Pelican Lake On Blast (But for the right reasons)

West Coast Dreaming Part 2 – The Drift.

“Avoid being a one trick pony”.

Consistent angling success is built off of this outlook, at least in my opinion. I was able to key on some amazing bites and fisheries for multiple species as I discovered independence in my early to mid twenties. That success however would often dry up as conditions changed and fisheries cycled. It was boom or bust, with very little in between. Over the years since I learned how to evolve, adapt and move beyond what I understood and knew. Pushing myself to new tactics, waters and species. This new foundation has led to consistent success and some of the most amazing experiences, such as catching my unicorn fish in Oregon.

So, I quickly recognized that the spot I was fishing for steelhead on the Sandy River wasn’t going to hold fish the same as the river levels returned to normal. My experience after my initial success backed that up. Gone where the one fish every time I fished there, instead being replaced with a couple of lost fish in a handful of attempts. I began to search for access to the river, but the banks were full of other anglers everywhere I found. It became clear that I needed to broaden my horizons.

I’m not a googan, I’m not going to boldly ask other anglers whom don’t know me for spots or techniques without something to offer in return. It was clear that public access to high quality water on the Sandy River is limited, and I wanted to get away from the crowds for a true adventure anyways. As a guide myself I knew there was a way to gain access to different water and learn a few things....all it was going to take was a few dollars. I began researching for a reputable guide on the Sandy River, and after a while found one. Jordan Kingge of 168 adventures was my man. With the blessing of my wife, whom I love and adore I booked a trip for Valentines day. Dawn, you’re amazing.

5:00 am is a tough grind for me. But, I was beyond ecstatic to look out the window of the house and see white on the ground. It had snowed, and was still snowing on morning the 14^th of February. It seemed Oregon wanted me to feel at home. Dawns cousin Jason would be joining Jordan and myself, and he didn’t share my excitement over the cold and snow. We met Jordan and hit the river as the sky lightened up. The upper sandy river is closed to fishing from a boat, so we were going to drift to spots, then fish from the bank. We quickly realized that the upper stretches of the Sandy river is amazingly beautiful, especially with the ground being covered in snow. Watching steelhead and other species of fish swimming underneath the boat as we drifted was just an icing on the cake early in our drift.

Bobber not down.....?

The first spot didn’t produce, so Jordan loaded us up to go and give the next fishy run a shot. This spot looked prime. In front of me was multiple pockets of slower water intersected with water that was fast moving, and no ends of large rocks to create fish holding seams. He split Jason and I up, and left me to fend for myself while he offered one on one support for Jason 50 yards down the bank. I worked this spot hard, and one particular seam kept grabbing my attention. In my eyes, as inexperienced as they were, it looked to be the ideal mix of current, depth and cover. I worked my bead through there multiple times adjusting the depth of my presentation, but the only action I got was hanging up on the same rock three times.

So I wasn’t in a rush when my bobber stopped during a drift through the seam, I just reeled down and gave the hook a pop to try and get it off the rock like I had done three times previous. Except this time the rock popped back in explosive fashion! “Fish on!” I screamed to Jason and Jordan as the rod bounced and bent over while the reel screamed. One thing I’m continually blown away by is just how different each steelhead seems to fight. This fish stayed down, using the current to create increased drag while attempting to get into the rocks. Despite those attempts to escape I muscled the dark and feisty hatchery buck into Jordan’s landing net and with that Jason and I were on the board.

Knowledge is power

We bumped down a couple more holes with very little action other than Jason landing a small silver wild fish that hadn’t been to the ocean yet. That was cool to see, and Jordan explained a bit about the steelhead life cycle. Things such as how they’re hatched in fresh water, spending a while in the river then heading out to the ocean, then returning to spawn in the very same river. Unlike salmon that die steelhead then return to spawn multiple times in their lives. He also filled us in on how many new hatchery fish would be introduced, and the annual return rate. I was blown away to find out that 175,000 steelhead fry are introduced every year, but only about 2000 fish return to spawn in the Sandy river a year. It really put into perspective why catching steelhead can be so challenging. Steelhead are up against multiple challenges it seems such as changing oceanic conditions and depredation from a burgeoning Sea lion population. But they are holding their own thanks to the hard work of volunteers and Oregon Game and Fish staff.

Picking up a new trick.

The bite was prototypically sluggish for the cold, dark conditions. Then as if someone wanted to offer some hope, the clouds broke and Mr Sun made his first appearance. Now, I know from trout fishing at home this often triggers a bite as the bottom gets a chance to warm up. Jordan had been teaching me how to fish with spinners, with nothing to show for it to this point. I had been two hopping by casting short, medium then long. Doing this allowed me to quickly swing spinners through some prime water at the appropriate depth where the fish were holding.

I was absolutely floored with how aggressive the strike was when a decent hatchery buck smashed the spinner mid swing on a long cast. This fish fought hard, with massive head shakes, rolling jumps and surface thrashing. He tested my skill, forcing me to run into the river multiple times so I could change angles and regain leverage as well as keeping him out of rocks and Jordan's feet. After a few minutes he slipped calmly into the net, and a photo session ensued that ended up producing some of the best photos of the trip. I had learned a new tactic, exactly what I had set out to do and my trip was made.

All this time Jason hadn’t had much action. However deep down inside I had a good feeling his chance would come.

Third time is the charm.

We jumped out at the next hole, and I told Jordan that I was going to sit out and to let Jason fish. He handed Jason a spinner outfit, and instructed Jason on where to cast. The first cast offered the most excitement for the whole trip. Jason's rod simple doubled over, and what we only assume was a monster steelhead ran for the hills sort to say. I say assume as we never laid eyes on the fish. He simple turned and ran over the next set of rapids 50 yards down river without stopping. Both Jordan and I knew this was a big fish, and it was going to take a miracle to land it. Jason held his own, but the inevitable happened when the line broke. We were tore up, Jason had worked so hard for the chance only to have something so odd happen. Jordan had Jason work the spinner through the same spot a bit longer, then switched up to running beads.

This is where one of the most odd sequences I’ve ever witnessed happened. Jason drifted the beads through the tail out, then started reeling. Right at that exact moment a steelhead hit. Jason fought the fish for a few minutes.....then it popped off the hook. All three of us couldn’t believe the bad luck! Jason threw out his offering again, and I was thinking to myself how low the odds would be for a third strike. Well, I should have bought a lottery ticket. Jason's bobber shot down right at the end of the drift, and we were in fish on mode once more. This time I grabbed my cell phone and captured the action.

Link to Video - Jason's Steelhead

We drifted to our final spot after that. There we both enjoyed multiple hook ups with hard fighting steelhead while Jordan prepared lunch. We CPR’d a few fish, and ended up going home with our limit of hatchery fish.

All in all the trip was a success beyond what I was expecting. Jordan cleaned our fish after we pulled the boat out, and Jason and I went home with a ton of stories to share with family and friends. That my friends is why I fish, why I need to learn and grow to find consistent success while at the same time sharing those experiences with other’s whom aren’t as fortunate or passionate as I, and why west coast dreaming is becoming more and more rewarding. What’s next on my west coast agenda? Springers on the Columbia? Fly fishing steelhead? Surf Perch? Jetty fishing? Well, you’ll have to wait to find out.