David Johnson
04-17-2003, 11:39 PM
This past steelhead season has been one of the best!
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/064022106.jpg
Compared to last year it was as good and at times, way better.
I always add up my averages (fish per number of trips) to compare to previous years.
Last year my overall average was 5.5 fish per trip. This year it ended up being 4.6 fish per trip. We had an average of three per day during the "peak" and we had an average of eight per day later into the season.
It's had its ups and downs. At the beginning we had some awesome fishing early on before the rains and crowds showed up, then it slowed down for the traditional "Peak".
After the end of January, the wild run more than made up for the average steelhead fishing on the hatchery run. And February through April the wild and brood stock fishing has been outstanding.
With over 250 steelhead landed this year I've made a few observations and seen some trends.
Trends and Observations
(1) Sharply rising water can really put the bite off. We only had three days we were skunked-two of those were from heavier than expected rain the night before the trip and the water was on the rise.
I have seen one exception to this, and that is when the water is real cold and the rising water is from a warm rain that brings the water up.
(2) Weekends are usually the worst fishing. Hence the saying, "You should have been here yesterday", that we all so love to hear.
I feel one of the reasons for this drop in fishing success is due to the fact that on days where there are just a few "biters", they are spread out between more boats.
I bet that if you checked the Fish and Wildlife's statistics the catch rate is much higher during the week.
(3) Boats might move fish that are lying in shallow water but they seldom put fish off the bite, especially in cold water.
(4) Over the last two years I have had some of my best days when the water was either "Too High" or "Too Low"
It's all a matter of flexability. A person has to change as the conditions change, the fish do.
I find that once I get a paturn that's working for me it tends to produce day in and day out until the conditions really chance like we get a freshet or the water really drops.
(5) And lastly, it's not over until it's over. We have had quite a few days when we havn't had a fish to the boat by 12 or 1 o'clock but we end up with five or six fish by the time we quit for the day.
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/203622106.jpg
fishermand@aol.com
[ 04-18-2003, 06:52 PM: Message edited by: David Johnson ]
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/064022106.jpg
Compared to last year it was as good and at times, way better.
I always add up my averages (fish per number of trips) to compare to previous years.
Last year my overall average was 5.5 fish per trip. This year it ended up being 4.6 fish per trip. We had an average of three per day during the "peak" and we had an average of eight per day later into the season.
It's had its ups and downs. At the beginning we had some awesome fishing early on before the rains and crowds showed up, then it slowed down for the traditional "Peak".
After the end of January, the wild run more than made up for the average steelhead fishing on the hatchery run. And February through April the wild and brood stock fishing has been outstanding.
With over 250 steelhead landed this year I've made a few observations and seen some trends.
Trends and Observations
(1) Sharply rising water can really put the bite off. We only had three days we were skunked-two of those were from heavier than expected rain the night before the trip and the water was on the rise.
I have seen one exception to this, and that is when the water is real cold and the rising water is from a warm rain that brings the water up.
(2) Weekends are usually the worst fishing. Hence the saying, "You should have been here yesterday", that we all so love to hear.
I feel one of the reasons for this drop in fishing success is due to the fact that on days where there are just a few "biters", they are spread out between more boats.
I bet that if you checked the Fish and Wildlife's statistics the catch rate is much higher during the week.
(3) Boats might move fish that are lying in shallow water but they seldom put fish off the bite, especially in cold water.
(4) Over the last two years I have had some of my best days when the water was either "Too High" or "Too Low"
It's all a matter of flexability. A person has to change as the conditions change, the fish do.
I find that once I get a paturn that's working for me it tends to produce day in and day out until the conditions really chance like we get a freshet or the water really drops.
(5) And lastly, it's not over until it's over. We have had quite a few days when we havn't had a fish to the boat by 12 or 1 o'clock but we end up with five or six fish by the time we quit for the day.
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/203622106.jpg
fishermand@aol.com
[ 04-18-2003, 06:52 PM: Message edited by: David Johnson ]