[QUOTE=Bill Kiene semi-retired;206172]About 30 years ago in February were where on the mouth of the Matole river in the coldest weather I have experienced except goose

hunting in the snow at Tule Lake refuge........18 degrees.

Mel Jeffs and I were in his small Datsun pickup with a canopy/shell on the bed.

Galen Geller and Paul Keel had some kind of car and a couple of big tarps and sleeping bags.

That night we rough camped out there and it was below freezing.

Mel and I were OK inside the back of his pickup in the canopy/shell.

Geller and Keel were sleeping on the ground just outside between two huge canvas flat tarps.

When we got up the ground was covered with frost except for a place in the middle of their tarp where the hot steam from their

breathing made a dark wet spot.


We drove to the mouth of the Matole river that morning and saw 3 guys fishing conventional tackle.

They were wearing war surplus artic jump suits and looked like 3 Sumo wresters.


Commando fly fishing Mike McCune told me that the reason they still fish for winter Steelhead in Oregon and Washington is because it

is one of the last places you can catch big fresh run wild Steelhead.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trZJ4GZ1qqs



Personally today I mostly fish the Fall run in Set/Oct/Nov.

Great story Bill, i love hearing about the coastal rivers and the folks that fished them back in the day. I may have already asked this on this forum, but wondering if back in the 60s/70s you guys would strip flies moreso than swinging for winter SH?