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Steelhead fishermen are true gentlemen - Swimmy's TR

24K views 287 replies 68 participants last post by  The Drifter 
#1 ·
In preparation for my trip this week to the OP, I'm trying to get mentally prepared for the shenanigans that take place on steelhead rivers. Fishing in Montana can get a little crowded at times but I've never really had any issues. For some reason though, whenever steelhead and/or salmon enter a stream, it has a tendency to bring out some rather odd behavior.

What are some of your favorite experiences that have occurred while chasing the ghost? I've certainly seen my share of low holing, hole hoggin', anglers jumping in your water, etc but I'm sure y'all have seen some funnier shit.

I will first post this as it is just funny...and sad. I'm sure some of you have seen it but if so always worth another view.

 
#4 ·
Don't be the that spey guy who thinks yiu own the run from top to bottom.

You will find that 98% of the fly guides who runs pins/bobbers will attempt to row out of the water away from your swing barring there is no hazards.

The majority of people on the op even gear guys with clients act appropriatel, although there is some dooshers.

A couple things I find to help

1. Lower you are in the system, the higher the amount of people
2. Watch the other spey tards, if there casting is good or a guide is with them, pencils it in
3. Watch the bobbers boys, there is reason there side drifting
4. If you will only swing your allowing yourself to fish only 25% or less of your 8+ mile float
5. Be courteous you never know who you might run into on the river, perhaps a legend, or the editor of drake, and product manager of yiur favorite comoany.
6. Just be cause there is 6 guys In the eagle nest, don't blow by. Step in line and swing. Your winter steelhead fishing not fishing holding water where summer runs stack up. These fish are moving with a purpose. Whether your the first in the spey train or umpteenth the only thing that matters is who's fly wandered in front of the steelhead that took It
7. Don't be surprised when everyone in the run cheers
 
#238 ·
[QUOTE="TotezMcFloatz, post: 1012909, member: 82374"


1. Lower you are in the system, the higher the amount of people
2. Watch the other spey tards, if there casting is good or a guide is with them, pencils it in
3. Watch the bobbers boys, there is reason there side drifting
4. If you will only swing your allowing yourself to fish only 25% or less of your 8+ mile float
5. Be courteous you never know who you might run into on the river, perhaps a legend, or the editor of drake, and product manager of yiur favorite comoany.
6. Just be cause there is 6 guys In the eagle nest, don't blow by. Step in line and swing. Your winter steelhead fishing not fishing holding water where summer runs stack up. These fish are moving with a purpose. Whether your the first in the spey train or umpteenth the only thing that matters is who's fly wandered in front of the steelhead that took It"



I can personally vouch for #6, I patiently waited for another guy to finish swinging eagle nest, he said he'd followed three others. I swung through, nothing. My buddy swinging behind me, nothing. Nobody behind us so I stepped in at the top again, halfway down, Yahtzee!!
After landing my fish, my buddy continues down the run, 5 minutes later, fish on!
 
#6 ·
This is vacation for me. I try to avoid contentious situations as I do not enjoy that. I do think some get off on "playing the game."

One year we were on the Bogey, 2 boats in our group. We pulled over and 4 of us were swinging a run above the hatchery. We hadn't been there for 10 minutes and a gear guide pulling plugs floats right through "our" water...to the point that one of our guys hits his boat with his fly.

The guide doesn't even flinch, gets to the bottom of the run, rows back about halfway up the run, and drops anchor. I couldn't believe it.

Well one of the guys in our group doesn't put up with that kind of shit and decides to get in his boat and rows right out on top of the guides lines. The guide starts yelling "hey were fishing here." My buddy turns to him, calls him out, and tells him if he gets in our way one more time he's gonna beat his ass in front of his clients.

I was so embarrassed. But that guide stayed clear and didn't fuck with us the rest of the day. Bill told me you have to stand up for yourself or you will get run over. Part of "the game."

I don't like that game.
 
#7 ·
I wouldn't drive from Montana to fish the OP. Hell, I wouldn't bother to make the drive from central washington. To far to go to deal tons of assholes and a handful of fish.
 
#9 ·
You are right, most people you encounter are good folks trying to get lucky...just like you. But like always, it is the assholes you remember.

Another time we were on the Bogey fishing the Eagle Tree run (or Eagle's Nest whatever it is called.) We had just hopped in and three of us were spread out swinging. A fly guide floated right through where we were fishing with two clients fishing under indicators. They were so close I could smell their perfume.

The dude in the back hooks up right in front of me and I will never forget yells "STUCK THAT FUCKER." I just laughed. The guide goes to grab the bonk stick, they play the fish out, get him into the net, but it was a small one so they let it go.

I was rather annoyed thinking that could have been my fish. 10 minutes later in the tail out though I swing up a 15 lb native, my first on the swing. I thought what great karma.

Stuck that fucker became our battle cry that year.
 
#17 ·
lulz. You must have been looking for conflict that day for them to low hole you. What was the reaction when you started playing fetch with the dog?

Two years ago we were on the Hoh. It was 60 and sunny, fishing was slow. We come around the corner and there is a guide teaching a client how to spey cast. The river was skinny and we pulled over and started walking the boat on the inside of the guide so not to disturb his water.

He laughed and told us next run float right down the middle and get the damn fish moving. I liked his suggestion.
 
#16 ·
I used to gear fish just below the clay banks hole on the Elwha; it was a very popular spot for folks and could be productive. It was shoulder to shoulder but never saw a problem. Someone would hook a fish and yell "fish on" and folks would reel up and let him land and bonk it.

Nowadays I don't care for that kind of fishing, the shoulder to shoulder kind. The last time I drove up to the Methow, there were 8 or 9 cars parked at the Miller Hole. Thankfully my buddy and I were able to find a run where there were just the two of us.

Have fun on the OP!
 
#23 ·
Agreed and that is much more my style. Someone low holes me while we are floating, I tend to pull over and let them go ahead. I hate contention. I get enough of that shit at work and sure don't want it while I'm fishing.

Thread needs more stories. Anyone seen a fight on the water?
 
#24 · (Edited)
Before I landed my first steelhead on the fly, I was fishing an eastern Washington stream for steelhead. I can't remember the name. It's never been mentioned on this site. I think they might've had a fire there this last year, though.

Anyway, I was on day two of a fishless 3 day trip and just finishing swinging a tail out (though I wouldn't have known the name of that stream feature at the time), when off in the distance a rusted truck pulls over to the side of the highway. The truck door slams shut and in 10 seconds I see a man wearing jeans and holding a spinning rod bust through the bushes and take off at a dead run towards the next run down from me. 50 yards and 7 seconds later, he's making his first and only cast with a spinner. he hooks a steelhead, yards it in, hits it on the head with a rock, sprints back to the truck, throws the fish in the bed, gets in, and speeds off. Couldn't have been more than 3 minutes from truck engine off, to truck engine on.

I hadn't made it down to the next run yet, so I wasn't technically low-holed. I spent the rest of the day and the next day fishing, listening for trucks, and questioning my self worth.
 
#29 ·
Lots of guys with spinners, on E. Wa rivers, will make you look like your wasting your time with a flyrod. I've never had a great "touch" with the spinner, but I have a buddy who does and I have seen others. I'm really not competitive, but I've walked away feeling like I was wasting my time fishing behind a spinning rod, in the fall, in Eastern WA.

Magic shit I tell you.
 
#25 ·
When I lived there I only fished the "S" rivers. If you like crowds and fish shoulder to shoulder, you should witness Fortson hole on opening day or Reiter ponds. I always stayed home on Opening day. I never liked crowds when I fish. Or at the Mouth of the Samish River. It's a wonder that nobody gets shot as most people carry when they Steelhead. Guns have been pulled at Reiter.
 
#36 ·
Had a pretty good one last year on the OP. It was my last day of a 5 day bender so I was feeling good and decided to walk into a run rather than float all day. Get down to a nice piece of water and start at the white water. For me the beauty of walking in is that I end up fishing a run way harder than if I have the option to jump in the raft and just cruise down to the next bucket. Start in tight and slowly work out some line until I'm stepping down every cast. Not long after that 2 guys roll up in a drifter thats looks straight out of NASCAR. They seem cool and come in nice and tight since the middle of the run is the good part. I smile and say hello.

"Mind if we fish the back of the run?"

"No problem, I'm just working down."

"Okay, thanks."

All seems right int he world. I would have liked to have the entire run to myself but hey, its the OP and I'm not gonna horde it. Then it happens. Before they are 10' past the end of my line they row out to the middle of the river and drop anchor about 10' inside a nice bolder I was about 5 steps from hitting(best part of the run). I'm thinking they are just re-rigging so I take a couple casts without a step to kill some time until they move. Plenty of run below them, maybe another 200' worth with a really nice outside.

As soon as they guy anchors up he jumps up on the seat and whistles and waves upstream. WTF?

I look up and here come 4 more drift boats in a tight pack. Seems odd but whatever. As they get closer I see 2 of the boats have cameras. Not go-pro style cameras, but TV style ones.

One boat stops about 15' straight in front of me. The other drifts down below the guys anchored in the middle of the run. The 3rd boat has a big dry box. He pulls over mid-run and lugs the box onto the gravel bar and starts to open it up and unpack all sorts of crap. Last boat parks next to NASCAR guy and the guy in front has a head set and starts giving orders.

By now I'm just standing there about 10' out into the river roll casting because I don't even have a place to throw a cast. Just kind of watching the show!

After a few minutes of hustle and bustle I hear the whirrrrrrr of one of those drone copter deals. Well, that kind of kills the OP feel.

Then homeboy who asked if he could fish the back of the run turns to camera A and starts talking about how great the OP wilderness is, how amazing a place it is to fish, and then starts into his technique.

I wasn't really pissed since I had a couple fish that week and was happy. I was just truly amazed that somebody who knew what was up was such an ass about it. At least be honest and say you want to shoot a TV show right there. Shit, maybe even let me fish through first. I decided to go hit another run but just as I'm reeling in homeboy starts to talk about what a great spot the boulder is and lets see if we can get a fish out of there. I can't resist. I take a baseball sized rock and toss it right in there.

"Your right dude, I think I just saw one rise!" as I walk off.

Karma did pay off as I got my best fish out of the other run I hit on my way out. Right at a boat ramp. With nobody around.
 
#37 ·
Had a pretty good one last year on the OP. It was my last day of a 5 day bender so I was feeling good and decided to walk into a run rather than float all day. Get down to a nice piece of water and start at the white water. For me the beauty of walking in is that I end up fishing a run way harder than if I have the option to jump in the raft and just cruise down to the next bucket. Start in tight and slowly work out some line until I'm stepping down every cast. Not long after that 2 guys roll up in a drifter thats looks straight out of NASCAR. They seem cool and come in nice and tight since the middle of the run is the good part. I smile and say hello.

"Mind if we fish the back of the run?"

"No problem, I'm just working down."

"Okay, thanks."

All seems right int he world. I would have liked to have the entire run to myself but hey, its the OP and I'm not gonna horde it. Then it happens. Before they are 10' past the end of my line they row out to the middle of the river and drop anchor about 10' inside a nice bolder I was about 5 steps from hitting(best part of the run). I'm thinking they are just re-rigging so I take a couple casts without a step to kill some time until they move. Plenty of run below them, maybe another 200' worth with a really nice outside.

As soon as they guy anchors up he jumps up on the seat and whistles and waves upstream. WTF?

I look up and here come 4 more drift boats in a tight pack. Seems odd but whatever. As they get closer I see 2 of the boats have cameras. Not go-pro style cameras, but TV style ones.

One boat stops about 15' straight in front of me. The other drifts down below the guys anchored in the middle of the run. The 3rd boat has a big dry box. He pulls over mid-run and lugs the box onto the gravel bar and starts to open it up and unpack all sorts of crap. Last boat parks next to NASCAR guy and the guy in front has a head set and starts giving orders.

By now I'm just standing there about 10' out into the river roll casting because I don't even have a place to throw a cast. Just kind of watching the show!

After a few minutes of hustle and bustle I hear the whirrrrrrr of one of those drone copter deals. Well, that kind of kills the OP feel.

Then homeboy who asked if he could fish the back of the run turns to camera A and starts talking about how great the OP wilderness is, how amazing a place it is to fish, and then starts into his technique.

I wasn't really pissed since I had a couple fish that week and was happy. I was just truly amazed that somebody who knew what was up was such an ass about it. At least be honest and say you want to shoot a TV show right there. Shit, maybe even let me fish through first. I decided to go hit another run but just as I'm reeling in homeboy starts to talk about what a great spot the boulder is and lets see if we can get a fish out of there. I can't resist. I take a baseball sized rock and toss it right in there.

"Your right dude, I think I just saw one rise!" as I walk off.

Karma did pay off as I got my best fish out of the other run I hit on my way out. Right at a boat ramp. With nobody around.
That is the funniest thing I've read on the webs today and in spirit with the intent of the thread. Thanks for the laugh, I will be sharing this with a couple buddies.
 
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