For the first time since October I got to fish today. Original plans were to hit some holes I found in the summer on the coast, but the wife wanted me to stay close but not stay home. I guess according to her I get cranky when I don't fish.
I have never fished this river and usually I do a map recon using google maps but my wife fried our computer so I had to do it like the old timers. Get in the car, drive, and reference the Washington atlas. I gained a new appreciation for the fishers that came before the age of technology and had to walk without the aid of satellites to find promising water.
So I get there at fall city poke around and search for some good water. It was mostly frog water so off I went. I evetually went quite a bit down river. On the drive to the next spot I saw a couagr surrounded by three cops getting cuffed and excorted to their car. Oh that has to be a sign that this spot is going to be great. So I make the turn and drive for 5 muntes and don't see the river. I pull over and of course I made the mistake of not orienting my map to my direction of travel. U turn and I'm good.
I start seeing the river and over the bushes I see a tail out. One that would make meat salivate. I get set and the jet boat and one angler soon depart. I have the whole area to myself. I start free drifting some eggs and get bit probably in the first 30 minutes. It was a fire truck. Turned loose of course. 5 minutes later got a lively fish. I see thechrome and it peels drag and then my reel goes haywire as I accidentally hit the switch in the rear that makes it spin when its not supposed to. Fish gone. I head 20 upriver and work my way back down that section and soon after hit another fish. Hook set then I start fighting it and hit the dang switch again. Pissed off I set the spinning rod down and go to the casting rod working spinners. I get a chum and call it a day after I played with my side planer a little and got a take that didn't stick
It was great to get out and see how much being off the water and using a new reel ( dan the daiwa doesn't like me) can mess with the head. I guess it didn't help that I knew there weren't many fish in the system. So Merry Christmas hatchery you have 3 fish headed your way Chalk it up to experience but had. To take this as I walked out.
