Yesterday was just too good to pass up, ambient temp. was 31*, not much of a breeze, and some sunshine, plus a fishing partner that was ready to catch a Steelhead.

Told Barb that I was headed for the shop to get everything ready, she promised to be there at 12:30pm, this would give me plenty of time to check the gear out, sharpen hooks, replace leaders, make sure the scents were in ample supply, and in general just do what we all do before we go out after the elusive steelhead.

Barb backs the boat off the trailer at Couse Creek, we point the bow upriver and head for a good drift about six miles away, after going through several rapids, and enjoying the sights of the canyon, we come off plane at a beautiful stretch of water that has been productive in the past. Barb pulls the boat off plane at the head of the drift, I get the little Honda started, engage the TR-1 Autopilot, apply scent to the bottom of the plugs, let out sixty feet of line, then start a very slow backtroll.

In less than two minutes my rod slams down, "Fish On" I tell Barb, grab the rod from the holder, head the boat toward the center of the river to avoid spooking fish on the drift, can't believe this, barley get the lines in the water and have a fish on, what luck. This fish makes a long run downstream, then surfaces, I see a pretty good size tail, then it starts to roll, it then goes near the bottom and stays deep until the fight is over and barb nets him, gorgeous wild Steelhead around eight or nine pounds.

Back to the head of the drift we do a repeat of the first routine, about half way through the drift Barbs rod slams down,she grabs the rod from the holder, gets a couple of good tugs, then the line goes slack, the plug is working good so she leaves it out. In just a couple of minutes my rod bends double, I grab it from the holder, give a couple of tugs to set the hook, feels like a heavy fish, then the line goes limp and it's gone, along with a great plug that has perfect action, and has caught many steelhead. I had been changing out leaders after every fish, but this time got careless, and paid the price, the worst was thinking of that beautiful steelhead swimming around with a plug attached. I'm still kicking myself, lesson learned again. Finished this drift without another bump, then headed for another drift a short distance away.

At the second drift we get everything squared away, the heater is lit, the canopy is all zipped up, we are sipping a cup of coffee, I am keeping the boat in about eight feet of water, which is very clear, and down to 39*. A short time goes by when Barb yells "FISH",
I look at her rod and it is bending, and throbbing, we both try to get the door unzippered at the same time, you do it Ken, says Barb, so I finally get it open, Barb grabs her rod and starts playing the steelhead. Once again I steer the boat away from shore, this fish put up a good fight, makes several nice runs before I net it, another beauty, only this one is hatchery.

We continue with this same drift, Barb lands another hatchery Buck, beautiful fish with a lot of color. It is starting to get dark, so we decide to pack it in. It has been good fishing today, but best of all was just being out here, it would have been almost as good even if we nothing.

"Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas", to all our friends at washingtonlakes.

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