After two weeks in Maine Barb and I were pretty anxious to get back on the river for our annual New Years Day fishing trip. We launched the boat at Couse Creek at 1:30pm, beautiful day, 50* and sunshine, river temp. 38.2*, slight breeze, just right for Steelheading. Put the boat on plane and headed down river about five miles to a favorite stretch of water that is usually productive. Today we are using a plug without hooks, a trailing leader is attached to the belly position on the plug with a single barbless hook attached to the leader. Dark red marinated shrimp is threaded on the single hook.

Reaching our chosen water the boat is pointed upstream, Honda is fired up and we start a slow backtroll, in about fifteen minutes my rod gets a couple of soft taps, and then starts a slow bend, I lift it out of the holder and wait, can feel a steady soft pull, so I jerk the rod to set the hook, nothing there, I was too anxious and had over reacted, should have been more patient. Pulled in and put a fresh shrimp on, and got the line back out. In about five minutes I get a repeat, but this time I wait, after at least a minute of nudgeing it the rod takes a sharp bend, and I'm into a nice Steelhead, after ten minutes Barb slides the net under a beautiful colored Buck Steelhead.

Now it is Barb's turn, we go back to the start of the run and start the backtroll routine, in a very short time Barb's rod starts getting a tap, tap, tap, she leaves the rod in the holder and waits, it then takes a sharp bend, and she has one on, this one is a little bigger than mine, and puts up a good fight, it is also a buck, with a hooked lower jaw, pretty fish.

We have been out a hour, it is 2:30, the sun has disappeared, a few drops of rain is coming down, a big black cloud is coming down the canyon, we have landed our second Steelhead, we decide to call it quits for the day, and get the boat out before the cloud burst hits, we almost made it. Ken & Barb

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