Steelhead time?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

You can fly fish for Steelhead all year round if you like.

I think Amato Publications is reprinting Bill McMillan's book 'Dry Line Steelhead'?

I had a copy of this book when it was first printed about 20 some years ago. In this book he talks about fly fishing for Steelhead all year long. It is actually a bunch of his magazine articles put into a book.

Spring-run fish are running in on the high water of Spring like on the Skagit River in WA.

Summer-runs come in when the water is still up in July and spend all summer way up river in deep shaded holes.

Fall-run fish come in Fall, naturally. This is a great time for most fly fishers.

Then we have Winter-run fish.........yes, in the winter. For die-hards with wide open arteries.

Classic Steelheading seems to be on a come back now mostly due to the interest in Spey casting.

[Bruce Slightom]

Bill, McMillan's book now sells for about $200-250 depending on the condition. You should have kept a copy or two. The book is considered "The Bible" by many steelheaders.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I read it a dozen times "back in the day" and had saved it in my fly fishing library but a few years back Paul Johnson was working for me and he went crazy when I told him I had a copy.

In gave it to him so he could read all that great info too......

I had a nice old Hardy 3 5/8" Perfect and I gave it to Matt Johnson when he worked for me too.

Paul is now with Sage Rod Company and Matt works for an environmental company that does salmon studies for the CA DF&G.

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We lived through the days when all 99% of the Steelheading was with a fiberglass Fenwick 9 weight fly rod and 30' shooting heads.

Today we have evolved to mostly swinging traditional flies on full floating lines and a sinktip on occasion for our Steelheading.

Most of the tidewater fly fishers still use head though.......

[jbird]

---------In gave it to him so he could read all that great info too......

I had a nice old Hardy 3 5/8" Perfect and I gave it to Matt Johnson when he worked for me too.------------


Hey Bill,,do you have any job opennings at your shop??lol!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Hi jbird,

Not right now but maybe when the economy turns back on?

[matt johnson]

I could use a new copy of "Dryline Steelhead". Mine is a little tattered.

I got my copy back in 1987 in this wierd little upstairs hole in the wall fly shop in Memphis Tenn. I am sure Memphis has a modern shop now but back then I don't think there were many people flyfishing in Memphis.

I was 15 years old and had just moved from Camas Washington. Camas was a rather depressing and stinky northwest mill town but it was located at the bottom of the Washougal River. The Washougal river had steelhead.

I didn't want to leave Camas. I wanted to fish for steelhead in the Washougal. I still hadn't landed one on a fly yet, although I had managed to get a couple drift fishing "corkies" and yarn. Steelhead fishing was the biggest thing in the world to me. I was haunted by those fish.

Anyway, I found this book about steelhead flyfishing in that little shop in Memphis and I freaked out. This guy was mainly fishing the Washougal! I poured through the pages over and over. I had no idea who Bill Mcmillan was while I lived in Camas. I was just a kid who had no clue what was going on.

It is a great book by a very thoughtful author that has had a huge influence on my angling and conservation ethic.


Matt.