A fresh, chrome fish taken at first
December 2013.
I decided to make a solo trip up a few months after
that November excursion. I saw a man with a nice
steelhead that was well over 10lbs. in the parking lot
of Ellis Cove.
My eyes were
burning from
the lack of
sleep, and I
fished my butt off
to come away empty
handed. I drove home
that night disappointed, but
Anthony said usually the third
trip was the charm. I would have to
wait almost 8 months for my next crack at
the mighty steelhead.
24
In that time I read, I studied,
and I tied hundreds of flies. I worked
on my drifts while fishing for trout.
My next opportunity almost didn’t
happen. I separated my non casting
shoulder diving for a ball while playing
softball. Determined, and with one arm
we packed my truck, and at 1 am, we
headed for Douglaston once again. The
water was up from the recent rain, and
the weather was perfect “steelheading
weather”. Rain, temperatures in the mid
30’s, and a steady west wind pushed a
lot of chrome steelhead into the river. I
hooked up with my first fish about midmorning. I have caught stripe bass,
bluefish, pike and even bonefish on the
fly, but the mighty steelhead hit my blue
estaz egg with an aggression and anger
light.
I had never felt before. Before I knew
it, it had peeled off almost 80 feet of fly
line. I didn’t even have any time to try
and slow it down never mind stop it.
Pop, it was gone. Just like that, over before it even got
started. In that short time my adrenaline kicked in, and
I could feel it leave after it broke off. I didn’t feel any
disappointment because I think I was in shock from
getting my behind whooped by a fish!
It happened 6 more times to me that day. These fish
were so fresh, we didn’t have a chance. If we went
with heavier tippet, they got leader shy. We were using
8-10 lb. tippet, and out of 4 of us, only one fish got to
the bank. Everyone who was fishing around was losing
almost all of them. Once hooked, fish would come out
of the water like dolphins. Flipping, rotating, and doing
everything in their power to break free. Drag screaming
runs, and yells of “Fish on, fish off” were the common
sounds you heard all day. Everyone walked back to the