I started fly fishing for Steelhead in the 1960s in Northern California.
Back then most used a 9' #9 line 2 piece hollow fiberglass fly rod with a large single action fly reel.
We used 30' shooting heads in different sink rates with 100 feet of mono shooting line and then some braided Dacron backing.
One of the worst things was all the dams they put in the last 100 years.
Then the next was the drought on the late 1970s witch really hurt our fisheries.
Another sad thing for fly fishing in general was the onset of the indicator.
A good thing was the development of graphite materials making rod lighter and casting further, easier.
A wonderful thing for Steelheading was the Spey world coming from Europe to the Pacific Northwest.
Two handed casting really slow down the indicator fishing for Steelhead.
Removing some smaller defunct dams is one of the best things to happen in my lifetime.
I am excited for the future of Steelheading on the West coast of North America.
I think Steelheading is on the rise again today because of the popularity of two handed fly casting.
And the removal of dams............................
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