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| from Bob Waldhaus |
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My Best Catch Story
I have been a avid angler for over 30 years and have had many years of fishing success on the coast targeting Chinook, Coho ,Sockeye and trout in the lakes. The past two years I have turned my attention to the steelhead. The experiences over these past few years have been nothing short of awesome. I spend most of my time fishing the stamp river system. The steelhead are species that is in decline and what I have learned over these past two years is that after you catch one of these wonder fish it is just as great a thrill to release them for someone else to enjoy and catch. Over the over 20 steelhead I have caught these past two years I have only retained one hatchery due to it bleeding and I was afraid it would have not made it. I actually felt bad keeping it. I encourage everyone who fishes for steelhead to enjoy the catch and then carefully release them back. It makes for a total fulfilled fishing experience.
My best day happened a few weeks ago on the Stamp River when the fishing was very slow and the water levels very low. No one was catching anything that day. I had just started drift fishing with my new center pin setup. I fished with it the week before and spent more time perfecting the casting than really targeting fish. This time around my casts were pretty good and I could properly fish the way I wanted to. The morning was cold and there were at least a dozen fishermen in the same area all struggling to have any sort of success. I spent the first two hours carefully drifting each seem and pocket and thoroughly covering all the known holding areas and changing my gear up regularly. After about two hours I had nothing to show for my efforts. I contemplated switching to my level wind setup , which would allow me to cast better to the far side of the river where fish can hold, but quickly changed my mind and kept determined to have success on my new center pin setup. I went back to the tackle I had started with (small orange gooey bob, white wool), something that has worked for me well, and began to fish the same seems again. I have found myself doing a lot of research in catching steelhead and referring to magazines and websites like angling BC for tips and tricks. It has taught me a lot. I was paying close attention to my drifts and made sure that I was focusing on the float to be drifting in the quicker water while my tackle would be presented in the slower water on the seams edge. I also tried to ensure my weight was just above bottom so that my drift would be smooth and uninterrupted thus not letting the fish get a long look at what I was presenting hopefully triggering a quick strike response, knowing that if my float did disappear there was a real good chance it was a steelhead on the end of my line.
There was a fisherman just down river who had found the courage to wade out into the river, I found that my longer drifts were ending within 20 feet of this fellow but it didn't stop me from keeping with my technique and strategy. I then just happened to make one of those casts and drifts where you say to yourself this looks absolutely perfect, when all of a sudden, down went the float, I quickly pulled back on the rod and found myself playing a powerful steelhead, now I had to remember to click on the click drag on my center pin reel as this was my first ever fish on my new rod and reel. WOW, what a thrill, this fish took off towards the fellow who was wading in the river who graciously got out of the water as quickly as he could, the fish peeled off about 20 yards of line before I got it to come back up river. The ability to fight a steelhead with a center pin quickly showed its advantages as you have total control of that fish and drag, very similar to salmon fishing with a Islander, or Shimano reel. After about a good 5 minute fight I got the fish to the beach where we carefully got a beautiful wild 9 pound steelhead out of the water for a quick picture and then released it for another angler to enjoy. I managed to hook into one more fish ,that day which proved to be the only other fish caught. Catching a steelhead on my center pin for the first time was a tremendous experience and very rewarding. It is the reason we all get out on the river. A wonderful day.
Please conserve our waters and practice catch and release.
Enjoy Fishing
Warmest regards
Bob Waldhaus
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Article |
Topics |
Date |
| 1. |
Vancouver Island's Esperanza Inlet |
Halibut, Salmon, Vancouver Island |
May 2012 |
| 2. |
Fly Purple Peril |
Flys |
May 2012 |
| 3. |
Trolling for trout |
Trolling, Trout |
Apr 2012 |
| 4. |
Fly Blue Note |
Flyfishing, Flys |
Mar 2012 |
| 5. |
Fly Kalumlow |
Flyfishing, Flys |
Mar 2012 |
| 6. |
Fly Skeena Scar |
Flyfishing, Flys |
Mar 2012 |
| 7. |
Fly Polar Express |
Flyfishing, Flys |
Mar 2012 |
| 8. |
Sturgeon fishing in Vancouver British Columbia |
Sturgeon |
Mar 2012 |
| 9. |
Strategies for Catching Sturgeon |
Sturgeon |
Mar 2012 |
| 10. |
Fly Copper Gammarus |
Flys |
Mar 2012 |
| 11. |
Fly Alley Alevin |
Flys |
Mar 2012 |
| 12. |
Fly Hilton Boss |
Flys |
Mar 2012 |
| 13. |
A Guided Steelhead Trip on the River |
Steelhead |
Feb 2012 |
| 14. |
Fly Polar UV shrimp |
Flys |
Feb 2012 |
| 15. |
Egg-sukin Beaver Leech |
Flys |
Feb 2012 |
| 16. |
Fly Chardolas Bait |
Flys |
Feb 2012 |
| 17. |
Don't be afraid to try anything |
Steelhead |
Feb 2012 |
| 18. |
Best Fishing Story of 2011 Ryan Spannier |
|
Feb 2012 |
| 19. |
Best Fishing Story of 2011 by Bob Waldhaus |
Steelhead |
Feb 2012 |
| 20. |
Best Fishing Story of 2011 David Sandquist |
Kids, Salmon |
Feb 2012 |
| 21. |
Fly Reeds Spey |
Flyfishing |
Feb 2012 |
| 22. |
Jet Boat Maintenance |
Boats |
Dec 2011 |
| 23. |
Smoked Salmon Recipe BBQ and Honey |
Recipes, Salmon |
Dec 2011 |
| 24. |
Poached Italian Cod |
Recipes |
Dec 2011 |
| 25. |
Fly Blue Charmer |
Flys |
Nov 2011 |
| 26. |
Fly Muddy Waters |
Flys |
Nov 2011 |
| 27. |
Fly - The Excursion Leech |
Flyfishing |
Nov 2011 |
| 28. |
Herb and Garlic Crusted Halibut with oven roasted ratatouille |
Halibut, Recipes |
Oct 2011 |
| 29. |
The Banner Season |
Fishing Area Outlook |
Jun 2011 |
| 30. |
voteforsalmon |
Conservaton, Salmon |
Apr 2011 |
| 31. |
Votesalmon |
Conservaton, Salmon |
Apr 2011 |
| 32. |
Rivers Inlet Hatchery Program |
Conservaton, Salmon |
Apr 2011 |
| 33. |
Mayday for Wild Salmon |
Conservaton, Salmon |
Mar 2011 |
| 34. |
Contest 2011 Fishing Story David Sandquist |
Flyfishing, Steelhead |
Feb 2011 |
| 35. |
Contest 2011 Fishing Story Honourary mention Ron Gibson |
|
Feb 2011 |
| 36. |
Contest 2011 Fishing Story Bog Waldhaus |
Steelhead |
Feb 2011 |
| 37. |
Contest 2011 Fishing Story Brian Wong |
Salmon |
Feb 2011 |
| 38. |
Does Fish Cooking Techniques Matter |
Recipes |
Jan 2011 |
| 39. |
Mediterranean Fish Fillets |
Recipes |
Jan 2011 |
| 40. |
Virus Killing Fraser Sockeye |
Conservaton, Fish, Salmon |
Jan 2011 |
| 41. |
Halibut Fishery |
Conservaton, Hallibut |
Dec 2010 |
| 42. |
Salmon Virus watch |
Conservaton, Salmon |
Nov 2010 |
| 43. |
Disease Information |
Conservaton |
May 2010 |
| 44. |
Sea lice kept secret |
Conservaton |
May 2010 |
| 45. |
Catch the Dream |
Halibut, Salmon, Trolling |
May 2010 |
| 46. |
Oak Bay Marine Group Newsletter |
Salmon |
Mar 2010 |
| 47. |
Quesnel Lake |
Trout |
Jan 2010 |
| 48. |
Art of Curing and Smoking Fish |
Smoking |
Jan 2010 |
| 49. |
Bradley's Famous Hot Smoked Salmon |
Smoking |
Jan 2010 |
| 50. |
Salmon fishery action suit |
Salmon |
Nov 2009 |
| 51. |
Save B.C. Salmon |
Conservaton, Salmon |
Nov 2009 |
| 52. |
Winner of the Giver on the River Free Charter |
Fish |
Sep 2009 |
| 53. |
Oven bbq salmon |
Recipes, Salmon |
Aug 2009 |
| 54. |
Poached Italian Cod |
Recipes |
Aug 2009 |
| 55. |
Salmon Creole |
Recipes, Salmon |
Aug 2009 |
| 56. |
Australia Fishing |
Salmon |
Aug 2009 |
| 57. |
Horseradish and Dill Butter Salmon Steaks |
Recipes, Salmon |
Jul 2009 |
| 58. |
Navigating a boat purchase |
Boats |
Jul 2009 |
| 59. |
Salmon with a Homemade Grain Mustard Crust |
Recipes, Salmon |
Jul 2009 |
| 60. |
Halibut with Fennel Broth |
Halibut, Recipes |
Jul 2009 |
| 61. |
Cedar Plank Salmon |
Recipes, Salmon |
Jun 2009 |
| 62. |
Islander Winner 2009 |
Tackle |
Jun 2009 |
| 63. |
Just Get In the Water |
Technique |
Jun 2009 |
| 64. |
Saltwater Night Fishing for Salmon |
Salmon, Technique |
Jun 2009 |
| 65. |
Steelhead & Salmon Warfare |
Salmon, Steelhead |
Jun 2009 |
| 66. |
Deep Running Giant Salmon |
Salmon |
May 2009 |
| 67. |
Salmon Scampi |
Recipes |
Apr 2009 |
| 68. |
Dandelion Stuffed Chaunigan Trout |
Recipes, Trout |
Apr 2009 |
| 69. |
Living Rivers - Georgia Basin and Vancouver Island |
Conservaton |
Apr 2009 |
| 70. |
Salmon steak recipe |
Recipes, Salmon |
Mar 2009 |
| 71. |
Chaunigan Trout Recipe |
Recipes, Trout |
Mar 2009 |
| 72. |
Best catch of 2008 |
Flyfishing, Kids, Salmon, Steelhead, Trout |
Feb 2009 |
| 73. |
The Great Chilko Bear Adventure |
Bears |
Feb 2009 |
| 74. |
Seasonal Outlook for 2010 |
Salmon, Seasons, Steelhead, Sturgeon, Trout |
Jan 2009 |
| 75. |
A Fishing Trip with REEL OBSESSIONS Vancouver Island. |
Salmon, Trolling |
Jan 2009 |
| 76. |
Carp fishing from a different angle |
Carp |
Sep 2008 |
| 77. |
Fish British Columbia With a Timeshare |
Accommodation |
Apr 2008 |
| 78. |
Hurt by aquaculture industry |
Salmon |
Nov 2007 |
| 79. |
BC wild salmon endangered by failure to contain sea lice from salmon farms |
Conservaton |
Sep 2007 |
| 80. |
Go Fish |
|
Aug 2007 |
| 81. |
Studies show harmful impact of BC coast salmon farms on wild Pacific salmon |
Salmon |
Aug 2007 |
| 82. |
Lynn's Fishing Adventure |
Sturgeon, Trout |
Jul 2007 |
| 83. |
Chilliwack River Action Committee |
Conservaton |
Apr 2007 |
| 84. |
Indian Candy Recipe |
Recipes, Salmon, Smoking |
Mar 2007 |
| 85. |
Fishing Articles and archived fishing posts |
|
Mar 2007 |
| 86. |
Curing Eggs |
Salmon |
Mar 2007 |
| 87. |
Fishing for Chum Salmon |
Salmon |
Mar 2007 |
| 88. |
Salmon Eating - After They Change Colour |
Salmon |
Mar 2007 |
| 89. |
A guides Perspective - The Fraser River |
Salmon, Seasons, Sturgeon, Trout |
Aug 2005 |
| 90. |
Smoked Salmon Recipe |
Recipes, Salmon, Smoking |
Dec 2004 |
| 91. |
Fishing in Harrison Hot Springs |
|
Aug 2004 |
| 92. |
Jet vs. Outboard |
Boats |
Aug 2004 |
| 93. |
Helpful Hints, Tips and Tricks |
Tackle |
Mar 2004 |
| 94. |
Uncle Wes - Farewell Old Friend |
|
Dec 2003 |
| 95. |
Cow Paddy Pond |
Trout |
Oct 2003 |
| 96. |
12 Seasons of Fishing the Kitimat |
Flyfishing, Salmon, Seasons, Trout |
Apr 2003 |
| 97. |
Sara, Guardian of the Lake |
|
Jul 2002 |
| 98. |
Portrait of a Mountain Man |
|
May 2002 |
| 99. |
Carving the Salmon Pie |
Salmon |
May 2001 |
| 100. |
Spoon Fishing Lakes From The Bank |
Tackle, Trout |
Mar 2001 |
| 101. |
Vedder River Fishing “Fall options” |
Salmon, Seasons |
Mar 2001 |
| 102. |
Slippery Spotted Owls |
Salmon |
Jul 1998 |
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