Winter Steelhead on the Salmon River
The pleasant break in wintry weather motivated me to make the drive and fish the Salmon River for steelhead. I had the day off and liked the forecast of mid-thirties for Pulaski. I convinced Will F to join me and we splurged, bringing along local guide Jay Peck http://www.jaypeckguides.com/main/. Jay recently fished the Upper Fly Zone on the Salmon River with considerable success and we liked our odds. It had been too many years since I last fished w/ Jay and it never hurts to draw upon the expertise of a guide with plenty of water knowledge. Besides, Jay is an affable, patient guide and he maintains an informative website for trout and tributary anglers.
The nearly two hour drive seemed shorter with good conversation and anticipation of the fishing adventure. We decided to fish the Lower Fly Zone and were geared up by 9 am. As it was MLK Day, plenty of fellow anglers shared similar expectations. We located a nice stretch of deep water and started nymphing with dark stone imitations. We fished a 12′ leader with an indicator and concentrated on the softer, deeper, slower water. Before too long, I noticed my indicator dart upstream and promptly missed my first fish of the day. The takes were surprisingly soft and we missed plenty of hook ups. Comfortably layered up and fishing with patience, we concentrated on a deep pool that held multiple fish. We lost plenty of flies on rocks and Jay enthusiastically changed patterns every twenty minutes or so. These fish sure get pressured and have seen their share of flies. Over the next six or so hours, we must have hooked 12 to 15 steelhead, losing the majority of fish after a brief run or an escape downstream into the faster current. A few nice fish were brought to net, including a scrappy 3lb holdover brown that Will landed. Most fish were lost, as the hook pulled or we lost a fish downstream in the faster current. It’s not wise, nor warm to stumble around boulders and fall into the chilly river after an errant steelie. We couldn’t see the fish due to the heavy current and deeper water. Freakishly, I foul hooked two respectable fish (30″ to 32″) within ten minutes and then lost a third minutes later. No matter how pretty the fish, it’s not right to take a picture of a foul hooked fish. I didn’t get many decent fish pics, but we hooked plenty of fish and overall it was a very pleasant winter fishing trip with friends. As much as I like our local waters, it’s tough to find a better concentration of steelhead than the Salmon River. Contact Jay if you want help dancing with steelhead on any of our tributaries and stay warm!
