Old Pulteney and steelhead

dflea

I heard that Yella was looking to catch himself a steelhead, so we rolled up to the Queets yesterday in search of the elusive sea-run rainbows.

We beat the water pretty thoroughly, and wound up scratching up one really hard-fighting hen that looked to be in the 12-13 lb range. Queets steelhead are 5-star caliber fish, the Sav'ell Smalls of steelhead if you will. The weather and scenery were nearly perfect, and Yella is a really good guy to spend a day on the river with.

When we got back to the truck, he busted out a bottle of Old Pulteney single malt. We had a couple pulls off the bottle, and savored a bit of Olympic National Park before heading back to the shit show of Pugetropolis. When Yella bailed, he refused to take the rest of the scotch with him, so I'm just waiting until noon today to dip back into it.

Thanks for joining me, Yella. We'll find you a steelhead. They can't avoid you forever.

YellowSnow

There was lots of tuff, logging camp liberal takes as we drove along the muddy banks of the Wishkah.

YellowSnow

I just with I could have pegged @puppylove_sugarsteel ’s painted beads on my tippet. I would have out fished Flea fer sure.

YellowSnow

Going for the triple shit poast here. But forgot to mention that after driving by all the homesteads of the Grays Harbor dirtheads maybe I wouldn’t want to meet @creepycoug at 7-11 after all.

chuck

The late run winters that still exist in numbers on the queets and some of the other peninsula rivers are something we don't see much of along the Columbia. I made a few trios up iin the early 2000s but the timing was always off. Skunked on the Hoh, Queets, and Solduck.

Thinking about a smooth catch and release of a wild, 13lb hen has me day dreaming. Over a year without a rod caught steelhead...

Swaye

I requested pictures of this trip a week ago Yella and you have failed me.

YellowSnow

Swaye said:

I requested pictures of this trip a week ago Yella and you have failed me.

Flea's caught so many fish he doesn't even get out the camera unless it's over 20 lbs. Me - I would have taken pics if it was over 8.1 lbs.

YellowSnow

chuck said:

The late run winters that still exist in numbers on the queets and some of the other peninsula rivers are something we don't see much of along the Columbia. I made a few trios up iin the early 2000s but the timing was always off. Skunked on the Hoh, Queets, and Solduck.

Thinking about a smooth catch and release of a wild, 13lb hen has me day dreaming. Over a year without a rod caught steelhead...

So I was talking to my neighbor last night who just got back from a 6 day trip to Vancouver Island with his dad. They are both fly guys and don't know how good of anglers they are, but they both got skunked over six days. Steelheading is hard work, I tell you and it ain't getting any easier between declining habitat and all the @Swaye 's netting fish for the white devils have a shot.

Swaye

YellowSnow said:

chuck said:

The late run winters that still exist in numbers on the queets and some of the other peninsula rivers are something we don't see much of along the Columbia. I made a few trios up iin the early 2000s but the timing was always off. Skunked on the Hoh, Queets, and Solduck.

Thinking about a smooth catch and release of a wild, 13lb hen has me day dreaming. Over a year without a rod caught steelhead...

So I was talking to my neighbor last night who just got back from a 6 day trip to Vancouver Island with his dad. They are both fly guys and don't know how good of anglers they are, but they both got skunked over six days. Steelheading is hard work, I tell you and it ain't getting any easier between declining habitat and all the @Swaye 's netting fish for the white devils have a shot.

Red man's revenge! HAHAHHAHAHAH! I have heard steelheading makes my little brown trout excursions look like child's play.

YellowSnow

Swaye said:

YellowSnow said:

chuck said:

The late run winters that still exist in numbers on the queets and some of the other peninsula rivers are something we don't see much of along the Columbia. I made a few trios up iin the early 2000s but the timing was always off. Skunked on the Hoh, Queets, and Solduck.

Thinking about a smooth catch and release of a wild, 13lb hen has me day dreaming. Over a year without a rod caught steelhead...

So I was talking to my neighbor last night who just got back from a 6 day trip to Vancouver Island with his dad. They are both fly guys and don't know how good of anglers they are, but they both got skunked over six days. Steelheading is hard work, I tell you and it ain't getting any easier between declining habitat and all the @Swaye 's netting fish for the white devils have a shot.

Red man's revenge! HAHAHHAHAHAH! I have heard steelheading makes my little brown trout excursions look like child's play.

I've only gambled in the hatchet packers casino once and took their money and run. But they got me this time on the migratory fish.

dflea

The fish I landed was tuff, so I had to fight it a while before landing it. I wasn't going to bash it in the head, so I figured getting her back in the river quickly was the right thing to do.

Probably should have taken a photo so the story would actually be real, though.

I could still get a photo of the single malt.

chuck

YellowSnow said:

chuck said:

The late run winters that still exist in numbers on the queets and some of the other peninsula rivers are something we don't see much of along the Columbia. I made a few trios up iin the early 2000s but the timing was always off. Skunked on the Hoh, Queets, and Solduck.

Thinking about a smooth catch and release of a wild, 13lb hen has me day dreaming. Over a year without a rod caught steelhead...

So I was talking to my neighbor last night who just got back from a 6 day trip to Vancouver Island with his dad. They are both fly guys and don't know how good of anglers they are, but they both got skunked over six days. Steelheading is hard work, I tell you and it ain't getting any easier between declining habitat and all the @Swaye 's netting fish for the white devils have a shot.

I've been spoiled with some exclusive access to ridiculous steelhead fishing and lost that grit that I used to have. I worked hard but with near guaranteed success for six years. That well ran dry two years ago, the runs have crashed, and I haven't been willing to put in a day of tromping around, falling in the river, and beating the shit out of myself with no guarantees.

It's coming back though. I've got the bug again. The gear bins, vest and rods have been dusted off. Good chance of a recovery this summer at least for the Snake bound A runs. I'm going to fish even if nothing else gets done.

HillsboroDuck

YellowSnow said:

chuck said:

The late run winters that still exist in numbers on the queets and some of the other peninsula rivers are something we don't see much of along the Columbia. I made a few trios up iin the early 2000s but the timing was always off. Skunked on the Hoh, Queets, and Solduck.

Thinking about a smooth catch and release of a wild, 13lb hen has me day dreaming. Over a year without a rod caught steelhead...

So I was talking to my neighbor last night who just got back from a 6 day trip to Vancouver Island with his dad. They are both fly guys and don't know how good of anglers they are, but they both got skunked over six days. Steelheading is hard work, I tell you and it ain't getting any easier between declining habitat and all the @Swaye 's netting fish for the white devils have a shot.

FIRST





















NATIONS BITCH!

PurpleJ

Fishing is gay, but it's good to see two men find luv.

PurpleJ

YellowSnow said:

Swaye said:

I requested pictures of this trip a week ago Yella and you have failed me.

Flea's caught so many fish he doesn't even get out the camera unless it's over 20 lbs. Me - I would have taken pics if it was over 8.1 lbs.

Size queen IMO

YellowSnow

PurpleJ said:

Fishing is gay, but it's good to see two men find luv.

I lurked on www.washingtonflyflishing.com for a while but never found luv. Had to go to HH for that.

PurpleThrobber

PurpleJ said:

Fishing is gay, but it's good to see two men find luv.

I can't hear you.....

creepycoug

YellowSnow said:

Going for the triple shit poast here. But forgot to mention that after driving by all the homesteads of the Grays Harbor dirtheads maybe I wouldn’t want to meet @creepycoug at 7-11 after all.

I'd just have to get inside that reach Yella. Then it's all bidness.

But then again, all you'd have to do is Larry Holmes jab all day and you'd beat my handsome face to a pulp.

As a middle aged 5'10" guy who sits on his brains all day, I'll just concede to the younger Yella rowboat. Anybody who can make a varsity boat at Washington Damn It! is probably someone I don't want to tangle wit unless they're in their 70s.

Glad you guys hooked up and had a good tim.

YellowSnow

creepycoug said:

YellowSnow said:

Going for the triple shit poast here. But forgot to mention that after driving by all the homesteads of the Grays Harbor dirtheads maybe I wouldn’t want to meet @creepycoug at 7-11 after all.

I'd just have to get inside that reach Yella. Then it's all bidness.

But then again, all you'd have to do is Larry Holmes jab all day and you'd beat my handsome face to a pulp.

As a middle aged 5'10" guy who sits on his brains all day, I'll just concede to the younger Yella rowboat. Anybody who can make a varsity boat at Washington Damn It! is probably someone I don't want to tangle wit unless they're in their 70s.

Glad you guys hooked up and had a good tim.

We were wondering on the drive how a little brown kid survived in a tuff logging town.

creepycoug

YellowSnow said:

creepycoug said:

YellowSnow said:

Going for the triple shit poast here. But forgot to mention that after driving by all the homesteads of the Grays Harbor dirtheads maybe I wouldn’t want to meet @creepycoug at 7-11 after all.

I'd just have to get inside that reach Yella. Then it's all bidness.

But then again, all you'd have to do is Larry Holmes jab all day and you'd beat my handsome face to a pulp.

As a middle aged 5'10" guy who sits on his brains all day, I'll just concede to the younger Yella rowboat. Anybody who can make a varsity boat at Washington Damn It! is probably someone I don't want to tangle wit unless they're in their 70s.

Glad you guys hooked up and had a good tim.

We were wondering on the drive how a little brown kid survived in a tuff logging town.

By being tuffer.

PurpleJ

I'll whoop both your soft asses and put your head on top of the Tacoma Dome flagpole. Bitch.