Tough start to the season

yesterday me and a few friends took a day trip to a small stream int he coast range for opening day,we ended up doing alot of hiking to scout out new water,it was brutal but we did find some cool new spots. The water was moving pretty fast still and the fish were not very willing but i managed to catch two pretty little cutties and i hooked two others that didn't stay hooked and also missed a few bites and one of my buddies  caught one fish and hooked another.  It was a rough trip for me. my hat cam failed witch ruined my short film,a drop of water  screwed up my only fish pic of the day i managed to take before said camera failure and i lost almost all of my nymphs and indicators somehow plus my tippet..also lost my net. despite all of the screw ups it was still a fun day hanging out and catching a few trout also watched a huge march brown hatch come off in several stretches. here are the very few pics i managed to take before the cam failure

Andrew trying to entice fish to bite his nymphs

andrew re-rigging

upstream view

failure of a fish pic

Oregon coast winter steelhead On the fly

small coastal stream

Today i headed to a small stream in the coast range with my buddy to catch and release wild winter  steelhead on the fly (or try at least)  sadly as i feared the upper river had already cleared for the most part and i knew it was going to be a difficult day of fishing so we set off to start at the last hole ebfore tidewater and worked our way up. At last pool above tidewater i ended up getting a nice fat searun cutthroat on the swing, he fought damn good considering i was using an 8wt rod. after that we headed upriver and hit pullouts  without any luck until we hit the lower part of the upper river  (does that make any sense?) we came to a spot that was deep and fast with alot of converging currents, i figured there were no fish to be had but brad seemed to think so.. he was right. on first cast  with one of his custom steelhead jigs (he gear fishes) there was a bobber down, a chrome flash and then gone.. this was the first steelhead brad had ever lost. after fishing that same area for a while we in worked our way upriver, missing a few  hits but nothing sticking. we headed to the upper river knowing it was clear but hoping to find fish. after a few fishless clear holes we found it. a nice walking speed run shaded all day and not pressured by anyone. Brad hooks a fish on the first cast But breaks off while im trying to land it (wrapped the line around my legs) i sat for a minute while brad re rigs i decide to  pick up my rod and try a few casts. first cast was crappy,but got it out there, then on the second cast it happened. towards the end of my drift my line went tight,indicator was gone and i had a fish on. for the first five minutes of the fight he stuck to the bottom and used his weight like a big old chinook. then i finally gained on the fish, it saw brad and went nuts, the fight really began. 3 sets of rapids and one river mile.this fish wanted off my line.. my reel was screaming and my rod was bent. i didnt know how much more my 10lb test leader could take. i stumbled through the fast and cold water up to the top of my chest waders keeping my line tight and following close behind the fish with my heart pounding and my arm aching as it attempted to snap my line by putting my leader under a rock.. it  shot through two more pools after that and when i looked back for my buddy he wasnt there..around 2 minutes later he came around the corner and replied with "i fell in the water twice " the fish tried to head down more fast water but eventually it tired and we got a hold of its tail.This fish was estimated to be 18-20lbs. took a pic and sent him to the river to go do his thing with the ladies. this was a fish of a lifetime and i will never forget it. i worked hard for my first season hiking probably 20+ miles total along coastal rivers and losing my 6 first fish.  This leaves me excited for next season.  for those who don't know, wild fish are very important and should be handled with as much care as possible while being cradled for a pic and you should always revive them after a long battle. 

my very first winter steelhead on the fly,a fish of  a lifetime.

coastal steelhead fly fishing

Another scenic skunking for winter steelhead in the coast range.. i failed to hook  fish today that were willing to bite, even though the water was cold and quite clear in the upper river there were one or two fish willing to bite, although we did fish dozens of very nice looking runs that did not have any takers..
it was kind of a rough day. Ive hooked 5 fish this year and had multiple missed strikes but haven't been able to land one, closest i have been (twice) i went to tail the fish and it spit the hook..inches from my hand grabbing it's tail then gone... really leaves a bad taste in my mouth very frustrated but ive been told that is good for a first winter steelhead on the fly season, this just leaves me hungry for a winter steelhead..i will be prepared next year, with more knowledge and confidence. on the other hand i saw stoneflies crawling inches from the shore, cutthroat eating mayflies off the top.. and i even had to go down to a t shirt because it got so warm. spring is around the corner and im ready for trout

                             

steelhead fishing on the coast

sunday we headed to the coast range for a bit of steelhead fishing, i ended up hooking two dead drifting egg patterns under and indicator but they both came off sadly, i taught my dad how to bobber fish because he is new to steelhead fishing and he got good at it pretty quick, at the end of the day i swung a few flies through a tailout hoping to get the fish resting in it to take my pink moal leech,the fly didn't go very deep because it didn't need to, the tailout was quite shallow and the fly was right in the fishes face but they would not commit (im new to swinging so my casts were short,sloppy and i may have mended my line a few to many times, but a few of the swings i made looked pretty darn good!  i just think the fish were spooked because we were walking around, i would have creeped down to the water if i knew they were there ahead of time, im about done with winter steelhead for the year and gearing up for trout season, redsides and cutthroat are staring to gobble flies in the mid/south valley streams, i hope to visit a smaller one that has very little pressure soon. ill have pictures/video up when i return





Brandon