Refreshed

Get the net!

Okay never mind. Fishing solo yesterday meant netting my own fish. Pretty easy to do on those resident trout (with those little pan nets) however it became downright humorous trying to net a fresh steelhead while crouched down off-balance. There were a few times I almost went head first into the drink. I am not fond of nets in general. They are cumbersome and a pain in the ass to bushwhack with one. It was all that I could muster to bring it to begin with. I entertained the idea only based on the area I was fishing and how awkward some of the man-made sections are to land fish.  Big chunks of natural rocks, none of which are flat or smooth like a poured pier, but all jagged and in a somewhat straight line.

With a few attempts she slipped, exhausted, in a net that should have been bigger. Not to say that it was a huge fish but sized enough that a boat net would have made the landing much easier. I was not about to tote a boat net around! If these few experiences were not enough to get me going, in a blink of an eye, the entire area was blanketed with a snowsquall. I could barely see my float at times that I even switched up to an 8g Drennan Zeppler which was complete overkill for the size of water. There were many a drift where I had no idea where the float was.  The fish actually hooked and set itself before I (instinctively) lifted the rod and clamped down on the reel feeling the tension. I did give it an extra two pumps when I realized it was not bottom.

The morning squalls would come and go. The sun broke through a few times which warmed up the hands but as the wind picked up, it was the sign to go dry off and settle the hunger pains. The snow all melted which was a relief for the drive home. As for the net, I gave it to two guys coming down the trail as I was leaving. Hopefully neither of them fell in using it.