"Getting Away" has been hard this year. With the season in full swing, the sky has become incredibly crowded regardless of when you fish. Everywhere you look, there are anglers in boats and on the bank testing their knowledge and luck against steelhead. I prefer to look to the fringes. It seems that when I see less people on the river, my success is improved exponentially. Funny how that works.

It comes down to pressure- and finding the least pressured water (that holds fish) possible. This is a heightened challenge with the year that we are experiencing. I have struggled with this lately; a few of my frequented spots are apparently now hit daily by several anglers. And to no surprise, every 5th day they'll hold a fish. Or less. I'm not one to play with the odds.

I ventured to the Wallace today upon seeing the sight at the Sky, and the Wallace was a zoo and a half. Not up by the hatchery, either.
A zoo for a river of its size, mind you, but still. I caught a 14" cutthroat, that was cool. He went back.

So, I took a drive and explored a bit. My day was five hours in with one non-target fish landed, so I just wanted to escape, enjoy nature, and catch something.

I put away my float rod altogether and ran light with my 8-foot UL.

First came a bull trout of 20", slim but aggressive. Up a couple yards I hooked and landed a semi-bright ~10lb coho. Two casts later I hooked a slightly darker coho and he abused a weak spot in my 8lb mono. First fish I've broken off in a long time.

Up a run, I landed a surprise 16" resident rainbow.
Then, this happened.

The next cast I launched out, and a savage strike followed. The fish stayed deep and had some weight, but didn't flop and spin like a coho. It took me four minutes to even see the fish apart from chrome flashes- I Id'd it a Native Steelhead. Six more minutes of being teased by her scarred sides, I was rewarded with tailing a large, scarred winter fish. I didn't measure or weigh it and it never left the water. Barbless hooks help. I was afraid mine would slip, but it held.

And then the next cast, I had an even more savage take and the fish immediately rocketed to the surface and went violently airborne... one, two, three, four times in quick succession. I had just landed my PB fish and then, the next cast, I hooked one even bigger. Again, the barbless hook held... and I managed to tail my second fish. Again, it never left the water, and aside from being momentarily immobilized for a couple of pictures, wasn't handled at all.

Remember that anywhere on the Sky or its tributaries, regardless of the season, you are in steelhead water. Please handle the water and fish with care, never take them unnecessarily out of the water, barbless hooks are preferred, and bait is discouraged.

So a banner day, two beautiful wild steelhead and a handful of other river friends.