Roses are Red, Steelhead are Chrome

Fishing has been tough the past 10 days, but I had high hopes for Monday. The forecast was for rain and the river to rise. I had was guiding a couple of good friends, Sue and Bryan, on the river for a valentines triple date. And the best valentine we could have would be for a fish to hand. 

The day started early, and we were at the boat launch in the dark, waiting for it to be become light enough to push away. The morning was warm with with broken clouds and patches of blue. This wasn’t the promised forecast of rain and low elevation snow. 

We made our first stop in The Gauge. This is one of the best runs on the river and has produced hundreds of fish. Sadly today it didn’t produce but next time it will. All day we hop scotched with my good friend Travis who was guiding another friend of mine Henry. The Sandy is like my home away from home,all of the other guides are my good friends, and I know the water intimately. Guiding is like a chess match, what run is everyone in, where am I going, and what is my plan of action.

We bounced around all day, hunting for steelhead in every nook and cranny possible. Sadly at the end we were not rewarded for our efforts with a steelhead, but we did have a good time, everyones casting improved, and we explored some different spots. We ended up having every type of weather, rain, sun, and hail. It was cold and wet and just what was needed to recharge the batteries. And was a great way to spend valentines.

With the lack of rain the river has been low’ish and clear which makes for difficult fishing. Sooner or later the fish will start to bite but they need a little time to acclimate. No matter how tough the fishing is, I guarantee that you can’t catch them if you don’t go. I’m willing to bet, that with this next rain storm this weekend fish will start moving and we will be back in action again.