*DISCLAIMER - Just because I hooked up, the fish were CRAZY awesome and there other folks with me killed 'em dead does not mean the fish will be there in the morning*


That out of the way, I had to do some work at my dads place in Olympia, so I got to fish the Nisqually again. Second time ever at the bridge hole, I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know it. I got to the river about eight thirty AM to see a guy walking out with a nice king. So my hopes were a little bit up. I was really excited to try an experiment with a new rod, I got this wierd pole at Ed's, I'd never heard of the brand. Tica rod, seven footer with a nice action for jigging. Turned out that it worked really well, albeit unconventionally, but not being a bass fishermen I'd never used a jigging rod before. I could feel every tiny little tick on the line like on a much more expensive pole, but for twenty odd bucks. It can't cast very far without a lotta weight, but for a little river like the Nisqually or the Skoke it worked really nicely.

I knew better than to fish close to the bridge in the morning, because of the last time I was there. So I fished up further. No dice. I got one nice bump from a lazy king but nothing else. A few kings rolling in the corner, no doubt just hangin out away from the fishermen. Not a single fish to the bank in the couple hours that I stayed. Had to go out to Steamboat Island for the stuff I had to do, so I packed up and headed out.

After I was done at my dads I was bored and did some fishing of the dock in the sound, caught a couple of dogfish with my new pole, which was really fun. They don't fight that much at all, but when you got a four foot shark trying to swim away from you at even a quarter speed, it's still passes the time. Threw them back, although I hear they're good eatin, I dunno I've never been brave enough and they have the most expressive eyes, with eyelids blinking at you all yellow like. Anyways, I left and was going to go home, but apparently traffic was hellish at the base and I made it past the Mounts Rd. exit to find traffic stopped, so I was like, nope, I'm not gonna sit still in traffic when I could be fishing.

So I went back to the river, since it was right behind me and I don't know how it happened, but somehow I was the guy at the end close to the bridge. There is a little metroplolis of snags under that bridge. If you could get a look under the water there you'd see miles and miles of line waving around in the current like sea anenome tentacles, just dying to reach out and grab your sinker. And another frustrating thing, power pro knot strength is less than HALF of the given line strength. Every time I got snagged, I'd pull real slow to try and just snap the leader, or bend the hook, but my knots kept coming undone so I had to retie everything. I was using 12 pound leader and still the knots would slip. Palomar knot, doubel Palomar, trilene knot, normal knot square knot. The stuff can't hold a knot worth beans. I think I'd have to go all the way up to thirty or forty pound test for it to hold strong enough to break the leader. All of this leading up to the grand fanale.

I was tired, and running low on line, leaders, bait etc. when it starts to get a little dusky. Guy right next to me gets fish on, and it's a nice bright silver. He starts to walk it to the bank, like it's got no fight left in 'im, he's all happy cuz he's been there all day with nothin. We're all glad that there's some fish coming to the bank, it's a good sign.

BAM@! Fish takes off the other way and the guy was so cocky that he wasn't even looking at the fish as he brought it in and rips his rod right outta his hands! It was terrifying, because his rod is getting towed by this fish, helter skelter through the water and everybody's groaning because that would totally suck to lose an expensive set up like that. But dude watches it go for a split second then does a face dive and a mad dash to grab it at the last second. He's swimming with his rod back to shore and would you believe it? The fish was still on, hooked up right and proper. That made my day.

A little bit after that it started to get dark and that's when the fish came through. It got quiet, like nobodies business and it was ON. They were in the river, and I mean I almost stepped on a couple and I was only in ankle deep water. It was dark, and there was only about fifteen to twenty minutes left in the night closure. I haven't seen fish like this this year up north. There were quite a few hook ups, I don't know if anybody landed 'em, I was too busy trying to fish myself. At that point I had bumps and grazes, but I got a fish on. Of course it went downstream, right into the death snag area under the bridge. I could feel him pulling and I couldn't pull back. That fish broke off, and at this point it was too dark to see to tie knots properly so I was just tying a hook and eggs. The adrenaline kicked in, and the guy next to me was having the same snag problem I was. But the fish were most evident in that bridge section right through there and I hooked another one, which snagged up just the same as before. Friggin stupid.

I bet there's someone from on here that can attest to the fish, and I'm I don't know if that's how the Nisqually is all the time and the locals keep it a secret or what, I don't know if I'd've posted it, but I can't get back there for a while and I had to tell someone, and the wife just doesn't understand how exciting it is to see fish like that after staring at the emptiness of the rivers up here. I wouldn't say that those fifteen minutes were worth the drive down if I hadn't been stalking lock jawed coho in the snoho and wallace and losing fish in the green on account of they always grab my spinner three feet from shore. But DON'T fish under that bridge if you can help it. Someone should go swimming during the afternoon with a divers knife and just cut all of that line out. I'm sure there's a bunch of free gear in it for the good samaritan that does. At one point I got snagged up and pulled up a whole rig, a cannonball swivel corky and hook, it was pristine and the next cast I got snagged up, broke off and retied with that one. Which was the one I ended up hooking the fish with, which then prompltly went back where it came from. True story. Not ever fishing by the bridge ever again. Can't say it too many times.

The fish were all silvers, bright jumpy and very much there.

Couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

knotabassturd

10/1/2010 8:02:00 AM

Another interesting trip! I have eggs if you get low/run out and are using them. Just not sure when I can get out :( The Mrs is in the 'you have to bring fish home or not go' stage. Considering the reports, I'm gonna need some luck LOL.

You gotta get one of these coho in soon, you are due.

jens

10/1/2010 11:35:00 AM

So you did or you didn't catch a fish? Just curious because of the 5 star rating. You must be going when the fish are crazy thick?? My buddy who has fished all week has only hooked into boot kings.

knotabassturd

10/1/2010 11:51:00 AM

I read thru it and clearly he didn't land one IMO. But he had some excitement, fish on, and someone else went swimming for good reason ;-) And I know to NOT fish right by the bridge (snags) if I can ever get down there. Guess 5 stars can be obtained from excitement, lots of fish, and hooking 'em alone and not catchin'. Wish I was still that young.

natetreat

10/1/2010 12:51:00 PM

I gave it five stars for the awesomeness. They call it fishing, if you were always gonna get a fish it'd be called catching. But hooking up and seeing silvers thick like that is good enough for me.

c_saeteurn

10/1/2010 1:34:00 PM

thats a great report, I was there last saturday and a saw a lot of fish rolling.
will be back tmr morning, nice and early.
Btw I think its called the mounts bridge hole.
I fish over in the handicap hole

knotabassturd

10/1/2010 2:02:00 PM

Ya putting the 5 stars into the context of zero fish landed may have some wondering but it also shows how tough the year has been on many rivers... Including the Nisqually. No gimmes anywhere this year. With all the water you are fishing, you are probably getting some interesting exposure to reading difft water, seeing difft techniques, etc.

natetreat

10/1/2010 2:55:00 PM

YEa, well the guys around me got fish, and as we were fishing together, I'm reporting for them too. Just because I suck at getting fish to the bank doesn't mean ya'll with more experience wouldn't've limited if you could keep your line in the water. The reports are not about whether or not I personally got'em to the bank, but whether or not the fish were there. But once those silvers get in the river, they aren't leaving, so have at 'em!

knotabassturd

10/1/2010 4:14:00 PM

Believe me I suck at getting fish to the bank too, you are not alone. Sounds like you probably had some lucky timing with a school pushing thru just at the time you were there.
I still have a little spunk in the old arthritic legs. I'd be the guy jumping in the river after the rod and the fish carrying it away even if I'm getting reaaal sloooow.
Hmmmmm maybe mentioning bank deposits, money, and fish all together might get my wife to let me out to fish more? I saw lots of interesting detritus along the shore on the last bank I visited. Might work... "Honey I'm going to the bank to do review deposits, be back in half a day". No, she's too smart for that.

[WR]

10/2/2010 5:10:00 PM

Ok, the reason you are losing fish to bad knots is that you're using knots for MONO not Braid to Mono.. do a web search and find BRAID specific and braid to mono or Flouro knots and start using them.. your percentages will go up.
Have been fishing the actual mouth and delta of the nisqually for 3 weeks.. from boat. Even at tide turns at dusk, using good fish finders with wide beam and side scan i can say this; there are very few fish showing up in the river. You must have hit a once in a blue moon school that slipped all the way down the sound without being detected.

natetreat

10/2/2010 6:46:00 PM

You are probably right about the school of fish. That's good to know about the mouth too, they must just be trickling into the rivers. I've been using the palomar knot to the swivel, that's the knot that Power Pro recommends. I'm not tying mono directly to the braid, it's a drift rig with a swivel and weight set. I dunno, if there is a special braid knot that would work, I'll try that next time, but for now I just stripped off all the power pro as the spool was getting low anyways.

[WR]

10/5/2010 8:03:00 PM

Nate,
you got mail.

everyone else; look up "the eye crosser knot"

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