straightweave
01-23-2003, 11:00 PM
It only seems fair that after my picture posted on these very same pages that the story of how I ended up on the bank of the sandy holding a silver hatchery hen and wearing nothing but some pada-gucci long johns and a smile, be told.
The picture was posted in the fall, and came w/ the query as to whether the fish in the picture was a steelehead or a silver. Turns out, the good folks at Ifish were right (and that was a doubt why?) and it was a hen silver.
We got to the parking lot above Dodge, and when I went to put my rod together, I found out that I had the butt section of my shakespeare casting rod and the top half of my abu garcia surf spinning rod. My fishing partner, who has been thru the thick and thin of stealehead fishing himself, said "here's the keys. be back by 1", and heads for the river. thanks, bro. No way am I driving home. Luckily, it looked the top half of the abu would fit down over the butt section of the bait rod, coming to rest against the eye. After tearing out the little rubber stopper, I put it together and shuffled off upstream, calmer and more better.
Each hole we came to had a fish on the bank. Lots of people, but the weather was perfect, the fishing showed great promise, and we were getting great drifts in all the right places. I crossed a few times and got to a spot where I couldn't go any further. Coming back, I fished the whole below the rock wall that kinda signifies the end for high water crossing. Fishing w/ a corky and yarn, I gave it a toss into this riffle, and low and behold, I hooked a fish. The whole time I am looking at the fishing rod and where the two pieces come together, waiting for the top half to shear off, but nothing happened. I kept the tip down and bulldogged the fish a bit. The hen made two little runs and I was able to get her into the eddy in time and onto the bank.
Thats when the fun started.
She didn't come accross being all that tough in the water, but boy she packed a punch on dry land. Almost got herself back into river. Like rocky chasin' that chicken. I finally subdue her, bleed her out and catch my breath. I find a big stick and am going to carry the fish back toward the truck, thinking my buddy had one on the bank also and we could head for the barn.
So I have this half dead salmon on a stick and start out to cross the river. Things are going just fine until I step over a rock that is just a bit tooooo wide for the neoprenes to stretch over and I drop down into the water just a few inches too far. As if on cue, the tail of the fish hits the water, wakes the young philly up, and she goes balistic. Just like on the bank. I manage to get over this rock, but not the next one. With the Queen of the Day throwing a temper tantrum against my backside, I catch another rock that is just a bit toooo wide and at just the right angle to slide my foot to the left, and I loose it going forward. The rod goes onto the bank, becaus by this time I was one step from the shore, and the momentum of the fish frolicking about shoves me right up to my chin into the river. Now she's really upset.
By the time I scrambled to my hands and knees, the hen had slid down the stick and had coated my entire back w/ slime. chicks really dig that look. One must learn to crawl before one learns to walk, so I crawled the arms-length distance to the bank and got out. The first rush of water isn't so bad, but it's the standing up and feeling it drizzle down thru your clothes that really gets ya.
Anyway, the rod and reel survive and I head downstream to where my partner his. Oh, but he has no fish on da bank. Knowing he isn't going to leave until he catches one, I peel and do the dry thang. That's when the picture(s) took place.
I sat on that rock for some time in my pada-gucci's, looking at that fish that so many of you have worked so hard, for so long, to get back into this river, after too many years of no fish at all, and just smiled the smile of the newly blessed. Thanks to all.
Oh, and mister no-fish-on-the-bank fell in also after he headed up stream. Whatya bet we left then, huh? [/LIST]
The picture was posted in the fall, and came w/ the query as to whether the fish in the picture was a steelehead or a silver. Turns out, the good folks at Ifish were right (and that was a doubt why?) and it was a hen silver.
We got to the parking lot above Dodge, and when I went to put my rod together, I found out that I had the butt section of my shakespeare casting rod and the top half of my abu garcia surf spinning rod. My fishing partner, who has been thru the thick and thin of stealehead fishing himself, said "here's the keys. be back by 1", and heads for the river. thanks, bro. No way am I driving home. Luckily, it looked the top half of the abu would fit down over the butt section of the bait rod, coming to rest against the eye. After tearing out the little rubber stopper, I put it together and shuffled off upstream, calmer and more better.
Each hole we came to had a fish on the bank. Lots of people, but the weather was perfect, the fishing showed great promise, and we were getting great drifts in all the right places. I crossed a few times and got to a spot where I couldn't go any further. Coming back, I fished the whole below the rock wall that kinda signifies the end for high water crossing. Fishing w/ a corky and yarn, I gave it a toss into this riffle, and low and behold, I hooked a fish. The whole time I am looking at the fishing rod and where the two pieces come together, waiting for the top half to shear off, but nothing happened. I kept the tip down and bulldogged the fish a bit. The hen made two little runs and I was able to get her into the eddy in time and onto the bank.
Thats when the fun started.
She didn't come accross being all that tough in the water, but boy she packed a punch on dry land. Almost got herself back into river. Like rocky chasin' that chicken. I finally subdue her, bleed her out and catch my breath. I find a big stick and am going to carry the fish back toward the truck, thinking my buddy had one on the bank also and we could head for the barn.
So I have this half dead salmon on a stick and start out to cross the river. Things are going just fine until I step over a rock that is just a bit tooooo wide for the neoprenes to stretch over and I drop down into the water just a few inches too far. As if on cue, the tail of the fish hits the water, wakes the young philly up, and she goes balistic. Just like on the bank. I manage to get over this rock, but not the next one. With the Queen of the Day throwing a temper tantrum against my backside, I catch another rock that is just a bit toooo wide and at just the right angle to slide my foot to the left, and I loose it going forward. The rod goes onto the bank, becaus by this time I was one step from the shore, and the momentum of the fish frolicking about shoves me right up to my chin into the river. Now she's really upset.
By the time I scrambled to my hands and knees, the hen had slid down the stick and had coated my entire back w/ slime. chicks really dig that look. One must learn to crawl before one learns to walk, so I crawled the arms-length distance to the bank and got out. The first rush of water isn't so bad, but it's the standing up and feeling it drizzle down thru your clothes that really gets ya.
Anyway, the rod and reel survive and I head downstream to where my partner his. Oh, but he has no fish on da bank. Knowing he isn't going to leave until he catches one, I peel and do the dry thang. That's when the picture(s) took place.
I sat on that rock for some time in my pada-gucci's, looking at that fish that so many of you have worked so hard, for so long, to get back into this river, after too many years of no fish at all, and just smiled the smile of the newly blessed. Thanks to all.
Oh, and mister no-fish-on-the-bank fell in also after he headed up stream. Whatya bet we left then, huh? [/LIST]