Nice fish...congrats!
A Steelie in May...My First One in the Fraser Valley (5/24/10)
Well, what a surprise. My first steel landed here in the Valley.
My buddy and I decided to hit a local lake for trout. We left the fly rod and spinners at home and just did a lazy day of worms, bobbers, and a relaxin' sit-down on this lake...old school style
My friend is near retirement age and he wanted to get in touch with his Ontario childhood of fishing. It was a fine day!
Anyways, my first cast had a nice drift, then the bobber goes down near a log. I thought, "great, snagged bottom." When I yanked on the hook, it was a head shake, then a run! What? How would I fight a big trout on my 4 lb. test line and dinky little trout rod? After about a 15 minute fight, a steel of about 8 pounds comes to the bank. He was slinky-thin though, obviously a kelt. I'm thinking a post spawn on its way out back to the salt chuck. He was about 26 inches long. The fish took the hook in its lower jaw. I was told that this time of year, it could either be a summer or winter fish, as both runs spawn and leave rivers around the same time. The fish had the famous square tail. He had rosy cheeks
We were fishing on the lake, but an outlet creek wasn't far away. It was probably heading for that creek. The lake was open but the creek was closed. No wonder. There was also a few fishermen on the lake, mostly trollers.
Although I'd still rather catch a fresh steel in the middle of winter, I'm not complaining
I took a pic and released it. See the pics below and enjoy!
My buddy and I decided to hit a local lake for trout. We left the fly rod and spinners at home and just did a lazy day of worms, bobbers, and a relaxin' sit-down on this lake...old school style
My friend is near retirement age and he wanted to get in touch with his Ontario childhood of fishing. It was a fine day!Anyways, my first cast had a nice drift, then the bobber goes down near a log. I thought, "great, snagged bottom." When I yanked on the hook, it was a head shake, then a run! What? How would I fight a big trout on my 4 lb. test line and dinky little trout rod? After about a 15 minute fight, a steel of about 8 pounds comes to the bank. He was slinky-thin though, obviously a kelt. I'm thinking a post spawn on its way out back to the salt chuck. He was about 26 inches long. The fish took the hook in its lower jaw. I was told that this time of year, it could either be a summer or winter fish, as both runs spawn and leave rivers around the same time. The fish had the famous square tail. He had rosy cheeks
We were fishing on the lake, but an outlet creek wasn't far away. It was probably heading for that creek. The lake was open but the creek was closed. No wonder. There was also a few fishermen on the lake, mostly trollers.
Although I'd still rather catch a fresh steel in the middle of winter, I'm not complaining
I took a pic and released it. See the pics below and enjoy!
