!!! JACKPOT !!!

[David Lee]

Hi guys (girls , also ...) .

Ask anyone who knows me - I'm the worst Steelhead fisherman on the planet . Really . I catch a few , but most of the time I get them as a 'bonus' fish .... while chasing something else . The worm turned today , however !!

Hit the A at 11:30 , landed a 14-inch Chrome Smolt on a #4 Battle Creek Special at a little after 12:00 .... switched to leadcore and a #4 Black leech for the bottom of the run (4-8 feet deep) . Started to get into slower water than I would have thought Steelie would be in .....

End of swing ....... THUMP !! I set , and feel what I believe to be a Sucker . I lean on it , it gets HEAVY ....

Hmmmmmm .... must be a pretty nice Sucker Stupid thing must be fouled ...... I get the 'bright' idea to really give 'em the wood .

Roughly THREE FEET of Steelhead comes up for a vertical cartwheel !!!!

The fish never made any screaming runs - just fought very 'loggy' . After 7-8 minutes , I land a 9-12 lb. hatcherey hen . I got her on film (forgot the wife's digi ...) , and released her . My biggest ever .

On the way back ... I checked-out MSP's Shad spot , Beer Can Reef . It isn't there anymore . Didn't see any fish in the shallows , very few jumping . 3 DFG dudes floated by , no other fishermen .

That's it !! WEEEEEEE , HAAAAAAWWWWWW !!

David

[MSP]

Great job David. It's amazing sometimes what happens when you get out on the water. Well at least for you and Ron. I haven't seen a fish, hooked a fish, or seen a fish landed since since I got that fish back around the 9th. Been getting pretty discouraged lately, been fishing the "A" at least 3 times a week and even made a trip up to the Yuba last week and have come to the conclusion that I SUCK! Decided to start playing a little more golf lately and have actually found it to be a little less frustrating. Unless things start changing I can only hope for a good run of 1/2 pounders in the coming months. Yea David the Dump is gone as well as my other honey holes I used to fish. But all is not lost, I can always go after the Squawfish behind the house.

Glad to hear somebody is getting some fish on the fly!

[David Lee]

MSP -

Go down below Beer Can Reef ........ past the top of the riffle . There's a few nice fish in that run down there , and nobodys fishing it .

Call me if you wanna go

David

[MSP]

David I've been fishing that riffle on the Effie Yaw side for the last month. I was seeing fish in it a few weeks ago, but haven't seen anything lately. Been fishing it pretty hard.

[sculpin]

Hey David I'm glad you got into a nice fish you weren't expecting today .
Mike I'm sorry to hear your still in the wood shed.

Mark

[SteelieD]

Nice! Good job David!

[David Lee]

Mark , SteelieD -

Thanks !! I expect everything BUT Steelhead , so it was kind of a nice treat . That was actually one of the few winter Steelies that I've taken . I do OK in the fall , and pretty well on the spring run , I just rarely catch winter fish .....

David one of the DFG guys who floated by was me. Good to hear you got into fish! Not many landed from what we saw.

Trying to remember, were you out across from the Nature Center?? (We only saw a few fly fishers today)

Tristan -

Yeah , that was me . Funny .... I knew you were working w/ the DFG and had a feeling that we would run into each other out there sometime .....

Next time , pull over and BS for a while

David

[flygolf]

Hey Tristan, I was fishing lower with spey rod (log hole) I think you asked for my zip code. When you doing the float are checking barbs or anything like that or just taking info.?

[flygolf]

Yes, a boss. I switched over to a leach with the same amount of luck. Nice to meet you as well. Do you go all the way down to discovery?

[David Lee]

Damn, you walked a long way from Rossmore down then didn't you? You deserved that fish!

Naaaaah ..... It's only 20 minutes down . I think that keeps people away , to be honest . I've learned that most fear a hike of any kind , though I've no idea why .

The run below where you saw me is just about perfect at these levels - Not past belly-button deep wading , cobble bottom , plenty of backcast room ..... and empty of fishermen . Empty until now , that is !! I'm sure somebody will put it all together here

I bet those fish'll get grabby if the temps rise a bit

David