What will you do for a fish?

[Andrew]

Ideally, our favorite areas to fish would always produce hookups. But what's ideal and what's reality in fishing are all too often completely different things. 

So, the question: are you willing to compromise the quality of your experience on the water to improve your odds of catching fish? That is, will you abandon the classic steelhead water you might enjoy fishing with a float and jig, hardware, whatever, to go stand in one or two spots all morning beating the water with bait, or, worse yet, plunking gear, in undefined travelling water in hopes of finding fish that just don't seem to be where you wish they were?

I know for some guys catching fish is what it's all about, but I get a feeling the whole experience is more important to a lot of the guys here. For you, personally, though, is it worth the compromise to find the fish?

I tend to be pretty stubborn in my approach. I like to cover a lot of good holding water every time I go out. It puts fish on the bank every season (eventually), but I'm well aware that at certain times of the year I'd catch more fish in other areas with other tactics. I know I don't totally subscribe to the "fish is just a bonus" theory, because I get frustrated during long slumps like everybody else, but, MOST of the time, I guess I'd rather just enjoy the quiet and fish through that killer-looking water, even if it's void of fish.

Oh, and please, no jokes like "Maybe you should try fishing somewhere besides the Green." 

Andrew

[BC Steel]

The day that I have no choice but to fish in a crowd is the day that I quit fishing. I beat myself stupid in the winter once the runs get under way just to get away from the people on the river. Dislocated shoulder, broken bones, cliff hanging, ropes, death marches. I'll do what ever it takes to leave everyone else behind.

But, I dont mind fishing with someone else if they are into covering water and not all about #s of fish. I have fished alone for the vast majority of my fishing time because I couldnt find anyone who wouldnt complain about hiking into unknown waters and then not catching fish. Or covering water away from the road. Or driving for more than 20 minutes. Or get all pissy when they didnt catch fish and I did. Or anything that didnt equate to fish with no effort. And then I started fishing with Ironhead. Holy crap, that guy is a fishing machine.

So to sum it up, no, I wont sacrifice the quality experience just to put meat on the beach.

[OPfisher]

For some reason I take my bug rod and hike around the upper hoh on elk trails every winter getting lost, crossing fallen logs where if I slip Im floating into the log jam below me to die....and I do it even if I dont get fish....Maybe Im just crazy, but when you finally earn that steelhead, its something you cant put a price on, you cant even start to explain it, its the best high you'll get in your life. That's what I do for fish.

[Sturzman]

Just sorta depends with me. I don't mind fishing in crappy water occasionally, but I always prefer to fish more scenic areas. It just sucks when the only place I've landed any fish this winter is in the "crappy water."

[Mavrick]

Wow! i'm going to have to write this down in paper b4 i have to post... Good Topic!! 12-11-05 2100 hrs.

[rvrfshr]

Andrew,
       
             A hatchery zone has seen me once this season thus far and I know for a fact I only have about one more trip max left in me to said in the remaining weeks of the 6 - 8 lb., one minute battle, man made fishery.

 It could be a lot of flinging in vain on my part until Feb. in quiet/prime water, but I'll always take this latter scenario any day.

 Oh and to answer your question , it shall never be okay for me to fish crappy water in order for a hookup! I've been known to "jones" elsewhere for months instead ...

 ( Sorry I had my phone turned off by accident the majority of Fri. and Sat.)

                                                                                                             Joe

                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[Jeff]

I will NEVER bank fish blue creek again.  I would much prefer travelling, working water, scrambliing over logs, down banks, etc, in search of a possible hook-up than standing in the meat hole line, synchronized casting.  The only tension in this scenario is wanting to get Jon into his own fish, and I know Bruce is having trouble getting Shane interested unless there is some catching involved.  That's one of the reasons I keep our trips down to the Carbon short, so we don't go ALL DAY without a fish, and why I try and find where the fish may be and don't mind travelling to get to them.

Joe, I too am really looking forward to the nates, what a fantastic fish and the pursuit of them is magical.

Jeff

[FishCaddie]

My vote is heavily weighted towards quality of experience on the water.  Man, I don’t know about many of you, but my initial years of steelhead fishing with my Dad as a teenager was based completely on a “fish is just a bonus”.  I have many great memories of hiking down the canyon wall along the Rogue River in S. Oregon to a couple of different solitary holes and frothing the water with a corkie as my Dad hooked fish after fish.  Dad let me drag a fish or two in every now and then.  And who usually packed the fish back up the canyon wall.  Yep, that was me (my Dad was pretty smart that way ).

Moving to the Washington river rock-to-rock and shoulder-to-shoulder combat fishing method in the mid 80’s turned me off to steelheading for all of the 90’s (I know, what a waist of several years worth of steelheading opportunities :'().  But then my fishing buddy (Jeff) started to get an uncontrollable twitch in his arm that led to some more river frothing.  Through Jeff’s passion to get better and his diligence on the web (and me weighing down his coat-tails), he found this God-send of a website and knowledgeable steelheaders that have taught us the art of covering water and the fact that there are other rivers to fish other than that unmentionable named river and the Cowlitz.  I don’t mind running into people on the river now days just as long as I can say “Hi”, “How’s the fishing?”, “Enjoy the rest of the day!” and then move on around them to the next hole.

My fishing trips are now giving me that sense of memory building satisfaction that I remember from my days spent fishing with my Dad.  Ya, Jeff usually catches more fish than I do right now, but I just recently learned a new technique called “FIRST WATER” that I’m starting to use on him more often.  That might help my odds in the future.

Ahhhh Memories, you gota experience ‘em first, in order to love ‘em later.

[Ironhead]

As lemmy from "MOTORHEAD",once said "the chase is better than the catch".
Rolling out of the bush covered in bug bites and with little sun light left is my idea of fun.
I have chased steelhead all over BC, and I still pull out my maps and look for new waters to fish.
There is something special about the first time you find fish in a new river, they can be small and forgettable, yet you never do forget those first ones(i actually never forget any fish, but i'm not right). I never head to the "popular spots" to find fish, no matter how big the slump, I just cover more water and look for even more remote spots with untouched fish. On the other hand when I'm guiding I do end up fishing some very crowded waters and this probably fuels my quest for remote spots even more. Now if I can just convince my wife that Kamchatka is a beautiful Russian summer town with friendly folks, i'll have it made.

[Andrew]

Rod or anyone else interested: Here's a really good article on Kamchatka: http://www.pbs.org/edens/kamchatka/bountiful.html

Great replies, guys. Keep 'em coming.

[BirdDog]

I could probably fill out my punch card by Dec 30 each year on Blue Creek or other meat hole; but for me it's the experience. With wife, kids, soccer, oil changes, fixing the stuff around the house the kids total on a regualr basis, aged parents, etc;..., my time on the water is limited. I fished the Green first thing Sat morning, it was stunning. The mountain was poking through the wisps of fog, blue herrons grunting overhead, whistling ducks skimming up the river, iced up line guides, and clear water. Didn't bring any fish home but it was a great couple of hours. I'll fish marginal water over battling the crowds anytime.

[Brian]

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I will choose solitude and scenery with few if any hookups over the alternative. To me it is the whole outdoor experience that counts. Spending time on the water with good friends in the magnificant wild country of the great northwest is what counts, the fish are just a bonus!

[dardevle]

I think what puts a lot of fellas in a dillema is the internet.  Before all the bulletin boards with guys boasting about going 9 for 12 and a bunch of glory shots; it was easy to just  go about your own business in your own way.  Now you see the guys that put up the numbers and sometimes it has you wondering what the heck your doing wrong.  The fact is that half of what you read is true and the other half is around meat holes or on a jet sled somewhere banging the same old water all day.  I believe you only have to answer to yourself one question, "is the way you are fishing and where you are fishing please you".  I know for a fact many of the guys putting up numbers aren't exactly doing what I consider pleasing.... but to each his own.  I am very confident in my fishing approach and enjoy fishing supposedly unproductive water.  I go home satisfied that the river has no fish or I go home satisfied finding something that isn't supposed to be there.  My advice is to just go fish in a way that is fun for you.  If it's Blue Creek great, if its the Nooch boondogging from a sled great, if it's stomping around some little stream great.  For me, it's finding fish where I'm not supposed to, whether it be a busy urban stream or a desolate stream somewhere.

[Fish]

Nicely done Mike, to each his own What ever make you happy. Some people like Creme Brulee some like Pudding?

[chad wallin]

I will bushhog for miles in my  neoprenes! which I did a few weeks ago. who needs to go to the gum anyways.