Okay guys, did I have an adventure this morning!

I figured I'd spend the day trying to see what I could see at Reiter. Nobody has been at the wallace the last couple of times I've been, so I figured I'd see if they were at the sky. So I leave downtown seattle after dropping the wife off at work at 4:30 in the AM. I heard there might be snow showers is all. I stopped at the highway 2 bridge of the Wallace to see if I could catch up to the fish that I saw before. Nothin doin, caught a boot of a moldy old boot silver. Spawned out and I think it gave it's last breath on the way in. So I took that as a sign and went to reiter.

There was about a half inch of snow covering the forest floor and it was really gorgeous. I stopped to take a picture and whaddya know, the battery on my camera dies just as I snap the first shot. There were about five cars at the hatchery which was a good sign.

I rig up and first thing I see is a nice chrome little hen winter steely on the bank. It was really small though, probably only about four pounds. That got me a little excited so I rigged up and started fishing. About that time it started to snow.

My line started to freeze. The eyes of guides clogged up with ice. My eggs froze to the hook. My feet started to get cold, even though I was wearing two pairs of wool socks and toe warmers. It was pretty cool though, the snow was really neat.

So after a bit the guy down stream from me has fish on! I signal that I'll come to net it for him. Turns out that it's a big summer run buck that's pretty dark. I'm really careful when I net for other folks, on account of I'd hate it to be me that loses their big fish. So I'm real careful and then I get it in the net and my net collapses under the weight. It bent back like a silver spoon. Cheap net couldn't handle the cold I think. Was the weirdest thing. Luckily the fish swam back out still hooked and we got him to the bank just fine.

About this time the snow starts to turn to blizzard. I keep fishing. Even though it's building up on me about an inch thick, sticking to my vest and waders. Every five or so casts I suck on my guides to get rid of the ice. Then I get BOBBER DOWN! and set the hook, and my stupid reel is frozen in reverse mode on account of the ice, I see the fish swirl and that's that. They don't hang on to the jigs without bait on 'em. Second cast same drift, same stooooooopid story. Apparently my reel doesn't work in the cold.

So I pack up and walk back through the whiteout. I thought for sure I left the chains in the trunk, but nope, I didn't. I almost didn't make it up that first hill with my Lincoln. Was a pain. And then as I'm about a mile from the highway, the shortbus decides to pull out in front of me. In ordinary conditions it'd've been fine, but there was no slowing down for me. I downshifted to slow down, but the bus was pretty much stopped. Who thinks it's a good idea to pull out in front of a car in the snow? A following distance is VERY important in the ice and snow. So I have to use my brake, even though I'm only going maybe 10 MPH, I fish tail back and forth and end up sideways accross the road. Luckily I know how to drive my car well in icy conditions.

So I wait for the bus to get on the highway, and start driving again. Just as I make it to the stop sign the snow plow come cruising through and I followed it all the way to Monroe. It was awesome.

So, the snow was GORGEOUS, but scary to drive in. Cut a full days trip in half. It was pretty awesome. Good news is my new Columbia Lhatse jacket is fully functional as advertised. I was only wearing a T-shirt underneath of it and I was warm and toasty. The only cold thing I had was my three finger gloves other two fingers and my feet. Heheheh.

Racer

11/22/2010 3:56:00 PM

That's what I call dedication Nate. I think I would have been checking the drawers after that drive out.

natetreat

11/22/2010 4:14:00 PM

hehehe, I'm for sure puttin on the snow tires over thanksgiving after today.

flinginpooh

11/22/2010 4:39:00 PM

Man That is why I dont have street tires on my suburban. I can get in and outta places and with 7500 pounds of 4x4 454 k2500 action not many things slow me down except no gas lol. I need to sell body parts when I wanna drive that thing. I went out and thought about starting it. I swear it costed me 20 bucks right there just thinking about starting it up.

Matt

11/22/2010 5:32:00 PM

A good way to clear the frozen eyes is to dip the rod in the river and swoop it back and fourth. The freezing is inevitable, so just do it ever few casts and you'll be good to go. Sucks about your reel, dude. Thanks for the report!

blurock

11/22/2010 6:03:00 PM

Well Matt beat me to it, cause that's what I was gunna say. I use to fish the Snake when attending WSU and guides would freeze on a regular basis, as they do on the Sky as well like you found out. Swish the rod in the water, and your good to go for another cast or two.
What kind of reel do you have? Odd that it freezes in reverse? I fish mostly Shimano reels, and haven't had a problem so far.

Thanks for another great report Nate, better luck getting those fish in a bit closer next time! You're due! :) Still exciting when that float disappears , nice little jolt of adrenaline to warm you up!

afk

11/22/2010 8:32:00 PM

Same goes for the reel as for the rod. The water is typically a lot warmer than the air temps. Thanks for a good read.

natetreat

11/22/2010 10:36:00 PM

It's the Okuma ignite series. I picked up a couple of 'em, they come with spare spools, it's nice to be able to just switch out spools. They work great when they aren't frozen, but at 15 bucks a pop I'm not complaining. I've fished in extreme conditions before, but that snow was pretty thick. When I left it was white out with about ten feet visibility. Sheesh. But it was more dangerous to drive when I got home, everybody and their mother is out in their tiny little electric cars swimming all over the road.

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