handed rod and went and put together the MKS 7/8. I started swinging and about the 8th cast through the run this guy hit far out in the swing. Thought for sure it was a silver until it came up close and rolled right in front of us. That's when all of us got excited on the beach. Good Times. It measured out at 34" even. Sorry I forgot my camera and had to use my phone for pics.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/October7thfallfish.jpg

[KillerDave]

31" hatchery hen from the Clearwater River. Fly was a #2 purple/pink girdle bug swung on on a heavy tip to get deep in the middle of the day. Hard take, great battle. This was my first trip and I learned a lot. Wish the drive wasn't so long!

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL81/623942/20754759/338699731.jpg

[Slow and Low]

Hate to post this after a Clearwater fish. This came from one of the few special rivers left on earth. A month early, dry line on the swing. Maybe 27-28", I tried not to take too much of the fish's time since I was by myself and he's a nate.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/New_Image.JPG

[Zugbug66]

Hate to post this after a Clearwater fish. This came from one of the few special rivers left on earth. A month early, dry line on the swing. Maybe 27-28", I tried not to take too much of the fish's time since I was by myself and he's a nate.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/New_Image.JPG
Great looking fish! About as pretty as they come.

[cphatts]

I had a pretty good week last week and managed to put a few on the bank.....all on ESL tube flies on scandi line. The largest came in just under 30....the little guy at the bottom should fit nice in the smoker :cool:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/10-15-08a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/10-15-082.jpg

[Steelie Mike]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/SteelieMike/Steelhead/SnakeRonde08096.jpg30 incher on a 9140 Echo Classic
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v517/SteelieMike/Steelhead/SnakeRonde08025.jpg
Average hatchery fish on a 6126 Echo Dec Hogan model.

Spend a week fishing the Snake a few tribs. I took fewer pictures this year but captured a few of them. Here are a couple of fish.

[TallFlyGuy]

Got out yesterday and had a nice time. This guy was a little dark for my liking. I actually thought it was a silver when I first saw him jump. Didn't really get a chance to measure him. From the end of my rod to the first guide is 34 inches. This fish isn't laid flat but looks to be about 32 inches.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/justinte/IMGP2147.jpg

Here is a video of the fly I caught him on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaeBcUSBDIk

[Sore Lip]

http://www2.topproducerwebsite.com///users/27180/images/IMGP3112_resize.jpg

Here is a fish that we caught yesterday on the Deschutes. It was her 2nd fish of the trip. It was 35"x18" Caught on the swing Enjoy!

Until then,
Sore Lip

Remember is it smells like salmon keep on jammin If it smells like trout get the hell out!

[Great Dane]

Holy moly, that's a great looking fish! Cannot beat that, but I got more fish, so by sheer numbers I'm ok. Had a good trip to a Washington tributary in Mid-October and managed to pick up 9 steelhead during one morning. Most on a small swung fly, but later on heavier leech flies. The photo is taken at 10 AM, so I was rather sore in the shoulders. Felt a bit strange to actually kill all those fish, but the limit is 6 and they want the hatchery fish out of the river! If you look carefully, you can see one silver that I also picked up on a heavy dredger leech. My rod is a 4-piece #6 and I only use 6lbs tippet, so the larger fish gave me a great battle and I even lost sight of the knot between backing and main line several times! I really felt lucky that morning!http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Oregon08_010.jpg[/IMG]

[sothereiwas]

I made it our this morning in search of some fishable water. The fall rains always bring great things.

One of my biggest 36.5 x 17.25

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/bruiser.jpg

Brad

[cphatts]

After losing 4 in a row on the D I was able to redeem myself this past week....nothing close to 36.5 inches but at least I shook the funk off. Most of the action was still on dry lines....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/IMG_6420a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v363/cphatts/IMG_64262b.jpg

[TallFlyGuy]

Well looks like this game is over. Congrats to Brad!

[AndyK]

Well looks like this game is over. Congrats to Brad!

We'll wait a couple days for any late entries.

In the mean time, Brad can start thinking about what fly line he wants...

[AndyK]

We'll wait a couple days for any late entries.

In the mean time, Brad can start thinking about what fly line he wants...

We've had time for the late entries.

Sothereiwas is the winner.:applause:

[Jennie@ifish]

Congrats, sothereiwas! If you want ifish stickers, please let me know and send me your mailing address. I have no fly fishing gear to give out, but congratulations to you, nonetheless!

If you'd like some hand warmers, I can send you some of those for an ifish prize, too!

Let me know!
Jen

[sothereiwas]

Andy, Jennie,

Thanks for putting these on, they are a lot of fun. It great to see the results of everyone's hard work. :applause:

Brad

[Steelie Mike]

Mediocre year at best for me and I think Brad (sotheriwas) would agree. Still a great year with some good days on the water. Nice fish Brad, glad to eat some of that bad boy for you :D. Nice to see a special fly in its mouth too:wink:!

[Slow and Low]

This was a great year for me. I quit my job at the end of July (to fish the deschutes) and can honestly say I fished close to 100 days from may through now. I learned a lot about running a jetboat including how to replace the intake grate on an outboard, courtesy of jetpump rapids and a bad sun glare. I have fished with a fly rod for steelhead since 1994 and have caught a lot of fish but never landed fish over the 32" (except one HR winter fish)

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/P9210017_1_.JPG

This year I saw several B-runs with one I landed over 20 pounds that was fin clipped. Put one of my best friends on the fish of his life on a dry line this fish was over 15 pounds.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/PA250006.JPG

met the lady caroline for many many 100' handshakes.

Wore a beard all summer and fall until I had to clean up for a job interview last week. http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/IMG_20291.jpg

Last but not least taught several people to speycast including my wife. This was thruly the best summer and fall of my life. Unfortunately all things come to an end and I am going to have to rejoins the rank and file and become a taxpayer again.

As for this contest...Andy thanks for doing these every season. I am truly motivated to win. I dropped the winning fish while trying to photograph it a few wek ago above Bull Run on the Deschutes. The fish was a solid 20 pounds, finclipped as well as double striped.

Then I caught this fish 2 days late http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/stupid_fish.jpg.

Well, I will win one of these some day. Congrats Brad, look forward to seing some winter chrome.

Sam

[SCR Steelheader]

This was a great year for me. I quit my job at the end of July (to fish the deschutes) and can honestly say I fished close to 100 days from may through now. I learned a lot about running a jetboat including how to replace the intake grate on an outboard, courtesy of jetpump rapids and a bad sun glare. I have fished with a fly rod for steelhead since 1994 and have caught a lot of fish but never landed fish over the 32" (except one HR winter fish)

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/P9210017_1_.JPG

This year I saw several B-runs with one I landed over 20 pounds that was fin clipped. Put one of my best friends on the fish of his life on a dry line this fish was over 15 pounds.

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/PA250006.JPG

met the lady caroline for many many 100' handshakes.

Wore a beard all summer and fall until I had to clean up for a job interview last week. http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/IMG_20291.jpg

Last but not least taught several people to speycast including my wife. This was thruly the best summer and fall of my life. Unfortunately all things come to an end and I am going to have to rejoins the rank and file and become a taxpayer again.

As for this contest...Andy thanks for doing these every season. I am truly motivated to win. I dropped the winning fish while trying to photograph it a few wek ago above Bull Run on the Deschutes. The fish was a solid 20 pounds, finclipped as well as double striped.

Then I caught this fish 2 days late http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/stupid_fish.jpg.

Well, I will win one of these some day. Congrats Brad, look forward to seing some winter chrome.

Sam

Holy Crap! that is a pig of a fish!

[R Jackson]

Then I caught this fish 2 days late http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/stupid_fish.jpg.




That looks like a Winter steelhead to me. Enter it in that contest. Very nice fish either way!:applause: