This past Fall was quite rough on me from a fishing perspective. It seemed the fish were gone, or at least hiding from me. It seemed that every trip I took, the fish were alerted and all refused to come out and play.
When Steve Martinez from STM Outfitters and Third Coast Fly and got to chatting about this during the Early Show he offered up some help. I love Winter steelheading so an invite to spend the day on the water with a guy like Steve, doesn't normally get passed up.
We met early on the last Sunday of 2014, with what seemed like great steelheading weather in the forecast. Slightly overcast, cold, and a bit of wind. Perfect day to be on the water.
It was a calm day as Steve and I switched off on the rods. Swinging streamers and me drifting eggs - hoping for a grab, praying for a nibble. Around mid morning pulled up to a nice run, similar to the seventeen others we had just fished unsuccessfully, and both agreed that there had to be fish here. It was just too fishy not to. After a few drifts, it finally swung down and went tight. FINALLY! I'd finally gotten the bend I'd sought for so long. As Steve slid her in to the net, I could feel the monkey slide off my back. High fives all around and a nice deep relaxing sigh of relief. Any day on the water with Steve is awesome, but days with chrome are that much better.
We fished hard the rest of the day. We moved a few more fish and both caught beautiful browns. Neither may have been over twenty, but anytime a resident brownie tests the drag on your eight weight is a good time in my book. As always Steve proved to be a very fishy guy and a great time was had by all. I can say my waders held up wonderfully and it was nice to get some steelhead slime on them, and it was a great way to end the year.
Thanks again Steve for an outstanding day on the water!
