Urban Trib Outing

[Catfish Everdeen]

Hey everyone,

I plan on going out on an Urban Trib with open Steelhead season for the first time this Thursday. I got a pair of waders and boots for my birthday and a rod and reel for Christmas, and this is going to be my first time heading out! I practiced my technique and I think I finally got the basics of fly casting more or less.

I was planning on fishing an Olive Woolly Bugger or an Olive Conehead Marabou fly. I know to leave the actively spawning fish alone so I will only target the deeper pools. Any last minute advice would be appreciated, but I just wanted to share my excitement in opening the fishing season and in finally stepping into the river for the first time in my life! I hope to have something good to post and share later Thursday!

Catfish

 

[ChromeAddict]

Remember to stay within the 'open all year' area and good luck!

 

[Catfish Everdeen]

Thank you! And for sure, I did my research and know exactly where I can and cannot go; nothing I despise more than ruining the environment just for some tail.

 

[Shmogley]

hey man, glad you are stepping into fly fishing.

some advice?
hmm... well for that fly pattern. olive is a tricky color this time of year. the rains and melt are leaving a stain in most tribs and that olive green will vanish pretty easily into the "fog". if you are intent on using it try to keep it higher in the water column so the fish see its silhouette against the sky.
if the waters not clear i would suggest you go with something darker and that clashes with the muddy colors. like black or darker purples/blues.

as for the actual fishing, most guys would be swinging those flies. sometimes i find fishing it like a nymph with a dead drift so the fish see the side profile will trigger more hits then the normal swinging approach.

some people insist if your not catching its the fly pattern, but i believe more often then not its how vulnerable you make that fly look.

also dont be afraid to bring out some stoneflies or egg imitations (even combine them into a tandem setup). sticking to buggers or streamers is great fun, especially when something aggressive smashes it, but if being skunked can ruin your day always have some good old reliable things to fall back on

good luck

 

[Catfish Everdeen]

Thanks for the tip! I've been trying my hand at fly tying to keep those fishing blues away this winter, so I got some of my own buggers I tied myself that I'll be using. I got black and olive varieties, so that's a good tip, thank you again. I'll try to stay more focused on my technique this time around, but I am also excited for the prospect of hooking into my first steelhead, hopefully on my own fly as well!

 

[Catfish Everdeen]

So sorry for the lateness in updating, but I did go on my trip with what I might call success haha.

It was my first experience wading and I learnt the value in stay calm and level headed as this resulted in my first fall! Nothing serious, just some water leaking in that cut my day short. So all in all it was a learning experience.

From what I hear though, there has not been a fresh steelhead run in a while, and I did not see an activity. I am going to give it a try later this week and see what I can get.