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April 20, 2004
 Double! I turn around and Troy has hooked a large Steelhead, it is very
apparent as the aggressive surface dance pursues. I on the other hand am
watching with a close eye, standing near as Markus is into another
chromer on the fly, the Steelie very near to the shoreline. The late
morning is very sunny and hot, the river is in perfect condition and we
are fishing a pool we have named the double double, as you can guess
where it came from. It is late April and the California threesome is
having a banner day. The thought process goes thru my head on how I am
going to get these two anglers with fish on into some nice pictures and
a safe release of wild Steelhead very fresh. Markus has now
tired out the sizeable doe, chrome as a new-minted dime. I grab the
fish in front of the tail and steer it into the calm water for Markus to
hold it like a proud father after his child is born. We digitize the
Steelhead and off she goes no need for revival. Troy on the other hand
has his head down; the large Steelhead is off, the battle ended shortly.
BC Steelhead are known for their aggressive behavior once hooked. A
quick run and then a full frontal charge towards the angler is the
characteristics of these Steelies, this is the time that allot of
Steelhead release because of the slack in the line. "Don't worry Troy"
I say in encouragement the pool is full of Steelhead.
 When we first arrived at the pool John had made only a few casts and
his reel screamed for a quick moment as an aggressive take on his leech
pattern was attained, unfortunately this lucky Steelhead was not hooked
that well and off it went. On another occasion John hooked a beautiful
fish in a run that is above a split in the river, typical holding waters
for all species of fish. After a long battle both John and the
Steelhead were very tired. Close to shore the fish spit the hook, we
were all shocked. I asked to have a look at the hook and guess what, it
had bent the hook out so badly that the wire was practically straight.
A lesson learned, as strong steel hooks are a must up here in the North
Coast of BC. As for fishing Steelhead lies I like to get anglers started
in the top of a pool when we decide on how its going to be fished then
very quietly walk ankle deep down to cover the entire run. All of the
aggressive Steelhead hold in the dancing water at the head of the
tail-out. I see so many people walk straight into the pool unaware of
the many fish that are holding above the point where they started. Also
a common mistake by guides is to land the boat in the middle of the pool
scaring all the fish.
 During this week the Idaho boys, Ross and Ben joined us at Upper
Kalum Lodge. Spending most of there time with guide Ferd Weunche, the
fellas were having days only dreamed about by Steelheaders. This week
was a reality for sure as Ferd put these fellas in 13 Steelies in one
day that is what I call Steelhead Heaven. Ferd has been fishing the
local rivers since Christ was a cowboy, putting guided anglers in pools
and runs he would not even tell me!
I have a couple other Steelhead reports to follow this one so I am
somewhat behind as the season has been busy. It is now mid May and the
weather is awesome during the day and cool at night. This makes for
excellent river levels and fresh fish are still coming in. The
Steelhead we landed this season were fresh females and
a few males, one 20lbs, some bigger that we hooked and lost. King
Salmon are also arriving and Ross hooked a 25lber but lost the battle to
this fresh run nookie.
Stay tuned for more action as we enter our Spring/King/Chinook Salmon season.
Tracey John Hittel
Kitimat BC Canada
250 632-9880
250 639-4277
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