Steelhead report from around 30 years ago.
One of our customers came in to report his experience on the lower American river with a big Steelhead.
He admitted that he was not a Steelhead angler but his friend from Eureka was and came down to fish with him.
His friend had built him a 9' #8 graphite rod and put an old Hardy Perfect on it as a present.
He said he had mostly caught Shad on it, but had not fished for Steelhead.
They fished above the Sunrise Bridge near a big gravel bar with some other anglers in January.
On a Boss fly he said he hooked a very large, very powerful winter Steelhead.
He said the fight was unimaginable with the fish running way upstream and then down stream.
The battle was fast but lasted some time. He got it up into shallow water several times.
Finally he thought that he had it landed but in shallow water the line finally broke.
One of the local veteran Steelheaders near him said that that was the best fight he ever witnessed.
He also told him that maybe it was the largest Steelhead he had ever seen on our river.
He said that crazy thing is that it was the first Steelhead he had ever hooked........
