Then a lull... awaiting opener...
I spent opener day getting out-fished by Ken =).
My landing ratio needed some work, as I was losing 4x the number of fish I was hooking. In hindsight, old line was to blame.
Returning for more action on Monday, I learned that steelhead will go out of their way to chomp on a spinner
My favourite fish of them all:
Some more:
And a male sucker in spawning colours:
As the fish thinned, more walking was required to find fish, but fish we did find.
Whipping a spinner through a pool, laying eyes on aggressive steelies chasing your lure down only to demolish it never gets old. On 15 lb line and 9 ft salmon rod the fights were furious and the splashing cooled me down in the beating sun.
My record time for landing a steelhead was 3 seconds: 1) Fish chomps on spinner 2) Fish jumps straight up 3) Fish is pulled out of the air and onto the bank!
This was definitely two weeks to remember! 21-23 fish landed and countless lost. Being only my 2nd trout opener, I have a lot to look forward to. Fabulous fighters, beautiful fish. Will miss them... and can't wait for next year.