Bill Kiene semi-retired
10-19-2006, 12:06 PM
About 15-20? years ago we were having a real good fall Halfpounder Steelhead run in the Lower American River. It was September and the flow was about 1500 cfs because I remember that the wading was real nice. The fish ran 15 to 20 inches and there were lots of them in the river.
Two young guys came into the shop who had heard about it. They were getting direction, advice and bought some flies so I volunteered to meet them the next morning at Watt Avenue on the south side just above the bridge.
There were there bright and early so we walked upstream a ways to the first parking spots and walked out into the river. I gave them a short demo on the way that I fish for them. Floating line, 9'3x leader and a #12 wet fly of your choice. We used really small Brindle Bugs, green caddis pupa/larva, Renegades, Small Silver Hiltons.....anything about the size of a "honey bee" I would tell people.
I looked down stream and noticed Jeff Blunden, who worked at the shop then, was waded out just above the bridge. He already had a fish on.
Upstream of us was Joe Shirshac who was into a fish every few minutes. Joe had on a #12 Pheasant Tail nymph that morning. He got one 22" way up above the clay banks right off the bat.
These new guys started hooking some too. They could actually cast pretty good because they had fly fished in lakes.
When we quite to go to work at 9:30am we had landed 27 Halfpounders in one morning between 5 of us.
Every year we have more or less Halfpounders come in from the ocean/bays and so far this year it has not been great.
Two young guys came into the shop who had heard about it. They were getting direction, advice and bought some flies so I volunteered to meet them the next morning at Watt Avenue on the south side just above the bridge.
There were there bright and early so we walked upstream a ways to the first parking spots and walked out into the river. I gave them a short demo on the way that I fish for them. Floating line, 9'3x leader and a #12 wet fly of your choice. We used really small Brindle Bugs, green caddis pupa/larva, Renegades, Small Silver Hiltons.....anything about the size of a "honey bee" I would tell people.
I looked down stream and noticed Jeff Blunden, who worked at the shop then, was waded out just above the bridge. He already had a fish on.
Upstream of us was Joe Shirshac who was into a fish every few minutes. Joe had on a #12 Pheasant Tail nymph that morning. He got one 22" way up above the clay banks right off the bat.
These new guys started hooking some too. They could actually cast pretty good because they had fly fished in lakes.
When we quite to go to work at 9:30am we had landed 27 Halfpounders in one morning between 5 of us.
Every year we have more or less Halfpounders come in from the ocean/bays and so far this year it has not been great.