add it all up to get the perfect combination for turning on the bite!

Drifted one of those infamous S rivers with T-rip and summerrun on Easter Sunday. The incessant rain raised the previous day's frigid water temp a couple degrees... the high contrast of chrome black spoons stacked against combinations of silver gold and copper.... and the fact that none of the crew brought a decent waterproof digicam. It was the perfect storm for putting the fish on the snap.

Six steelhead and two colorful dollies fell for the trusty rvrwagglers stacked ala Ripley. "Halloween" was a particularly attractive combo (hammered copper stacked on chrome black) accounting for four of the steelhead and both the dollies. Hammered 50/50 stacked on copper accounted for the other two steelhead.

Biggest fish brought to hand was T-rip's 37 x 18 buck. Summerrun brought matching brand new his-and-hers chromers to hand. I brought up the rear with my two dollies.... and crackered three opportunities on steel. It was heartbreak to see the biggest steelhead of my career hovering just under the surface with the rod doubled over against the Halloween waggler. As the hook pulled out, the fish just lingered there for what seemed like an eternity, before slowly lumbering back to his 20 foot lie. Left me wide-eyed and slack-jawed in awe!

Oh and as for the digicams MIA.... I did have my waterproof phone-cam. What a POS! Every pic taken from more than 6 ft away was totally blurred. Fortunately it did a little better on the tight headshots. Definitely NOT the typical quality you've come to expect from fNp porn. I'll let you guys be the judge.

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Not half bad for crappy phone pics, especially considering the weather...would have loved to get a close up pic of that beast that spat yer hook right next to the boat.

Like I always say, though...it's not the big ones you've landed that get you up in the morning to go fishing...it's the big ones that get away that get you up in the morning to try again!

Mebbe forgetting the camera was the good omen for the day...though having the cam in the boat the rest of the week sure didn't hurt our success none!

Back at it tomorrow...at the rate I'm going on orders and such, I'll be heading to the river with no sleep tonight.

The things we do for our chrome mistresses of the river...

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. Get yer ass back up here soon, Doc...we'll get that big one for you yet!

Cool report and the pics look just fine but.......................





Just the day before my buddy Crush Daddy (member since 3/30/06, 2 posts ), whom you met last month on the crk, hooked a hot buck deep in the bowels of a tailout. We had no choice but to yard him thru the ripple and into the next run. He fought the buck beautifully working all the angles to the point that I even mentioned that it was too bad Doc wasn't there to see it as you would have commended him on his fighting skills. Ah-Never mind

Gotta agree with Todd. Get your redneck cowboy ass back in the saddle soon! Preferably this weekend.

Nice work guys.

Those are some nice fish, the Ripper is really getting into them lately.

the pics are still good....looks like fun...thanks for sharing....c

Pics or it didn't happen!


Oh wait....

Nice.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I like that peened copper spoon !

I thought Todd never taped his fish and I also thought using a sickle siwash was a guaranteed fish in the net........

Hmmmmm......

Nice fish... Get's me thinking about some summer runs! The time is here!

Keith

Another great day on the water and finally had the opportunity to meet the Doc, great guy who was hooking em like crazy but the fish gods would not allow a pic for some reason...Ripster did a fine job rowing and I even jumped on the sticks just to warm myself up and helped get ripley into a toad. Realizing we left the camera half way to the ramp we remarked that we were purty sure to have a great day and we did. Gotta love April...cheers

I believe Todd said he wasn't going to post taped sizes because all it brewed was controversy.

Echoing Parker here, you can't lose a fish on the sickle siwash Doc! Either you or Todd's got some 'splaining to do. And I thought you only took feathers and fur for bait . . . wha' happened?

Nice to see fish in that section of the river. Sweet.

Fur and feathers is all I came prepared with. (Or unprepared as the case may be)

Was told temps and conditions weren't conducive to the swung fly, so I mooched a bunch of Ripley's gear and let the master row me to all the hotspots to try his unique version of swingin' spoons from a moving boat.

Spoondoggin'.... it's what all the cool kids are doin' these days. Who'da'thunk'it?

Spoondoggin' sounds like kinky sex, not steelheading. What's up with Ripley these days?

Spoondoggin IS kinky sexy, and deadly. It's like a heart attack during sex....

Wont go into much detail but Neal is right on the money...it is sick effective in many ways...cheers