Cleanup Crew

[Barbless]

Instead of waking up at O'Dark thirty and drive like the bullet train in the name of fishing, my buddy and I hatched a plan to sleep in, and not hit the river until afternoon.  We ended up launching at 3:00 pm, and as you can imagine, there was no playing the usual game of bumper boats with others on this mission.  We quickly got on top of a pile of fish, and good times were had by all.  It was one of those rare times where steelhead were rolling, and waking in the tailouts, and generally just letting us know of their presence. 

I had to represent the rag and shrimp (ole' sloth is what the old timers call em'), while my friend tied on the infamous PW.  So the contest was on....  We both hit a bunch of fish, but the worm won in the end. 

Fishing was so good, we decided to stay the night; this was not the best plan.... 30 beers and a couple of hours sleep later, it was time to launch all over again.  I was hell bent on being the first boat through, and had to pass a couple of boats to make it happen.  My rush to get to my favorite hole payed off with decent native buck, and my buddy picked up a nice hatchery hen right below me.  Figuring that the river was hot, and that there were fish everywhere, we worked our way downstream.  It would be quite some time before we saw another fish.  The rest of the day, everyone we talked to had not touched a thing.  I managed to hook one last fish at the take out.  Today wasn't awful (the hangover was though!), but it was nowhere near the banner afternoon float we had the day prior. 

It might just be a fluke, but coming though absolutely last seems to have its moments! 

[Fast- eddy]

Sounds like a successful trip,well done.

[cuttstosteelies]

Uhhhhhhh, I'll have what he's having, waitor.......  that's better than my entire winter!

[riverwader]

good for you guys. I love to hear about good fishing trips. nice pics too. 

[bassandgrass]

Wow. Looks like a great time. Guess batting clean up has it's advantages.

[Streamer]

Good shiat Ryan. Way to lay it to 'em.

Looks like Joe and I hit the wrong river.

Just a few more weeks... and it's go time.

 

[Rossiman]

Nice fish guys, way to cleanup.....
Nice toon btw, did u snatch Todds? 

[shakertaker]

nice fish man!! i like the toon to its awesome 
just got one myself
BTW thanks for the great info on the anchor!
we gotta hook up sometime and do some drifts together

[LEAPER]

Nice fishes guys!! You definitely cleaned up!! 

[Fllyfishy]

Nice work, Glad to see you boys found some fish that were willing to party.

[Barbless]

Thanks for all the positive words bros, it was my pleasure! 

[Chum Man]

sorta looks like my local haunt...with the exception of fish being caught!

[riverwader]

I like what I can see of your pontoon boat. I am thinking of getting one myself. What kind is yours & cost?

[Barbless]

Riverwader:

The toon' is a Skookum Steelheader Guide 10'.  Base brandnew price is about $1600, add an anchor system for another $170.  I purchased mine used on craigslist for $1250.  That was more than I wanted to spend, but this boat had a unique foot bar welded onto the front, and came with a bunch of extra stuff  I also dumped more money changing the anchor system to a cleat instead of the rope ratchet.  I had to pick up another pulley in order to make that work, and the pulleys are thirty bucks a piece.  What's the definition of a boat again, oh yeah, a hole in the water that you pour money into. Good luck on your pontoon search, and don't overlook sources like craigslist, and fishing site's classifieds.

[riverwader]

Thanks for the info on the toon boat I will start looking for a deal.