Fishing Steelhead

                                                          

I start this story off by saying I’m know up to par good fisherman. So you have to take it as someone starting out. I have fished for steelhead three times in my life before. Last year I caught seven or eight steelhead and that could be a fish story.

My friend called me up and said that the steelhead are on the move, and that last year was a good gear and this year was going to be three times better.

Now, steelhead is a rainbow trout that goes to the ocean. Adults are generally 20-40 inches in length. They go to the ocean for 1-2 years and come back to spawn. Most cone from Fish Hatcheries along the Salmon River but they are getting a lot more wild. A wild fish is one that spawns on its own in the rivers or creeks.

I got a new rod and reel for steelhead fishing. I got flies, sinkers, hoods and plugs. And you know how it is when you get into buying gear, you can just fall into it and never hit the ground, because there’s so much to buy. There’s always something new coming out.

So the big day comes. There are three of us going fishing. Now Bernie is the leader of this trip. He’s gone all over to fish in little places like Alaska and Africa.  Now you are getting a picture of a real fisherman. And if there are fish to catch, Bernie will lead.

Now there is Bud. He is a very good hunter and is just getting out of the house for a few days. He likes to talk a lot and he has been there and done it. So he can go on and on about things. And there is Michael. That is “me.” I like to show up and put my tine in. I go on the idea, If you put the time in, you will get something out of it. Maybe you’re not good at it but you will get something out of it. And go home happy.

Now steelhead fishing is an all day thing for some of us. It starts before the sun is up and takes til it goes down.

Now the first day I do ok in my eyes: two or three. Bernie catches five and that is all you can catch in a day. And he lets some go. Now the second day is a good day. I catch four and start letting some go. You can catch one under your limit and then catch and release. We end up catching seven wild fish on our tip. The limit is usually nine fish in your possession. You can catch a lot more but then you have to let them go. A permit costs about $18 for 20 outings. Then you go back and buy more tags. Bernie catches more than 200 a year. He doesn’t keep them all. He fishes two or three months at a stretch. It costs me about $500 total to go to the Snake River and fish for steelhead. It’s more of a sport than a way to catch fish to eat.

Fish and Game puts computer chips in some of the fingerlings at the hatcheries to trace them and follow how long they have been in the ocean and when they come back. So Fish and Game must scan your fish before you take them home. I’ve never caught one that had a computer chip in its head.

Bud is not into it yet, so time is going on for him. One day we are fishing by some other fishermen. Now Bud finds out that they are from his home town. And that the one man was just a year behind him in school. We fish by him for two days. We are doing all right. They are struggling. Now the second day we  are fishing  we are doing OK. And the people we are fishing by are being very serious about the fishing. 

Now Bernie is doing OK. And it is getting to him how uptight the people are by us. So Bernie talks to me and says that I should net the next fish he catches. Now we are talking about how I should net it for him. Then we are talking about how I should net the next fish the wrong way—and that is just between me and him.

So he hooks one, and I ask if I can use their net to net Bernie’s new catch. They say that it is OK  to use their net. He gets the fish close and I get the net to my waist. But Bernie says “no,  get the net over my head.” He says it just to me. He gets the fish closer and I slam the net down like an ax by the fish. It’s off like a shot in the water a little ways from the bank. Now Bernie is yelling at me to net the fish. 

And now the other fishermen are all in shock at me for how I’m trying to net the fish. Bud is there too and is in shock too, and thinking that Bernie is going to blow up about how I’m trying to net this fish. Now the fish is back again and Bernie is yelling at me to net his fish. I get the net over my head again and slam it down again by the fish. Now the fish jumps out of the water and jumps right into the net! 

Now Bernie and I are in shock because the fish that we weren’t trying to net is in the net. There’s always the one that got away, but this is the one that didn’t get away, even though we tried.

So all we can do is laugh and laugh. And the other fishermen that are in shock start to laugh too, to see such a sight. Now we are all laughing and there are no more serious fishermen at this hole. And so goes the fishing trip

By Michael H Vroman