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A rookies log.

65K views 930 replies 65 participants last post by  Mumbles 
#1 ·
So I think I have finally figured out that the reason I have not caught a Steelhead yet in the past 3 years I have been trying is due to my lack of commitment.
I am now going to log and document everything I learn here on this thread and maybe perhaps someone who needs help one day can look here. So here we go.

I live in Monroe. Therefore, my home water is the Sky. Today I decided to spend the day driving up and down between Monroe and Reiter to look for good access points and good runs to fish. When I finally got to the river here in Monroe I found that the river was REALLY high. So looking around for details in the water was right out the window. I still managed to look hard for obvious pull outs and stuff where I can park my car. Perhaps studying GPS would help in finding hidden access points too? I brought my 11 year old daughter along with me also because if I can not be a successful angler I may as well give this new generation a chance. Her and I went all the way up to Reiter and found some steelhead in the ladders. Her and I got so excited and pumped.
I have also started reading some steelhead books. The current book I am reading is called " A steelheader's way", by Lani Waller. This book is really amazing and is very well written, and am looking forward to my next book purchase.
Well there you go fellas. I am sorry if this is a boring thread but I think this would be a fun experience and I would also like to make some friends here. Putting myself out there I guess you could say.
 
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#198 ·
I would like this thread to be informative and drama free
I have been watching this thread since you started it and just hoping you catch your first steelhead. I am also a rookie when it comes to this, so seeing someone post their own 'rookie' concerns is very helpful and takes guts. Just get out on the river whenever you have a chance. As my father says, "you're not going to catch any fish if your line isn't wet."
 
#200 ·
Fellow rookies,

During our time with learning, and soaking as much information as possible, I would like to touch the topic of conservation. I feel that by maintaining this little project thread, I am doing my part in promoting the sport, art, religion whatever you want to call it. I thought to myself that the more people that get interested in this stuff the higher the risk of local conservation gets affected negatively. I can not stress enough that I feel that it is important to practice catch and release fishing. Although it is legal to keep a hatchery fish here and there, I would like all of you fellow rookies to go out there knowing that what we enjoy today may not be enjoyable tomorrow for our children, and children's children.
 
#209 ·
Fellow rookies,

During our time with learning, and soaking as much information as possible, I would like to touch the topic of conservation. I feel that by maintaining this little project thread, I am doing my part in promoting the sport, art, religion whatever you want to call it. I thought to myself that the more people that get interested in this stuff the higher the risk of local conservation gets affected negatively. I can not stress enough that I feel that it is important to practice catch and release fishing. Although it is legal to keep a hatchery fish here and there, I would like all of you fellow rookies to go out there knowing that what we enjoy today may not be enjoyable tomorrow for our children, and children's children.
Conservation and releasing hatchery fish?
 
#201 ·
Also, the last four times I have been out on both the Skykomish, and Stilly, I have seen a lot of garbage. I highly suggest bringing with you a grocery bag and not only pack your garbage out but others as well. I know we should not have to do it but it is our responsibility. So coming from a new angler myself, I can see that there really is a bigger picture than you think when you are getting into this. I saw a few kids throwing away beer cans by burying them under the sand. I walked up to them with a smile and offered to grab there trash for them, and also handed them a spare trash bag too. After I gave them there own I saw them an hour later picking up a few things on there own.
 
G
#203 ·
Attn Rookies,

In the next few days I will be helping those who are always looking for a spot to fish. I will be throwing out some coordinates of some locations I have found on my own. Granted I will be keeping some to myself though. Some of these locations I have found with the help of Golfman who has been a great contributor.
I highly reccomend not posting chit on interwebz. If u want ur spots blown go ajead.

Iys onething to take someone to a spot and fish it with them.
 
#207 ·
Daniel,

It's OK. Everyone makes mistakes. Smart people learn from their mistakes. I'm a pretty intelligent guy. Just imagine all the mistakes I've made!

A word or two about sharing fishing locations, or fishing intel as it's sometimes referred to. That is called "kiss and tell" fishing, or fish and tell, more accurately. Here's the scoop on that topic, distilled from decades of real life real time experience of thousands of conscientious anglers.

If you, all on your own, discover or happen upon a spot that you determine is a good place to fish, you are entitled to share information about that spot with whomever you wish. You can even post about it on the internet, although you should think about just how many hundreds or thousands of people you're sharing that info with, and how many of them you would like to see standing in that very spot the next time you go there to fish it.

For example, early in my steelhead fly fishing career I was driving and prowling around the NF Stilly and discovered the WDFW access parking lot to the Fortson Hole. I parked and walked down the trail to the river and determined that it was a pretty good place to fish (and in 1972 it was!). By the written and unwritten rules of the International Order of Anglers I can share that knowledge with anyone, and I have, since it turned out that Fortson was an extremely popular and well known hatchery blood hole often written about in newspapers and fishing rags.

Then there's places like the ****** Hole on another river that a fishing friend showed me, the side road that leads to a small parking spot, and the not so easy to follow trail through the woods and across a slough to get to a nice long run that fishes well. As a matter of tradition, respect, angling friendship, and common sense when you come to understand it, I cannot, will not, show or tell about to any other person that location without first obtaining permission from the friend who first showed it to me. This does not prevent dissemination of fishing location information, but it controls the rate at which it is spread around.

If you think what I've written above is weird or strange in any way, I suggest you read Cuponoodle Breakfast's post. The number of rivers in WA state had not increased in the last century or millenium. However the state's human population has nearly tripled in the last 40 years. The finite number of good fishing holes is getting smaller, not larger. No angler of experience and integrity ever shares location intel with a kiss and tell fisherman out of obvious self interest.

And the above doesn't even touch the topic of the self satisfaction derived from making personal discoveries.

Sg
 
#213 ·
Does anyone know if there is a forecast for Steelhead numbers this year. To be clear I am wanting to know if there is an organization that estimates a certain number of fish that are going to be returning to the river systems during this season. Does anyone know the forecast or where I can find it?
 
#216 ·
Daniel,

No pre-season runsize forecasts are made for summer steelhead as they are for winter steelhead. Probably because the treaty fishing focus on winter steelhead necessitates a court-mandated management plan with a run forecast for allocating harvest between treaty and non-treaty fishing. Summer steelhead don't rise to the same threshold of interest. On the Columbia, treaty fishing occurs above Bonneville, so steelhead numbers are known as they pass the dam. Doesn't really matter much since harvest and fishing is limited by impacts to wild steelhead, so again, a pre-season forecast just isn't necessary for management.

Sg
 
#218 ·
Life is getting in the way of fishing right now. Got a new job and need to take care of other responsibilities for a while. I may not be around on this thread for a while. Until then, I ask other new rookies out there to utilize this thread to add there experiences,concerns, and questions. Thanks for all the help everyone.
 
#219 ·
I am a fellow rookie, and I caught my first steelhead today, although it was on conventional gear. It did raise a concern, however: those puppies can FIGHT. I have never tangled with a fish that tough on a flyrod. It's gonna be one heck of a ride, but it might be a few hookups before a total newb like me gets one to shore! (assuming, of course, I get those hookups) :D
 
#220 ·
I am a fellow rookie, and I caught my first steelhead today, although it was on conventional gear. It did raise a concern, however: those puppies can FIGHT. I have never tangled with a fish that tough on a flyrod. It's gonna be one heck of a ride, but it might be a few hookups before a total newb like me gets one to shore! (assuming, of course, I get those hookups) :D
Dude I am so happy for you. Can you contribute more detail as what type of water you caught this fish. Other noobs would benefit by understanding more about what kind of water to look for. Ie, clarity, depth, any obstructions?
 
#229 ·
So what reel and rod did you buy?
I've heard those versi-tip lines can be difficult to cast with a single hander.
Well we are surely going to see. The feedback has been mixed for sure. It is not anything special, I bought a Redington pursuit 8 wt rod, and sage 1800 series reel. Like I said its not as extravagant like a sage or anything but I really fell in love with the blank, and action. I really liked the looks of the Voyant but that just felt terrible to me.
 
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