Snuck away last week for the annual fishing trip I've been going on with my dad for the past 20+ years. I grew up fishing steelhead in Lake Superior tributaries, mostly on the south shore, and it is always special to be back on those rivers, even more so to be there with my dad who is now pushing 70 but hasn't yet slowed down too much (even took up racing motocross several years ago).
Fishing was slower than average, but the fish we did encounter were on the large size. An ecologist told me it was an exceptional year for forage fish in the lake. Was lucky to be fishing with a former national geographic photographer when I landed this absolute unit. Have caught a couple of longer fish but none with proportions like this. Nice to be fishing during the peak of Fall colors as well. Was also fun to encounter a higher proportion of Cohos than we have in years past but we were surprised to not encounter too many Browns.
Run timings are a little different every year due to flows and water temps and numbers can fluctuate quite a bit too. Helps keep things even more interesting. All the fish in the system we fished are wild (exclusively naturally reproducing) and fight just like sea-run fish, especially when they are fresh out of the lake. Some fantastic runs of anadromous fish in the Great Lakes, and it's not all combat fishing especially if you're willing to put in some miles hiking through the woods.
Looking forward to the fall and winter runs now that I'm back in CA.
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