# Miserable day--please help!



## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Since it's been pointed out that age and experience don't mean a thing when it comes to steelhead fishing, I guess today was one of those days where Sam Steel and I could've really used some sage advice from the newest all knowing SW forums legend. 

I mean--damn it all to hell, we fished our old style fishing methods and could only get into double digit amounts of fish. Maybe our leaders were too short or something? Maybe our line was too light? I know we could've gotten into more if we only had some help!!!

Anyway, here's a few that we dumb lucked our way into today: 














































A typical Whit brown trout: 














































Sigh...maybe someday us older steelhead guys will figure out what the &^%$ we're doing.


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

Man, thats tough luck, maybe next time. OF course if you had used lures instead of bait, you would done much better.:evil:


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## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

I love the colors and the lil kype on the last one! Awesome! You gotta love those colored up stocky fall bucks they fight like crazy!


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## riverman (Jan 9, 2002)

Sweet sled, were there fish in those pics? What make?


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## samsteel (Oct 6, 2008)

you may have caught more fish than me today, but I caught the most species.....I guess you could consider me somewhat of a tamer of multiple species




riverman said:


> Sweet sled, were there fish in those pics? What make?


thanks. It's a 1660 Riverman Semi V, just upgraded to the 90/65 a few months ago....love it


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

Where was the infamous spooning with steelhead shot Hutch?

Don't kid yourselves guys, you know you had the Tamer on speed dial to guide you through your day :lol:


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## samsteel (Oct 6, 2008)

ha...for sure! he was our inspiration:lol: no fish were roped today....we even released the sucker.


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

HaHa, he is an inspiration to all of us... :lol:


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

Nice job, Hutch...I can only imagine where you were fishing?


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## Multispeciestamer (Jan 27, 2010)

Great job today thousandcast and samsteel, as to the rest of you give it a break. Unlike thousandcasts and samsteel I dont see reports from the rest of you. You wont find the answer to that one on google either :nono:. As I am sure Quest will read this and it does nothing but show the fact that even if I hadnt made a reply you guys carry on like a couple little school kids. Look how the real so called experts are and act and you guys wonder why I question you! Please do not reply to this. You guys have made youselves look like d*c*s already enough. Whats been said is said. Time to move on.


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## Fishslayer5789 (Mar 1, 2007)

samsteel said:


> you may have caught more fish than me today, but I caught the most species.....I guess you could consider me somewhat of a tamer of multiple species


That may----quite possibly----be one of the funniest quotes ever composed on this site. I just about spit the coffee out of my mouth before I burst out laughing in the library at school.:lol::lol::lol:

Oh yeah, and nice work knocking the crap out of the fish! Apparently some of us were just born to tame multiple species. You would have caught a lot more running straight 14 lb test I'm sure. Maybe some larger hooks would have torn 'em up too!!! :yikes:

And don't worry Mr. Tamer, when I get through all my hectic school work, I will knock the piss out of the steelhead back home and post plenty of pictures with a stupendous report that will make you giggle like a little "school kid"!!!


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## LuckyChucky (Mar 28, 2005)

I think of this when I think of Multi :lol:


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Good fishing guys, a couple small ones eh?:evil:....


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

ausable_steelhead said:


> Good fishing guys, a couple small ones eh?:evil:....


Well yeah--at this time of year, you gotta have a few of these "super skips" thrown into the mix as well. Lord knows with our inexperience, we can't handle the big ones!


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## salmo'dog (Aug 24, 2007)

'bout time you learned how to catch fish Hutch!:lol:


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

thousandcasts said:


> Well yeah--at this time of year, you gotta have a few of these "super skips" thrown into the mix as well. Lord knows with our inexperience, we can't handle the big ones!


I thought it was the arthritis in your shoulders and elbows?


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

REG said:


> I thought it was the arthritis in your shoulders and elbows?


:lol: Apparently, he hasn't taken the trick photography class. 

Hutch, a "fish-eye" lens will cure that small fish problem you have. That, and a little arm extension.


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Flyfisher said:


> :lol: Apparently, he hasn't taken the trick photography class.
> 
> Hutch, a "fish-eye" lens will cure that small fish problem you have. That, and a little arm extension.


I reserve those kinds of shots for something other than a fish and it usually involves a female and dirty text messages.


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

thousandcasts said:


> I reserve those kinds of shots for something other than a fish and it usually involves a female and dirty text messages.


Should we just call you Brett?


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## Spanky (Mar 21, 2001)

Nice day of fishing guys!


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## Toga (Nov 11, 2009)

Looks like you had one heck of a day on the water!


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## Strongbad (Jul 24, 2010)

From the looks of that sucker it coulda been a master angler.


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## lreigler (Dec 23, 2009)

Well I know your problem! Your spot looks "iffy". I think if you took me there I could get a real analysis of it holds fish or not. 

Haha great fish!


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## Still Wait'n (Nov 25, 2005)

Nicely done. Keep at it you'll figure it out.


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## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

By the looks of the leader spool in the green cabela's bag (got the same one) TC is a maxima guy?


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

steely74 said:


> By the looks of the leader spool in the green cabela's bag (got the same one) TC is a maxima guy?


Two things are as sure as death and taxes: I use shimano reels religiously and I use Maxima ultra green for leader. :lol:


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## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

Im also a big ultragreen fan, I have landed lots of big fish on 5 and 6lb. test. When its a tough bite I run maxima on sunny days and floro on overcast days. I'm not sure if it makes a difference but it makes me feel better :lol:...


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

steely74 said:


> Im also a big ultragreen fan, I have landed lots of big fish on 5 and 6lb. test. When its a tough bite I run maxima on sunny days and floro on overcast days. I'm not sure if it makes a difference but it makes me feel better :lol:...


Honestly, the lowest I ever go is 6# for leader. Sunny day, cloudy day, December, January--I don't even own anything less than 6# nor do I even own any Floro. It's never been an issue for me, so I'm quite fond of saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." :lol:


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

I'm a big fan of Maxima UG and I bought a spool of 5lb last year. It was junk. First time I've ever had a bad spool. Everything else has always been fine though.


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

Maxima is likely the most dependable product sold for fishing...


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## Still Wait'n (Nov 25, 2005)

Maxima ultragreen is on all of my steelhead rods. I used the camelion (sp) for awhile and that stuff is super tuff.


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## Nighttimer (Jul 24, 2001)

Some of those fish are barely bigger than the boga.


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

Nighttimer said:


> Some of those fish are barely bigger than the boga.


 
Tamer could only do so much for them over the phone, had he been in the boat, they would have landed nothing but 20 pounders :lol:

Ok, that's my last comment against the Tamer, as long as I don't get anymore ridiculous pm's from him...


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## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

thousandcasts said:


> Honestly, the lowest I ever go is 6# for leader. Sunny day, cloudy day, December, January--I don't even own anything less than 6# nor do I even own any Floro. It's never been an issue for me, so I'm quite fond of saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." :lol:


Definitely! I only run the 5lb. test in extreme conditions. I will also add I only use the 5lb. in the colder months. Using it too early in the season will result in lost fish. I lost a nice fish last week using the 5lb. and have lost many others in the past. After that bumped up to 6 and landed a nice buck. The 5lb. test is sometimes a last ditch effort to pop another fish.

I have used the 6lb. maxima for skams on the pier and landed some beasts on it. I would not feel right hitting the water without some floro I have a lot of confidence in it. I like that I can use 8lb. floro for the added strength when 8lb. maxima is a little thick. Lately however, its been all 6lb. maxima and I've been doing fine.

I once read an article that said some floro lines have a sheen to it that reflects sunlight and "may" spook fish. I dont know the validity of the claim but the maxima does the job well in high sun ...

I will add I'm dying to try some of the Drennan Floro. The price looks high but it is for 50 meters instead of the 25 that usually come on leader spools. CFX is 8 bucks for 25 meters so the price of the drennan may actually be cheaper.


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

steely74 said:


> Definitely! I only run the 5lb. test in extreme conditions. I will also add I only use the 5lb. in the colder months. Using it too early in the season will result in lost fish. I lost a nice fish last week using the 5lb. and have lost many others in the past. After that bumped up to 6 and landed a nice buck. The 5lb. test is sometimes a last ditch effort to pop another fish.
> 
> I have used the 6lb. maxima for skams on the pier and landed some beasts on it. I would not feel right hitting the water without some floro I have a lot of confidence in it. I like that I can use 8lb. floro for the added strength when 8lb. maxima is a little thick. Lately however, its been all 6lb. maxima and I've been doing fine.
> 
> ...


At this time of year, I'll stay with 6# Maxima for myself and then I beef up to 8# when I'm running my guide trips and it usually doesn't make a difference. I mean, I tend to stay off the beaten track, so to speak, and when you find the stupid fish (i.e unpressured), you can get away with a bit stronger line. Even with this low and clear water, I've been getting most of my clients into quite a few fish using 8# Maxima for leader. I had a guy on Monday go 10 for 16 and another guy last week get into the 20's as far as numbers go. 


I don't know if line size makes that much difference as much as where you're fishing does. I try to stay away from the community holes and fish spots where the bulk of the fish aren't getting pressured. So, if the fish are on the bite and I've got someone in the boat that hasn't really had the experience of learning how to fight a fish and what not, I go with the stronger leader line so the odds of landing an a** kicker are more in their favor, ya know?


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## Fishslayer5789 (Mar 1, 2007)

I always wondered if guides bumped up line size. It's definitely difficult for people with very little experience to land something as tough as a steelhead on 6 lb line. I've taken a handful of people fishing that point the rod at the fish and reel as fast as they can when a fish is running....I'm sure lots of people on here have seen it too lol. By the way TC, what color bags have been hitting fish for you lately? I'm have time to fish the Grand for an hour tomorrow morning and only have pink and chartreuse tied up. We slayed with yellow a couple weeks ago.....first time my friends or I tried yellow too.


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

The two hours I got out this afternoon sucked as well, Steve. Killed my limit and released one. Slow-trolling plugs from my kayak in a major SW river, 14lb flouro leader.

Here's the makings of some smoked steelhead for Thanksgiving hors d'oeuvres.


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Flyfisher said:


> The two hours I got out this afternoon sucked as well, Steve. Killed my limit and released one. Slow-trolling plugs from my kayak in a major SW river, 14lb flouro leader.
> 
> Here's the makings of some smoked steelhead for Thanksgiving hors d'oeuvres.


This is note worthy stuff: 

I give Flyfisher, a friend, some friendly grief about fishing from a kayak, but I gotta tell you that while I might consider myself a fairly adequate fisherman from time to time, that s*** right there takes some skill and more importantly some patience that I'll never have. To sit there and paddle at just the right speed to work the lures, then fight and land a fish while sitting down? I may joke about the whole thing, but I gotta give the man his props. 

I'd be out there trying to light a Marlboro, a fish would hit, I'd tip the damn kayak over and be dog paddling my dumb a** to shore--all the while struggling like hell to keep my head above water so my smoke wouldn't go out. :lol:


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

Thanks, Hutch...here's the boat










And my "livewell"


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

That's pretty cool **** right there! You tried fishing around the pier heads yet?


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

Boozer said:


> That's pretty cool **** right there! You tried fishing around the pier heads yet?


I try to avoid boat traffic, if possible. I have caught salmon in drowned rivermouth lakes and Lake Michigan itself but stay away from the piers.


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## Boozer (Sep 5, 2010)

Cool, I bet the bigger fish pull you around pretty good!


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## Steelheadfred (May 4, 2004)

thousandcasts said:


> Honestly, the lowest I ever go is 6# for leader. Sunny day, cloudy day, December, January--I don't even own anything less than 6# nor do I even own any Floro. It's never been an issue for me, so I'm quite fond of saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." :lol:


 
Same for me, never found floro improved my hook ups, I hook just as many on 6lb Max UG and sometimes wonder if I should just run 8lb, I mean a 10 egg bag is a 10 egg bag.


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

thousandcasts said:


> I give Flyfisher, a friend, some friendly grief about fishing from a kayak, but I gotta tell you that while I might consider myself a fairly adequate fisherman from time to time, that s*** right there takes some skill and more importantly some patience that I'll never have. To sit there and paddle at just the right speed to work the lures, then fight and land a fish while sitting down? I may joke about the whole thing, but I gotta give the man his props.


Hutch, other than the patience and experience to find good holding water, I can't take too much credit. A paddling friend of mine has been doing this for many years on his local river. His guidance and some of the advice I pulled off the "Pullin' plugs" thread here helped. I ran a variety of cranks, but all the fish came on the same small Hot 'n Tot, blue/chrome herringbone. My other favorite color was sitting attached to a rod/reel in my garage. I tried a clatter-tad and small wiggle wart as well.

I will say the river would be a lot quieter if everyone fished sitting down in a kayak. Fortunately, the area I fish is not popular with boaters, as holding water/current is somewhat sparse relative to other sections of the river. It's well suited to the stealth tactics of paddler.


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## riversteel (Dec 11, 2009)

when fall fish are all "fired up" there's no need for flouro boys. might as well run straight braid.


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## samsteel (Oct 6, 2008)

riversteel said:


> when fall fish are all "fired up" there's no need for flouro boys. might as well run straight braid.


hmmmm...straight braid....i'll have to try that. thanks Captain Anonymity:coolgleam


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## Multispeciestamer (Jan 27, 2010)

riversteel said:


> when fall fish are all "fired up" there's no need for flouro boys. might as well run straight braid.


 All you guys seem to be saying things similar to what I said a few threads back . Still wouldnt run straight braid


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## samsteel (Oct 6, 2008)

MST, obviously you are not detecting the sarcasm exchanged in the last few posts.


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## Fishslayer5789 (Mar 1, 2007)

It's one thing to get away with running straight braid for kings (which I do with thundersticks and run train on the fish) but I would never throw braid for steelhead. I would think that the hooking percentage of flourocarbon or just tying straight to some mono would outperform braid for steelhead, even if the bite was "hot". If there's one thing I have noticed from doing a lot of river fishing, kings aren't line shy, but steelhead are a lot pickier. The only exception I could see would be in high muddy water where the fish can barely see a thing anyways.


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## Multispeciestamer (Jan 27, 2010)

samsteel said:


> MST, obviously you are not detecting the sarcasm exchanged in the last few posts.


 I am not reffering to just the past few post but most the post in this thread


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## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

TC made a very true statement the leader you use depends on where you fish. Pressured fish means lighter leaders fresh not yet harassed you can get away going heavier. Also like fishslayer said, in muddy water you can get away with heavier stuff. I agree 100%...



I'm notorious for hitting fish after people out here, and downsizing is one of my secrets. I will be deleting this part tomorrow, :lol:...


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## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

OH NO WHERE IS MY EDIT BUTTON? :yikes: :lol:


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

steely74 said:


> OH NO WHERE IS MY EDIT BUTTON? :yikes: :lol:


Maybe you can photoshop it out... :lol:


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## wartfroggy (Jan 25, 2007)

Multispeciestamer said:


> All you guys seem to be saying things similar to what I said a few threads back . Still wouldnt run straight braid


 I am sure it is because they are following your every direction, worshipping your every typed word.


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

wartfroggy said:


> I am sure it is because they are following your every direction, worshipping your every typed word.


Eh, just wait--someday he'll be able to stand up proudly and sing the "Sippy Cup" song! 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-KFb192Ub0"]YouTube - Two and a Half Men - Bye bye boobies[/ame]


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