I have two co-workers that fish, one is named Steve. Steve fishes the Nestucca River. He was the first one to take me out and show me the intricacies of river fishing, and showed me all his favorite holes on that river.
I fish the Nehalem River. It was the closest river to where Leah used to work (Henny Penny), and I would always drop her off and go fishing when she had long days. I know that river the best of all the Coastal rivers.
Greg knows the Wilson River. I have never fished it, and didn't even really know where it was. It is nice and close. So we took Saturday to run up and down the river fishing his favorite holes.
When I say "holes" I am talking about areas in the river that get really deep. The Salmon and Steelhead tend to rest there and eat bugs that collect, and rest up if they need to push up the river to where they were born.
Most of the day, we didn't see any fish, and the only thing that was caught was 2 baby salmon that nibbled on Greg's hook. We also ran into a pretty snarky gentleman who didn't want to share the river with us, and was a bit on the passive aggressive side. We decided to try and find one more hole on our way back. It is by far the coolest little area on the river. There is an arch rock formation that many people set up a tent under and camp the night (for free, cause you can do that around here). We started fishing that hole, and it was pretty small, so Greg and I had to split up. I was fishing the deeper end for awhile, and I thought I would switch with Greg (to be nice). Bad idea, about 10 minutes later he hooked a really nice sized Steelhead!!
The problem with this hole was there was not a good area to grab the fish from. The rock we were fishing from was about 8 feet above the river, and the shallowest part was through the rapids, so there was no way the fish would let you bring it up there. After about 10 minutes, Greg (and I) both realized that it may not be possible to land this pretty little fish. So we came up with a plan...........
He gave me his pole, and I gave him my needle nose pliers (to remove the hook). He scampered down the face of the rock, to a very narrow ledge on the edge of the river. Greg can scamper, he was a "tree dog" (Arborist) and quite a bit smaller than me. If there is one thing I can't do is "scamper" or "shimmy". "Plodding" and "deliberate" I can do! So after about 10 minutes of me trying to direct a fish to a place it does not want to go, Greg finally was able to grab its tail and bring him in. It was truly a team effort, and here is the happy Fisherman.........
So that is a Steelhead. About 15 pounds, and close to 24" long. Really nice fish. Even though I helped, it was his fish. I once again........for 5 years....got "skunked".
So, the next day I had to drop Leah off at work at 5:00 P.M., and she had to work until 10:00 P.M. I needed to go into work to catch up on all of my paperwork and proposals, but I had an itch that needed to be scratched. I WANT TO CATCH A STEELHEAD!!!!!
I went back out to the river, but many of the good holes had people fishing in them. I wanted to be alone. I found a hidden turn off, and found a couple of promising holes. You are looking for areas that have some rushing water going into the deep holes. The Steelhead are usually at the tail end of the whitewater. The Salmon are usually in the deep slow water. I fished one hole....nothing......second hole....nothing.....thought about leaving, but I heard some other rushing water down river and decided to check it out. It was a long long walk, but it was worth it, because I caught this...............
He fought me for about 15 minutes, and I was able to tire him out and land him. It is hard landing fish like these alone, because they tend to flop around a lot and could easily take your pole down river. I got him unhooked, and took this picture. I went to release him, but he kept flipping around and hitting his head on the rocks. He made it into the water, but went on his side and started floating on the surface down stream. I was thinking to myself. "CRAP!!! I killed this poor innocent fish!!" Since I don't eat meat, and don't need him for food, I released him. So did Greg. But I didn't want him to DIE!! I watched his side go down river, and he disappeared behind a large rock. I walked down there to see if he regained consciousness. Nope. He was on his side, in a small pool near the bank. I put him on his side, and petted his head. Yup....PETTED a huge wild fish in a river in the middle of nowhere. Talk about a spiritual relationship! He kept looking at me, opening his mouth a little. I massaged his sides and moved him back and forth. He then moved his muscles a bit in my hands........I let go..........and he slowly turned around and swam away. What a day!!!!!!!
Here is where I was, fishing, along, drinking Coors out of a can, and at peace...........on the mighty Wilson.
1 comment:
Beautiful pictures, well told story. I've got tears in my eyes over a fish.
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