Feel the Steel

[John H]

Since the big rain three weeks ago the stripers in the Delta have been giving me the cold shoulder. I don't know if it has been the muddy water or if they are just AWOL but whatever it is those buggers ain't bitin'. I hope they will warm up soon to the overwhelming charm of my flies and grab a few of them.

In the meantime it was good to get out of the Delta and feel the pull of the steel. I got some fish this week with the help of Ryan Williams. He has a new iPhone 13 Pro that he used to take these pictures. They are good. If you want to get a nice steelhead and come home with a good picture of it he is the man. It was a foggy and overcast day that felt kind of like winter. Good time to be out.


http://i.imgur.com/cVMWZpb.jpg (https://imgur.com/cVMWZpb)

http://i.imgur.com/iuxbLqW.jpg (https://imgur.com/iuxbLqW)

http://i.imgur.com/TJ7cNCY.jpg (https://imgur.com/TJ7cNCY)

http://i.imgur.com/fnQ1Lkh.jpg (https://imgur.com/fnQ1Lkh)

[Smitty Fish]

Nice looking fish. Cell phones now days take great pictures. What river was this at?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Remember the first cell phone pictures on here.....they were better than nothing but were pretty crude.

I have an iPhone 12 Pro and my wife is probably going to get the iPhone 13 Pro.

Thanks John.....

[Jcolin]

Nice pictures John! Winter steelheading on the coast is what im most passionate about but i do love oct and nov because I know im at least going to swing up a few and gets me stoked for the winter. Grateful for the rain and the good run we’ve had up there this fall.

[John H]

J - Winter steelhead is definitely the pinnacle of freshwater fishing but the low numbers have worn down my enthusiasm for it over the last few years. If I was living on the coast like you and had easier access I would feel differently I am sure. I was at the lagoon on the Gualala one year in March walking my dog on the beach and I thought I saw a flash of silver in the water. I came back the next day and looked more and found a school of downstream fish swimming in circles waiting for rain to open the bar so they could get out. That was quite a sight. It rained a few days later so I think they got out.

Hopefully there is a winter fish out in the ocean somewhere putting on weight so he has the strength to peel line off my reel in a couple of months.

[Sonoman]

Years ago on the Gualala, before the April 1 closures, we were there in early April on a Good Friday/Easter weekend. The bucket just upstream from the bridge at the bend probably had 100 steelhead in it and nobody was on the river fishing. We hooked maybe a dozen before moving on. Good times