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We were planning to spend the day at Ski Bluewood today, but the weather looked so good for another day on the river thet we opted to go fishing. It was a good choice. The fishing gods must be shining on us. Turned out to be a memorable afternoon.

Left the house at noon, and launched the boat off the gravel above Buffalo Eddy. This is a pretty good place to launch, with a lot of parking space. Put the boat on plane and headed upriver toward Heller Bar, went past Billy Creek about three miles. Reached the area we wanted to fish on the Idaho side, made all the preps with the plugs, and started a slow back troll. Have not seen another boat on the river. We have it all to ourselves. Anticipating a strike any second we make a complete pass without a bump. Decided to try another nice stretch of water upriver, and on the Wash. side.

There is a high overcast, spring-like temp. at 48*, river temp. is 40.5*, clear water, and no wind. The canyon is absolutley beautiful. So nice it is almost breath taking. This stretch of water is really nice to fish. Has good bottom structure for holding Steelhead. There are numerous points sticking out that create small back eddys. My trolling pattern will be to follow the current line, and work the points. Have gone a short distance, and I get a sharp jerk on my rod without stripping any line out, no hookup.

Continue with the drift, the water is starting to get shallow, five to seven feet, Barb's rod suddenly slams down, she yells "I've got one", this Steelhead is really stripping line out, Barb has trouble getting the rod out of the holder, she puts all of her strength into it, and as the rod comes out of the holder this big Steelhead Hen comes out of the water about one hundred feet behind the boat. Barb is excited, the fish is fighting so hard she thinks she is going to lose it, it comes out of the water three more times, makes a run toward the boat, then comes out of the water again close to the boat. The fish is now tired, and turns on her side, I slide the net under her, what a beautiful fish, we take a picture and put her back in the river, very strong, she revived in about fifteen seconds.

We decided to try the stretch of water on the Idaho side that was the first choice. Should be a fish there some where. Had another hit on my rod without a hookup, then at the very end of the drift Barb's rod goes down again. Barb insists that I take this one since she just caught one, so without arguing, I end up playing the fish. I have got to tell you, for some reason these Steelhead are some of the greatest fighters we have seen, showing jumps that are spectacular. This Steelhead tail walked across the surface twice, and jumped many times. At one point she had my braided line stripped down to the backing. We nosed the boat into a sandbar and landed her. Then took the picture you see before releasing her.

As you can see in the picture it is getting dark, time to head for home, we pour a cup of coffee, talk about what a wonderful day this has been, and how lucky we are. Ken & Barb

basser90

12/10/2010 6:38:00 AM

Ken and Barb, I should have mentioned this a long time ago that I absolutly love reading your reports. Awesome

bob johansen

12/10/2010 7:45:00 AM

Yes, Great reports! Over the years I have released many nice bass but I must admit that I've kept a few steelhead for table fare. Do you and Barb ever eat one?

kenbarb

12/10/2010 8:46:00 AM

Yes Bob, we will keep about twenty pounds in Jan. We smoke them, then remove the skin, large bones, dark meat and belly fat, then pack them in half pint jars, and pressure cook for 100 minutes, at 10psi. Ken

Rob G.

12/10/2010 3:21:00 PM

@KCDEIFE.....Really? you sound like a HATER! If this was my post you would get reported immediately....calm down, grab your gear, and go fishing!

kenbarb

12/10/2010 4:11:00 PM

Hi KCDEIFE, Your comment is self explaining as to the reason I do not take strangers fishing with me, you never know what will appear. Having said that, let me help you with the rules. Where I fish on the Snake River it is Idaho on one side, Wash. on the other side. I am fishing with a Idaho license, it IS NOT illegal to take a picture and release in Idaho. Barb and I take a lot of care when releasing these fish, both wild and hatchery, they are very healthy when they swim away, we are not killing them. I am sorry if the pictures offend you. Ken

mascorella21

12/10/2010 5:08:00 PM

KCDIFE::: I don't know you know this but ken and barb are probably the most unlikely of anyone to break the rules. if you couldn't tell by the wonderful, detailed reports, that these are great people. I've enjoyed reading there reports for a long time. I and probably everyone else would appreciate it if you checked out the rules before you act like the fish and game. thanks. By the way ken and barb, i have made it a goal to be able to live as happily as you two do. tight lines.
Mascorella21

sethook

12/10/2010 6:03:00 PM

wow someone needs to put that guys head underwater for a minute. nice fish ken and barb

Mike Carey

12/10/2010 6:09:00 PM

The Terms of Use for this site are quite clear. Harrassing or threatening a member is strictly prohibited and a violation of the terms which can include suspension and/or IP banning. The regs in the state of Idaho are not the same as Washington. If a user has a catch and release issue then they can post in the forum which is the appropriate place for that type of discussion. Also, please remember everyone, if you post a report and someone makes a comment that you believe is offensive in any way, you can delete the post yourself and notify me (but please make a copy of the post first so I can see it). Ken and Barb, I'm sorry you had to deal with this rude incident and hope it won't deter you from posting your excellent reports. Mike

Sammy

12/17/2010 7:40:00 AM

Thanks Mike! I love these reports. Keep em' coming Ken and Barb!

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