Glad I got out while I had the chance.....

Didn’t do the best in English.

Only had the time to make 5 trips for winters this year (so far). But the five trips paid off well. First trip was on a local stream which was in late December. I went 0-1 on steel, but released a nice dollie a fish I've never seen in this system before. buddy drew released a nice 5lb. nate and we both c&r'ed a s load of bright chum that we would of kept for roe. But they were spitting eggs.

Second, third and fourth trip was out on the coast. First I hit a river on the southern coast that I haven't fished before. First fish came after a half hour of fishing and finally found a delicious looking hole. 5 cast in my bobber goes down! I start reeling up the many feet of line out because i had a knot in my line and had just got it out. Thinking I was snagged on the bottom I set the hook anyways. And head shakes galore followed by run after run after run after run. I said to my buddy this is a big fish!!! after about ten minutes of run and gain the big buck finally allowed my buddy to tail it (hatchery fish). After shoring the fish and saying THATS A 15 POUNDER! We weighed it and it came out to 13 lbs. 8 ounces. Biggest hatch steelhead I've caught to date. Man I was pumped! While I was retying drew passed through the same hole about 15 times or so then moved upstream. I then made 5 passes through and on the fifth pass two feet or so below the first bobber down it went down again! This time I was on top of my bobber. Nothing special this time just a six pound spawned out hatch hen.

Second day Drew and I met up with Dan and Drew went on the boat with Dan while I parked the trailer and went and fished the bank. Man I'll probably never bank fish this river during the winter again do to the amount of bank fishermen shiait is just not my thing. I fished all day trying to come up with a fish and I really had to work for it. I fished everything I had and finally through on a night crawler and third cast nailed a sweet chrome 11 pound buck that took probably 15-20 minutes to bring in do to the deep hole I was fishing.

Trip number 5 was wynoochie with drew and was with Shawn a super cool dude with a willy boat. Wanted to get sand shrimp but Monte Square was sold out. But I a hand full of cured sand shrimp witch will come in handy later in the trip. So Shawn let drew and I do what we do for half the float and I was only able to put a 13inch cutt to the boat. We saw a few fish caught from other boats. Half way through we banked the boat and did a little bank fishing. Then Shawn suggested we pull some divers with the cured shrimp. I said I was for it because we hadn’t hooked anything with our techniques. Drew had just paid out line for the diver and set it ( diver thing is new to me + second time on a drift boat). He then hands it over to me while he is paying line out on his rod. 20 seconds after he hands it to me the rod starts going crazy and I look back at Shawn and he says man that’s a fish!!! I’m like do I set the hook or what. So I set the hook and the fish comes upstream so fast I can’t keep up with it! And as soon as it gets up under the boat it pops off. So now I’m hooked on bait divers. Cause 5 boats and we fished the same run that this fish was sitting in! It was getting late so we blasted through to the next nice run and set out the divers again and set the rods in the holders. Halfway through the run I ask Shawn what a bite looks like and he just finished telling me and the rod goes whomp…..whomp…whomp.whomp.whomp.whomp. And I grab it and pull up fish on!
Landed probably the last summer run in the river, Drew picks it up and its spewing milk all over me ( god dang). Saw some nice fish that day one 14 pounder that the dude said was 17 until we offered to weigh it.

I didn't get very good pictures. sorry.

Can’t wait for the next time. Might be a week or so looking at the weather.

Good luck to guys and be safe!

Bunker

	Author	Topic: Glad I got out while I had the chance..... (Read 390 times)
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