Live long and prosper. Photo by Steve Turner
I have one last question for you Trey, your most memorable fish?
Great question, I can think of two:
On the Kispiox there’s a run called Potato Patch. From on the high bank side it is actually an old potato farm. On the other side is a nice gravel bar. As they come up there is a big break in the bottom and fish will be closer to the high bank. I was using a single hand rod but you could get short spey casts out and the fly would swing perfectly. I had a steelhead take the fly and go to the bottom of the pool and shake around. I had no idea what I
had on and then the fish left the pool 100 yds down. But I put a lot of pressure on and he came back up into the tailout. I was keeping a tight line on him and he came by me like a submarine and just kept going upriver. Never stopped. Finally the line was through the bushes and trees, he had gone up around the bend!
The other fish was on the Dean on Eagle Run-- if I could only fish one spot for the rest of my life, that would be the pool. The biggest fish I got out of that pool on a three day trip was 24lbs. One day I hooked a fish and it went across the river to the cliff face and just hung there. It was one of those moments where you could hardly feel the fish on. My biggest steelhead ever was about 27lbs, but I have no idea how big this fish was. After an eternity, he finally left the cliff face and ran to the head of the pool and I was able to get below him and put a lot of pressure on him with the heavy water. But he went through the head of the pool and above the heavy water. There was a half mile of water that was only knee deep and really heavy but I still couldn’t see the fish and he never stopped.
Both went upstream?
Yea, they did.
Incredible
In my experience with sea trout in Argentina and Atlantic Salmon, they tend to be in huge pools. I’ve heard of epic battles with Atlantic Salmon but they get over 40lbs. Now a 40lb steelhead exists, but a number of Atlantics that big are caught every year. So I would say a 30lb steelhead caught on a fly is equivalent to catching a 45lb Atlantic on a fly. I’m not sure a steelhead that big would be land-able.
I think a real big steelhead, you just can’t put enough pressure on.