At the end of our spring steelhead season in Stanley on the
Salmon River, and after having guided steelhead 29 of 30 days, you might have
thought I had seen enough steelhead until next fall, apparently not. My friend Ken Dayton from Seattle offered up
a spring steelhead trip to B.C. to Walter Franz’s Spey Lodge in Terrace, May
5-13. I had visited Wally’s lodge two
years ago and had a great trip with a few very memorable fish. On that trip two silver bullets attacked my
fly on consecutive casts at the mouth of a small river with a 60 foot stepped
waterfall at my back. I was casting
into the salt at the Boca from a boulder covered with barnacles and mussels and
surrounded by kelp weed. There was
little I could do, they both handed me my ass.
There were many great memories of that trip, but that particular
experience needed a revisit.
Flying up from Vancouver we could see the impact of last
winter on the coastal range. There was
still big snow and big glaciers, and the lakes right next to the Pacific Ocean
were yet frozen. Run off had not yet started. Our hope was that we might have a few
encounters with spring steelhead, which run the coastal rivers of our West
Coast and B.C. We would probably be too
early for Chinook on this trip. Winter/Spring steelhead are less plentiful than
the fall run fish. They are quick in and
quick out after spawn, and generally somewhat scarce. The more you keep it wet the better the
chance of a grab. It is a game for
diehards….. seven days of spey casting
in the most spectacular steelhead setting the world has to offer. It has to be done. We fished five rivers in seven days.
The weather the first five days was cool to cold with rain
and snow and clouds. One day I had seven
layers on and was just comfortable. The
fishing was tough. Tom Macy had spent
the week before our arrival with no fish to the beach. He considered spending another week at the
lodge. Ken and I remained
optimistic. The Copper gave us a pull,
two taps, and a rolling steelhead. I had
a tug on the Kalum, but with a broken hook point. The Kitimat gave us a day with three fish
hooked but none to the beach. Ken played
a very large fish for about ten minutes when it finally released itself without
a visual. I had four sea run cutthroat,
one being about 18 inches long. The sixth
day turned warm with no wind so we left for an overnight in Wally’s inboard jet
sled to fish a couple of rivers only accessible by helicopter or boat. That afternoon , on a remote river surrounded
by three thousand foot granite faces and giant snow cornices, we pretty much
lost count of the hookups in one pool. These fish were only about 6 to 8 miles from
the salt. They were fresh and
feisty. We managed four to the beach,
with others played, hooked, and broken off.
After a mile hike upriver one more 15 pound hen was landed. That night falling asleep in our bags in the
tent camp, Dayton asked me, “ Who else had the experience that we had today?”
Answer, “Nobody, but us.”
To say that afternoon was a trip saver might be true, but
only in that we did what we set out to do, we landed some winter/spring run
steelhead. The eagles, a bear, a wolf,
grizzly tracks, the brilliant white mountain goats clinging to sheer granite
walls, witnessing a rock fall and a giant avalanche, Wally’s unbelievable
navigation of the river boulders with the rather large jet sled, Molly’s
awesome fare from the lodge dining room, Matt’s micro managing of what size tip
to fish on what run and where to put it, all contributed to another very
memorable trip. The last day on the last
pool my spey cast totally disintegrated.
Wally finished the pool for me.
It looks like I will recover and wait until this October for a revisit
to my favorite fish.
If any of you might be interested I would like to host a
group of 4-6 anglers for an August Chinook, fall steelhead or winter/spring
trip to Wally’s Spey lodges. 208-720-3813
is my cell.
As great as it was being away, returning to the early PMD
hatch on the creek, the perching browns and rainbows in Magic, the hatching of
brown drakes on Silver Creek and the
promise of an early Green Drake on our freestone rivers has already been a
treat. Our heavy runoff is mostly
gone. It is good to be back.
Zac, Abbey, Chase, and Cody, just returned from their rooster
fishing trip to Mexico last week.
Stories of 5 foot needle fish, big jacks, 100 pound roosters, and a few
great photos prove they were there. Zac
and Abbey both connected on very pretty roosters. Apparently the Margaritas were good if the fishing
was not always great. Check out Chase’s
blog.
Flies, waders, new rods, and reels, fishing bags and the new
summer outdoor wear have arrived at the shop and is stocked. Stop in to see what is new. Our guides are here and ready to show their
favorite waters and how to fish them if you would like help. We have great access maps and always
friendly advice available at the shop.
Our Kid’s fishing camp begins mid June for ages 7-12, and there will be
an advanced kids program this year as well.
We still have a few openings for our September Yellowstone trips. If you are interested in a June trip to the
Firehole, Madison, and Duck Creek June 15-20 those dates are also available.
Don’t forget we are helping to host B.C.’s April Volkey ,
fly gal, for fly tying classes, casting classes as a fundraiser for our Idaho
steelhead and salmon. Dates are June
8-11. Call the shop for sign ups,
schedule and particulars. Lost River’s
tying classes with April will be June 9th and 11th.
Tight heavy lines and solid hook ups,
Scott
Lost River Outfitters
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