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Breaking the skunk


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#1 Luke

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Posted 30 January 2012 - 10:54 PM

So while with the extended season in 2011 I landed at least 1 piece of chrome on every outing... 2012 until last week has sucked.

It started off with my uncle/god father/ fishing mentor dying suddenly on New Year’s Day and got worse for a few weeks in other ways. Going out to the streams has been how I have been dealing with the stress of the last 6 months and last week things finally started to turn around in my life. But this is a fishing forum so I will stick to that :)

I had a chance at my first steel of 2012 on Wednesday but the bugger shook the hook, no matter being out near water is still relaxing, and I have landed 3 suckers this New Year, lol.


Today went a little bit better, went out after work for an hour, snow was falling before I hit the water at 4:30. There was no one else fishing to my surprise. I tried fishing my usual drift but due to an injured foot decided to get to a more comfortable position and drift a spot on a hunch. 2 Drifts later *Slurp* float goes down. I am standing in the water and the float is only 3 or 4 feet past my rod tip, maybe less, but I don’t remember any snags in the spot. All of a sudden I see something come closer to the surface and headshake. No, it’s definitely not a snag. The water is murky and the fish is dark, is it a brown? A bow? I can’t tell. At first it feels like a boot and I think there won’t be a fight.


Wrong! The fish took me all over the river. The snow made the pin slippery and my hands wet, I would myself at points palming the line on the spool to slow down the fish as it was tearing around the river. On run it took was so fast and long it felt like fighting it in open water on the lake. Then came the challenge of landing, slippery snowy rocks, slippery logs, ice, and a long rod with nowhere to beach the fish.

Well eventually I managed to get situated in a spot and bring the big boy to the net. Nice big buck, measured out at 30"

january 30 steel.jpg

january 30 steel 2.jpg

A few shots and back he went. After the fight he gave and how calm he was on the ground I got my hands wet to make sure to revive him, I was sure it would take a while. He proved me wrong again, it took less than a minute before he had enough energy to let me know I should let go of his tail and he swam away to make some kids.

I caught his little brother not too much later; this one was practically under my rod tip. The battle with the little guy was much shorter, especially since I now had a landing strategy. I got pictures but they aren’t very nice due to the snow. He was also released and swam off even quicker than his big brother.
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#2 ChaseChrome

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Posted 30 January 2012 - 11:02 PM

Awesome Luke nice pics--bet that warmed you up
Posted ImagePosted Image

And also deepest sympathies on the loss of your uncle, much more felt as he was your fishing mentor (it's not "merely" a fishing forum brother...)
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#3 NOTTA STEELER

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Posted 30 January 2012 - 11:04 PM

So while with the extended season in 2011 I landed at least 1 piece of chrome on every outing... 2012 until last week has sucked.

It started off with my uncle/god father/ fishing mentor dying suddenly on New Year’s Day and got worse for a few weeks in other ways. Going out to the streams has been how I have been dealing with the stress of the last 6 months and last week things finally started to turn around in my life. But this is a fishing forum so I will stick to that :)

I had a chance at my first steel of 2012 on Wednesday but the bugger shook the hook, no matter being out near water is still relaxing, and I have landed 3 suckers this New Year, lol.


Today went a little bit better, went out after work for an hour, snow was falling before I hit the water at 4:30. There was no one else fishing to my surprise. I tried fishing my usual drift but due to an injured foot decided to get to a more comfortable position and drift a spot on a hunch. 2 Drifts later *Slurp* float goes down. I am standing in the water and the float is only 3 or 4 feet past my rod tip, maybe less, but I don’t remember any snags in the spot. All of a sudden I see something come closer to the surface and headshake. No, it’s definitely not a snag. The water is murky and the fish is dark, is it a brown? A bow? I can’t tell. At first it feels like a boot and I think there won’t be a fight.


Wrong! The fish took me all over the river. The snow made the pin slippery and my hands wet, I would myself at points palming the line on the spool to slow down the fish as it was tearing around the river. On run it took was so fast and long it felt like fighting it in open water on the lake. Then came the challenge of landing, slippery snowy rocks, slippery logs, ice, and a long rod with nowhere to beach the fish.

Well eventually I managed to get situated in a spot and bring the big boy to the net. Nice big buck, measured out at 30"

january 30 steel.jpg

january 30 steel 2.jpg

A few shots and back he went. After the fight he gave and how calm he was on the ground I got my hands wet to make sure to revive him, I was sure it would take a while. He proved me wrong again, it took less than a minute before he had enough energy to let me know I should let go of his tail and he swam away to make some kids.

I caught his little brother not too much later; this one was practically under my rod tip. The battle with the little guy was much shorter, especially since I now had a landing strategy. I got pictures but they aren’t very nice due to the snow. He was also released and swam off even quicker than his big brother.

VERY NICE !! that is a beautiful Steelhead and they do still have lots of energy , they'll be gettin' turned on to spawning soon .
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#4 troutddicted

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Posted 30 January 2012 - 11:11 PM

Awesome report :) And great fish to boot :)
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#5 mercman

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Posted 30 January 2012 - 11:33 PM

Great report!! Congratulations on breaking the skunk, as well as condolences on the loss of your Uncle. Bitter sweet victory for ya, byt ya know what?.................I think he was watching over you that day. What d'ya think bud?Posted Image
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#6 Luke

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Posted 30 January 2012 - 11:49 PM

Thanks guys.


Mercman funny you mention that, I was actually thinking about him at the river today. He lived in europe with a bunch of my other relatives and about a week or two before he passed I was standing in the very same spot as today, also catching steel and thought about how nice it would be for him to come over and enjoy some of this great fishery we have in Ontario.

I even had a request for trout if I caught one eating size, and the second one I caught was ideal, about 3 lbs, had a fin clip (hatchery fish) and was a male. But for whatever reason today I decided he needed to be living and swimming, and boy did he take off fast when I put him back in.

Maybe I have just gotten a tad but more sentimental since my daughter was born last march, lol

Either way, nothing beats a day on the river... well ok holding my firstborn definitely does, but being on the river is almost as relaxing and today was just perfect :D I also have some nice scenery shots but wont post those due to the background debates on here :grin:
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#7 Float down

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 06:42 AM

Makes me itch... I... Need... Steeeellllll!!!!
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#8 ChaseChrome

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 08:46 AM

Makes me itch... I... Need... Steeeellllll!!!!


"Itch???"

I have hives man!!!!!! Posted Image
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#9 ChaseChrome

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 08:46 AM

Thanks guys.


Mercman funny you mention that, I was actually thinking about him at the river today. He lived in europe with a bunch of my other relatives and about a week or two before he passed I was standing in the very same spot as today, also catching steel and thought about how nice it would be for him to come over and enjoy some of this great fishery we have in Ontario.

I even had a request for trout if I caught one eating size, and the second one I caught was ideal, about 3 lbs, had a fin clip (hatchery fish) and was a male. But for whatever reason today I decided he needed to be living and swimming, and boy did he take off fast when I put him back in.

Maybe I have just gotten a tad but more sentimental since my daughter was born last march, lol

Either way, nothing beats a day on the river... well ok holding my firstborn definitely does, but being on the river is almost as relaxing and today was just perfect :D I also have some nice scenery shots but wont post those due to the background debates on here :grin:



Tell you a story about my dad one day..................


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#10 Spinninreel

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 12:39 PM

Congrats on the success and sorry for your loss.
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#11 mercman

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 01:14 PM

Thanks guys.


Mercman funny you mention that, I was actually thinking about him at the river today. He lived in europe with a bunch of my other relatives and about a week or two before he passed I was standing in the very same spot as today, also catching steel and thought about how nice it would be for him to come over and enjoy some of this great fishery we have in Ontario.

I even had a request for trout if I caught one eating size, and the second one I caught was ideal, about 3 lbs, had a fin clip (hatchery fish) and was a male. But for whatever reason today I decided he needed to be living and swimming, and boy did he take off fast when I put him back in.

Maybe I have just gotten a tad but more sentimental since my daughter was born last march, lol

Either way, nothing beats a day on the river... well ok holding my firstborn definitely does, but being on the river is almost as relaxing and today was just perfect :D I also have some nice scenery shots but wont post those due to the background debates on here :grin:


Just a note to say, i am a strong believer in life bonds, being carried over into death.Our mind is made up of electrical energy.Energy can not be destroyed.If you try, you create more energy.
But, thats a whole new thread, right boys?:cool:

Tite lines Bud !!! You may never fish alone again.

Paul
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#12 Majstor

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 11:32 PM

good stuff luke, also sorry about your loss :-(
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#13 Luke

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Posted 31 January 2012 - 11:35 PM

Thanks again guys. Now for part 2.

After work I went to get my foot x rayed today, I looked at the xrays and in my professional opinion nothing is broken, lol

On my way back from the doctors I heard from my real estate agent and my house is now officially sold.

Thus, I decided a celebratory outing was necessary. I was delayed getting out after work due to the xrays and because my dad requested I set up his trout gear so he can make an outing this week. I drew him some maps and pointed out which parts of the flow to drift and went about preparing his setup. Funny story but I reintroduced him to fishing and taught him almost everything he knows about it, but that’s for another day. Unfortunately due to our work schedules we don’t get to get out together these days.

Anyway, after I had his setup was ready I went out. Got to the river at about 5:10, not soul fishing, sun setting, water higher and faster than yesterday and a bit more wind.

After a few drifts the current where I caught my two fish yesterday was too strong and my float was constantly being sucked up by little whirlpools. I decided to drift another stretch, one that I can only reach on perfect casts. I made one cast amiss and I got stuck on bottom. After I broke it off a nice couple stopped by to see what I was up to and we chatted for a bit. Unfortunately this ate up some of the, oh, 30 minutes of daylight I had to work with.

I started making casts with my pin, and I managed a few good ones. The current was just ripping and I was having a hard time getting a good drift. Finally as the light was dimming enough that I could barely see my float in the distance I said to myself, ok this is my last long distance drift. I then muttered to myself "if I don’t get one on this one I am not getting one" (please no comments on talking to myself, they say it’s a sign of intelligence, lol)

No sooner had I muttered the words than I see my float go down, I set the hook expecting another false suck down, or one of those wonderful branches I've been landing. Nope it feels like a fish, a few seconds later some beautiful steel breaks the surface and decides to do some acrobatics. After a couple spirited runs, including one straight at me where I was just a tad slower reeling in my pin than the fish was charging me, I had worn it out. I then netted the beautiful chrome hen and moved her to a soft spot to unhook. Looks like I had done it just in time, it was just hanging on to a tiny bit of skin in the corner of her mouth.

Here are the pictures, sorry about the quality, lactic acid causes for a shaky long exposure shot when its dark and the flash just makes it look crappy.

jan 31 steel.jpg
jan 31 steel 2.jpg
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#14 salmotrutta

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 03:59 AM

Great reports Luke, thanks for sharing. Sorry to hear of your loss.

P.S. Everyone is nuts and intelligent, in their own way. We are all a lot more alike than we realize, petty differences and our animal instincts keep us from noticing this most of the time.
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#15 Knuguy

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 11:09 AM

Nice fish, and nice play-by-play report there, Luke .

Sometimes talking to yourself is the only way to get a sensible conversation going! :grin:


P.S. Everyone is nuts and intelligent, in their own way. We are all a lot more alike than we realize, petty differences and our animal instincts keep us from noticing this most of the time.


Very well put, ST. You're wise beyond your years!
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#16 Float down

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 05:40 PM

Hey Luke, how do you like your aventa?
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#17 Luke

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 08:51 PM

I like it, I bought it from CJR on here and it has upgraded ABEC 5 bearings. I started pin fishing with a brass bushing pin that would only start up if the current was flowing like the niagara, so this one feels like a dream.

The only thing that I dont like about it is that when its raining or snowing and my hands get wet its almost impossible to palm the spool properly to fight a fish, palming the line works in those sitations though. I didnt have that issue with the old pin due to a different spool design. All in all I think its a great entry level pin.


On a sidenote for some reason I always talk to fish as I am releasing them, no idea where I got the habit from. It must seem odd to some people on the water but no one has dared to say anything, lol.
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#18 TRINIBOY

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Posted 01 February 2012 - 09:59 PM

Great story Luke it's always nice to start the year with some steel...
P.S. Sorry about your loss I know the feeling only too well, lost my sister one week before Christmas so I can relate only too well.
FYI.. if you think your nuts talking to fish you should be around when I'm not catching any it's a total laugh central cracking jokes... lol
With any luck hopefully i'll join the club and break the skunk streak this weekend.... Posted Image
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#19 Luke

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Posted 03 February 2012 - 12:19 AM

Goodluck, it shaping up to be a good fishing weekend on a lot of streams.

I went out again today for a bit and hooked one within three drifts. It was so close to me that as soon as I set the hook I said "well see how long it stays on" to the guy next to me knowing I had made a poor hookset. About 5 seconds later with a headshake at the surface it was off and my float was in the trees.

As I was retying he was cleaning ice off his tip guide. I looked at his float which was proably a foot from shore and it shot down, I yelled to him hey you have a fish on. He ran the 13 feet down his rod to his reel (a pin) and thankfully it was still on. A good fight later and he had landed a buck that was a good 13-14 lbs, just a tank :)

I also saw one landed that did not have a lower jaw, it was otherwise healthy and about 4-5 lbs.
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#20 TRINIBOY

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Posted 03 February 2012 - 02:21 PM

The thrill is in the catching.
Landing them is just the bonus. :)
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