Signs of Spring

It might sound funny to say its starting to feel like spring when there is still alot of snow on the ground and its currently 26 degrees outside, but to the steelheader the signs are more obvious. Starting in February I start watching river levels like a hawk, hoping for a few days of snow melt or rain to bump the water up and get the first few fish of "spring" moving into the rivers. A couple weeks ago we had a few days with highs getting in to the 40's and it caused some significant snow melt. Rivers never really blew out, but they came up a foot or two and had alot of color. We happened to be floating a river a few weeks ago when the river was still too high and dirty to fish effectively. It stunk for that day but we hoped it would mean some good fishing for the next few weeks.
Last weekend was the first of our exploratory missions to see what the high water brought in to the rivers. It was cold with heavy snow all day, and as is usually the case with winter fishing we had the river to ourselves. We started off fishing a few pieces of staging water that we figured were probably a little too fast and choppy to hold fish this time of year but are always worth a try and sometimes can produce hookups. We fished without any takers and decided to make our way down to some more classic winter holding water. Right about this time the snow started to pick up....

We worked our way down the run without any luck until we came to the very bottom. Jeff drifted his flies tight along a submerged stump and when the indy dropped he thought he was stuck. To both of our surprises his hookset was met with a few big pulls and then the fish tore off downstream into the pocket water. We chased the fish as quickly as we could through some tough to wade water and finally got her stopped just before entering the next deep pool. I was able to tail the fish and Jeff's first steelhead of 2011 was in the bag.

Releasing her to continue her spawning mission...

Needless to say we were both excited to see such a fresh fish. We fished a few more pieces of staging water and again found nothing. However, the next piece of winter water we hit produced another hookup for Jeff. This fish was a little smaller than the first and didn't really do a whole lot besides trying his hardest not to leave his deep lair. I was able to tail him fairly quick and just like that fish number two was in hand. Beautiful colors on this buck...

And a mugshot before release...

Two fish in the first few hours was really encouraging. However, we the action came to a quick halt as we fished several choice runs over the next few hours without anymore action. Meanwhile the snow continued to come down hard.


With only a little bit of light left we decided to hoof it downstream to a deep run that has given up winter fish in the past. Since Jeff already had two fish he told me to go first and I was really hoping I could pull out a fish in the last run of the day. I fished it hard top to bottom and couldn't find any love. Just when I was ready to reel it in and call it a day my bobber dropped hard at the tailout and I was into a heavy fish. Several times she threatened to take me into the wood pile but I was able to steer her into open water each time. Finally she was spent and Jeff tailed her as I got her into some shallow water. This dime hen ate a hex nymph and is why I love that final half hour of light we call the twilight bite.

And back to the drink...

Needless to say I was on cloud nine and we both started the trek back to the truck with big grins on our faces. It was a beautiful snowy day, we had complete solitude, and three steelhead were brought to hand....pretty much the perfect winters day! Back at the truck we cracked a couple micro brews to celebrate!

Sunday was much warmer and sunny so I decided to fish a couple hours in the evening on a piece of water a little closer to home. Despite having the stretch of river to myself and perfect water conditions I couldn't find any players, one small rainbow on a black stonefly was all I could muster. This river had a miserable fall run which translated in to a waste of time this winter. So far I think it's safe to say its steelhead numbers are still virtually non-existant but that could change very quickly.
Yesterday I fished with my dad and Jeff and we hoped to find some of the success we had the week before. As much as we all want it to be spring the 36 degree water and more falling snow proved we are still very much in the grips of winter. The first spot we fished, a spot that we use as an indicator to see if fish are in spring staging water, gave us the goose egg, so we all assumed it would be mostly fishing winter water for the rest of the day. As we walked down to our first winter hole we came up to my favorite piece of staging water in the river. Its 3 to 5 feet deep with a fast broken chute down the middle and a slower seam on either side. Most people walk by it, but if you fish it hard and nail the drift it can pay some serious dividends. Working my way down towards the bottom I wasn't surprised not to have hooked any fish because I thought the water was still too cold for this type of spot. Just then I had a run away bobber and I set into a hot chrome fish. We played tug of war for a few minutes and I followed the fish downstream. Jeff was below me and once I got it into softer water he was able to tail her. A half hour into the day and the skunk is off with this dime hen.

Going back into the water to continue her upstream journey...

Way cool to have a fish in hand so early into the day and also happy to see fish are holding in some more diverse water. I walked right back to where I hooked the hen and within about 10 drifts I had another run away bobber. This fish went totally nuts when hooked and ran upstream all the way to my backing knot before jumping out of the water and crashing down about 10 feet from my dad. He quickly turned and faced back downstream and I frantically stripped line to try and get on tight on him again. This battle took me downstream into the next pool before I stopped him and got his head turned. I was able to get the fish on a shallow sand bar and Jeff tailed him. A big winter buck that looks as though he has been cruising the gravel for chicks already.

And another successful release...

Both fish ate a small parr pattern on the seam of fast and slow water. Needless to say we all thought the river had blown up with fish and that we were going to be in for a treat for the rest of the day. WRONG! Minutes after I released my fish my dad hooked a fish in the same slot the other two came from but it came unbuttoned after about 30 seconds. It was hooked in the dorsal fin though, so who knows what happened? Other than that, Jeff had one very brief hookup that he wasn't even 100% sure was a steelhead, and my dad hit a small brown right at the end of the day. We all believe the bite turned off when around noon the temps dropped by a few degrees and a stiff wind picked up. It was like a switch...three hookups in the first hour and then as soon as that little front hit the river went dead. Oh well, I certainly am not going to complain about a hen/buck combo....especially on a day when the action was extremely limited. Already dreaming about next weekend.....