Feather River (9/25/2005)

[Gregg Machel]

Fished the Feather today with Angling on the Fly Guide Kieth Kaneko. I wanted to go get some Salmon, but Keith suggested we do some Steelhead fishing too. I ended up striking out on the Salmon, but did hook a couple nice Steelhead (7 lbs and 5 lbs estimated), and I finally landed one of the elusive buggers (although only about half pound to a pound). The two I hooked, I was sooooo close to landing, and they did all the acrobatics that would be expected from a lively Steelhead. Well worth it, and Keith put me in the right spots to set me up for success (as always).

Most valuable lesson learned on this trip was how to land big steelhead. Keith watched me as I was bringing them in, yelled out some quick tips while in process, and then when I lost them, told me exactly why I lost them. Each time I'm getting closer, and soon Steelhead will fear me!

Oh, on a low note, I caught a bunch of sucker and squawl fish (not sure of spelling).

[Hairstacker]

Gregg, sounds like you had a great time, good for you! I see big steelhead pictures in your future.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Sounds like a great day Gregg.

I would advise anyone who is interested in learning the Feather River for Steeelhead to go with a good guide now.

October is a very big month there for Steelies.