Mini Chocolate Donuts

Jack, Rob and I put another trip on the books. We have now made it a tradition to go steelheading every fall.  The first year we spent that trip on the Salmon River where Jack checked off a box on his bucket list by landing a steelhead in the DSR (Douglaston Salmon Run). So, the next couple years we moved to Erie PA and have had a blast each time. Each trip with the three of us seems to always be filled with stories, some that are only funny to us, and others that are just ridiculous to any that listen. Like last year when we got kicked out of the bar because there was a tornado headed right for us, we paid the bill and headed out into a monsoon with only inches of visibility and headed east away from the tornado. Yeah that was a first for me. This year was a bit less exciting on the weather front and more so on the fishing front.

It’s not very often as fisherman that we experience the “perfect day” of fishing, so when we do we can sometimes take it for granted while is happening. While we didn’t take it for granted, we did have three amazing days of steelhead fishing. Yes, the fishing was incredible, but it was moments like having 2 steelhead eat my dry fly, or doubling up and landing a fish with Jack, or landing Rob’s first fish of the trip only minutes after hitting the water. Oh, and the hot coffee just about the time your fingers felt like they were going to fall off, those are the memories that make a fishing trip perfect.

It was an amazing trip and I’m glad I mustered up the motivation to tell you about it.

Stoneflies and Bobbers - Orvis Recon 1003-4

Weather forecast started off saying it would be a pleasant but cold day on the water. This would mean not much wind and a bit of sun to warm us up in the below freezing temps. By the time Steve, Mike, and I had the boat in the water and we were all geared up, I couldn't feel my fingers and the wind was blowing around 20mph. Hey thats winter fishing though, we were floating the Lehigh on a section new to me, but Steve had floated it a few times, and decided best thing to do was float some stoneflies under bobbers, I mean what trout doesn't enjoy some golden stones at sub zero temps? We fished all day, managed 1 trout, and lost about a dozen flies. I think the chicken salad wraps and beer for lunch, saved the day, but hey we all could have been sitting inside doing nothing (by a fire), that just seems boring to me.

It was nice however, to test out the new Orvis Recon 1003 nymphing rod. It threw double stones and an indicator with no trouble. Very light to hand, and has unbelievable feel to it, the finalized design with the fighting butt made it very comfortable to fish all day long. It has a very soft tip, but when needed it has the torque to really put the hammer down on some bigger sized trout. A great rod for the money and might be my new favorite Czech nymphing stick.