Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Low water and tight spots!

Low Water and Tricky Fish....

With the extremely low water, the fish are finding tough spots to hole up in. I had the pleasure of being out with Matt G. this monday, a client who has graced this blog with smallmouth pictures this spring. We had a headlamp early start, and began hiking down river. We caught a few here and there when we came upon this area. We both saw this bucket, and knew that fish would be holding in it. But would it be worth even trying to hook one?
As you can see, the tree lays over the entire hole, which is about 3 and 1/2 feet deep. There is about 6 feet in front of the log, and other 8 or so behind it. The gap between the log and the rock below Matt is about 8 inches. This spot held maybe 6 fish in it, so it was awfully tempting. Matt threw several casts in it, and kept managing to get his line threaded through the mess in a half decent drift. It is some of the best fishing I have seen in years.... Below is a clip featuring a client from a couple of days ago releasing a fish, and Matt threading a fish through the trees!



Above is the SECOND fish Matt pulled out of that same hole... Unbelievable. Below was the first fish he pulled out of it... An amazing bit of angling. On a side note, Matt also rose a fish to a dry that same day.



I just love underwater cameras! A steelie waiting for the release in the net.

Can you say low water conditions?

Despite how tough it was this weekend, fish we still cooperative.

Well, now it is time to get back at the vice, and break out the rain dances!!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Beware of "Steelie Pumpkin"

This is the season, and we have had one filled with ups and downs! The water levels have been all over, from low and clear to up and raging. It seems the creeks can't make up their mind. From a guiding perspective, there is nothing more frustrating. It is not just low and clear water that makes it tough... at times it can be just finding fish. That said, most days we have been getting it done. Here is some fish porn from the past couple of weeks.


Note the clear water above... been pretty much the norm...

A nice buck taken in fast water

Wild baby steelhead anyone? There was tons of water last fall, spring and summer, allowing some rare natural reproduction... Don't get too excited, conditions don't allow for this often, but there is a limited amount.

And last but not least, a bit of shakey video!



This fish cut off at the last minute, but gave a nice tussel in between!!