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!

We spent the majority of our time fishing the Upper Fly Zone.  The fish were harder to catch and we only hooked one steelhead.  Yet,  the serenity, Fall foliage and wild red rasberry picking made the trip memorable.  Even better, we managed to hook a number of salmon.  Plus, there are plenty of 5″ to 10″ trout/salmonid fingerlings all over each hole, ready to jump on your fly.  Neat to see a small trout feed on a caddisfly, feet away from a larger salmon.   The fish were not aggressive and we didn’t see any evidence of eggs/spawn in the system.  That said, it was very cool to watch so many fish move up the river and to tangle with fresh salmon.  Can’t wait to get some eggs in the river and bring in those steelhead!