[fishortho]

After getting introduced to flyfishing for winter steelhead by Fish finder last year, I have put in 50 hrs. with nothing to show. No hits, no "possibles"....nothing. Today I hit the river with my T & T single hander 8wt.in hand and my tutor, non other than the Proff. himself carefully watching over me.
After watching a couple of fish come to the beach by the gear guys, one who absolutely corked me and jumped in 20 ft. below me then nailed a hatch doe on the 2nd cast, I continued to fish my spot. I overlooked this liitle faux pas,by my uneducated fellow, and a few minutes later, after losing my fly to an underwater hazard, I was given one of Professori's hand tied black and pink articulated bunny leaches. Guess what?.....WHAM!......Fish on!.....My first fly caught steelhead was airborn and ripping line from my reel at an alarming rate.....Wow! what a rush! I quickly stepped downstream a bit and my fish does a U-turn from the other side of the river and comes racing back towards me while I quickly take up the line as fast as I can. Another leap out of the water in front of me, gave me a good look at a very fat, healthy doe of around 7-8 lbs.
Another 180 degree turn mid stream and off she goes downstream again. The third attempt at freedom by going airborne is successful and the fly pops out, the line goes slack, and my first steelhead says goodbye.
Heart rate is 135 bpm, my hands are shaking!....... I'm still waiting for one to the beach.........53hrs in now.....Ortho 8)

 

[sage2106lb]

Right on, the hours turn to minutes now ortho... :cheers: sage

 

[Bent Rod]

Awesome :thumbup:.
You got the best part of the fun and didn't have to get slimy.

another 45 hours and you should be good to go , JK.

 

[rickets]

congrats ortho!! the rush is sure worth it eh??

 

[HOOK]

WOOHOO :happy: finally ya got the first one ;D ;D Congrats Ortho !!!!

hope i get mine tomorrow on the fly. I bet you land the next one, the practicing is over and done with now ;D


HOOK

 

[Fish Finder]

Ooooh so close. :thumbup: Get back at it soon and it'll happen again.

Finder :cheers:

 

[Fishaholic]

OHHH there goes another one to the dark side :'(..... probably flossed it!




LOL JK a rush aint it... good job. They sure seem to be hard to handle on the feathers

 

[hotrod]

The spirits are with you my friend! There will be another before the seasons out!

congrats there uncle Ortho!



Hotrod

 

[Hook Set]

Great job Ortho, congrats. Sounds like it's well deserved. This will be my first year that I will try for steelhead on the fly, we'll see how it goes

 

[steeliesrking]

Way to go Ortho. Sometimes, as you well know, a little confidence goes a long way.

 

[fishortho]

Hey, thanks, guys!........For those of you that are also looking for your first steelhead on the fly, I have the following to offer in the way of "rookie advice".........Good flywater is scarce in all rivers. You will need to learn what to look for. Gear fishers can get into small pocket water easily. That same productive water is tough with a fly. Read everything you can, watch all the videos, and talk to lots of good fly chuckers. Just like drift fishing, there are a lot of line tricks, mends, rod position and keeping your presentation in the zone. Too much weight and too much "belly" in the line and you will be on the bottom, not enough and you are fishing topwater.
I have a long history as a gear fisher, and reading topwater to tell me what is below the surface has proven to be very helpful, also. Be patient, I spent the equivalent of 7 days of fishing prior to my first hook up, and I know where to fish. Enlist everyone you can. At least 6 members of this board have helped me directly, with fly selection, casting instruction and presentration (you know who you are)...Thanks.
Just another reason to be a member of BCFR.....Ortho 8)............steelies beware! ;D

 

[Salmonator]

Ortho you are a insperation to us all..... :cheers:

 

[Flyfishin Magician]

Nice work Robert! Too bad the fish got away, but landing it is almost "anticlimatic" anyways. At least that's one way to look at it. I'd love to get out but it doesn't look good for this weekend! I think a steelie fly fishing trip with FF is in order...

 

[Coho Cody]

Good job Rob, hope you land the next one

 

[kaitlyn]

nice work, "dad",
wish that I could have joined you,
did get some dough, though.

 

[Fish Finder]

The biggest key is patience. Especially when you know the drift fishing techniques are cleaning up in water you can't effectively fish on the fly. IMHO hooking winter runs on the fly is not an easy feat. Stick with it and you'll be rewarded.

Finder :cheers:

 

[fishnfvr]

Good for you Ortho! Your report was an excellent read! I was just sorry you didnt get it to hand - but Im sure you will get another chance and when you do - take a nice photo for us to see- with that BIG smile on your face!! Im looking forward to seeing it VERY soon!

 

[Big Green Machine]

I am still waiting for my first Vedder steelhead on the fly too, but that is what keeps me going!

Ortho you are a insperation to us all.....

'

I'm all misty right now. :'(

 

[PumpingIron]

Hey, thanks, guys!........For those of you that are also looking for your first steelhead on the fly, I have the following to offer in the way of "rookie advice".........Good flywater is scarce in all rivers. You will need to learn what to look for. Gear fishers can get into small pocket water easily. That same productive water is tough with a fly. Read everything you can, watch all the videos, and talk to lots of good fly chuckers. Just like drift fishing, there are a lot of line tricks, mends, rod position and keeping your presentation in the zone. Too much weight and too much "belly" in the line and you will be on the bottom, not enough and you are fishing topwater.
I have a long history as a gear fisher, and reading topwater to tell me what is below the surface has proven to be very helpful, also. Be patient, I spent the equivalent of 7 days of fishing prior to my first hook up, and I know where to fish. Enlist everyone you can. At least 6 members of this board have helped me directly, with fly selection, casting instruction and presentration (you know who you are)...Thanks.
Just another reason to be a member of BCFR.....Ortho 8)............steelies beware! ;D

As flyfishermen we CAN fish this pocket water. This is the time to fish nymphs. I am still fairly new to this technique but it can be deadly. You can use an indicator or not but being a newbie to this technique I do use an indicator. I have been doing this for cutthroat lately and one day I had this take that was unlike any cutthroat. About 3 secs in I see this huge flash and its a steelhead. About 5 secs after that he breaks my 4lb Fluorocarbon leader.

Ortho you should come out this way sometime and I will show you this technique.

 

[fishortho]

I'm in!!!! ;D ;D Ortho 8)