Well it's time for my annual winter run steelhead report / numbers. This season 12/1/11 thru 3/24/12 was full of up's and down's as far as water level's go.The brat season was pretty much non existant for the weekend warrior with high or blown out conditions on the river's I like to fish,made it tough to rack up any numbers let alone trips.Mid to late season nate's was and still is pretty dam good this year if ya can get out when the window's open.Here are some number's and fact's from SZ's season.
17 trips / 6 0'fers / 6 different rivers / Hooking 35 landing 28 with a 80% hook to land ratio.Though the hook to land ratio is right up there the hooking 2 per trip average and landing 1 really kinda suck's.How ever it's not all about the numbers as much as it is to get out and enjoy friends,family and the great outdoors.By the way nothing landed over 20 but lost 3 that would have broke that mark.What are the chances of putting up those kinda numbers in a two day period up north on the Situk in a couple weeks....................I'm not setting the bar to high as conditions and willing biters will set the stage.Good luck,
SZ

Oh,BTW.I don't buy sandshrimp any more as cured 51/60 count raw shrimp was the ticket for me this year more so then in years past.

Nice report! A lot more sophisticated than mine. June 1, 2011 to date (season to season), I am at 106 steelies landed. Not sure how many lost as I hate to keep track of that number as it brings tears to my eyes. I was 4 fish away from filling up my second punchcard.

I too didn't get to many days in for brats. My own doing considering I nearly refuse to fish the bogie, but the rivers I do enjoy only gave me a couple days to fish.

But do to a light work load and flexible work schedule... I have been going 3-4 days a week for native fish.

SZ

I got one more than that and mine were just a bit bigger - Oh, and prettier.

No kidding those are some pretty good numbers for an employed person.


Good luck

I envy you so much. I wish I lived closer to the rivers that are still open. Puget Sound rivers don't impress me as much either. Even tho they are close to home. I got to fish the sky this year about twice a week with mixed results. After that closed I was making the trip to the nooch bout twice a month.

My season was a great one, fished this year the most in the last 10 years, 28 trips to 6 different rivers including the Smith and Chetco, I did not have a o'fer day this year and my worst was 2-6 and my best was 14 for 19. with a total from the log book the wife got me for christmas again this year. weights in at 152 landed and 209 hooked. A couple days on the Queets early helped these number abit, maye more then abit. Had the pleassure of fishing with my wife and new puppy one mid feb morning with great weather, she netted a nice 41' fish for me and a clipped 39 incher also. she handled the net like she had been doing it for years, And really she just picks nice days to go and enjoy the ride and sights. 3 fish made it to hand this year over 20lbs for me with a monster lost in an epic battle, That included a boat collision while I was on anchor. This weekend will be the last unless the columbia gets extended and clears abit. then I am done as I type. A year fror the books. 4 fish came to the boat on spoons from the Queets this year, My first on hardware and everything else was on the same color Rag. Had the pleasure of taking afew new to me people fishing this year, and even hosted a great Guide, we had the pleasure of swaping our techneques. Can't wait for winter steel next year. Matt

The same color Rag I gave you on the Nooch back in 02' or 03'.?????.Good luck,

SZ

Always enjoy the SZ annual roundup. My kid and I had about a dozen trips, all weekend days but two, fished three rivers. Ended up with around 30 landed, with about a 65% hook to land ratio, definitely land more on double hook bait rigs compared to single hook yarnies. Never broke twenty but hand several in the 15-18 range. Never had a skunk trip either, but had three or four where we fished our azz off in high water to land a fish or two. Oh and all nates carefully released, and no bleeders, stomach shots or eye hits; did notice lots, probably 40% had seal scars of some sort. All in all a pretty decent season, and look forward to the next one-

you guys did much better than me...however I did land my personal best steelhead thus far which was a 16lb buck. It was also my first pink worm fish. That one fish made my entire year. One other thing that made my year was a float I did a couple weeks ago with two buddies. They went 5 for 9 with one fish pushing 16lbs. It was the best day for steelhead out of the boat so far for me. Turns out I can put people on fish now as well as catch them.

You mean you guys actually go fishing? I thought we all just talked about it here on PP

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. Winter season has 26 more days in it

+1

Things are just getting good:)

SZ, That is my second choice, If I go to it, And I did fish it last sat on the upper nooch for the close and sunday on a mid coast river with great results. But realy that is the color that started it all. Now it is that color and two softer colors, that make it look shrimpy ... I throw it 99% of the time, on any conditions and it does the job for me. Really I am just to lazy to try other things, And to cheap to spend the money on them. and why knock a good thing, ya gotta just fish with what ya brung to the dance, it all works out in the end... Matt

6 fish in 7 trips for me. Lost two. Caught all of them on the swing and couldn't get a single fish to bite on gear. I must be screwing something up.

Very impressive numbers guys. Damn!

How long were your trips SZ? One day, two days, a week?
That's good numbers. 80% hook to land is good too especially if you pinch your barb. I would have to agree with the shrimp being the ticket over sand shrimp. It's hard to find good fresh sand shrimp and it takes away fishing time to go dig your own.

The winter season was pathetic for me as I didn't get out but once in late February. Missed brat season (Nov-Dec) as had too much going on at home. Summerun season starts next month for me. I'm taking three weeks off in the next two months to do two trips to the river. I average about 1 per day so that would be 17 so 20 is a good bar to set.

Todd, agree there is plenty of time left but for those of us that have kids in sports and a trip up north a guy has to cut it off @ some point or be a broke divorced guy.
Steelheadman, A trip means a trip to the river which could be 2 hrs or 12 hrs. Most the time a full day.
Met'lheadMatt, Those boat #'s or your personal #'s?????. If those are your personal #'s they are off the charts with a 7.5 fish hooked average per trip which is tough to do when your running the stick's all the time.....you had a great season and must have timed some good fishing mid week on the drop which I'm very jealous of anyone who get's to get away and time stuff like a retired person can.

Boat #'s: Hooked 77 landed 55 =71% hook to land ratio. How's a guy on the stick's hook almost 50% of the fish in the boat for the season.................I'm gonna start taking resume's and stop taking crackers......................Right.Intersesting read's on this season,cool stuff.Good luck,
SZ

P.S. My best day was 9 for 11 and the boat that day was 10 for 16..................Ouch.

SZ
You could break your personal seasons mark in ONE DAY on the Situck
some of my friends have landed 40 in a day!! So yes it can be done!!
Now I wish I could be there when the run hits!!

This year was a bountiful year for this weekend warrior, I didn't really keep track of the exact numbers but had no o'fers. I fished approx 35 days on 15 or so rivers and landded over 70 fish, mostly natives.
The first winter was on November 10th (hatchery) first native was on December 10th and it just kept getting better. The old school multi colored yarn ball fished steller and just kept whacking them, even got a couple on an old okie drifter. I carried bait on several occasions but found it not necessary to draw a strike. My best day was 11 for 16 when a creel census person told that there wern't many fish in the river. Biggest fish landed was around 17 pounds, I know I lost a couple bigger. Oh and by the way I am not done just yet.

Damn you guys have had some impressive seasons. I need to step my game way up! I guess I've only been steelheading for 2.5 years so I can't be too critical since at least I'm hooking fish and putting people on them but dang those are some good numbers in this thread! I only had 2 or 3 days where I hit the water at that perfect time. 90% of my other trips were in less than ideal conditions. Weekend warrior status can suck especially when you work a lot of weekends.

Yup weekend work sucks besides the $$$.


You'll have to let me try/get use to rowing this summer on some easy runs. Then I can let you fish a lil bro.

SZ.I only take one in the boat, Unless it is the weekend My dad and his friend from CA come up then I row two, and 10 trips I was the only fisher, But they are boat numbers. 80% of the fishes came on anchor, And I weighed in with triple digits landed personnely. Over the years I have started to concentrate on Bass structure, And just side drift through the classic water everyone else concentrates on. My motto has become hook them, and then we will worry about how to get them out of there. Sure go through alot of gear in a day. and yes I fished alot of on the drop days, 4-10's and I picked the off day during the week, and took afew other days off if it was hot, And some weekends of course. But this year on weekends I stopped for breakfast and launched well after the parade, letting the water calm down. Maybe I am just getting older, and don't like to get up at o"dark thirty anymore, Last weekend didn't hurt the personnel numbers either, Fished both Sat, Sun solo