One sometimes wonders, if we, as anglers, often fish ‘under’ the fish. This is to say, fish too deep, use to much tip, too big a fly. In summer-run steelhead pursuits in clear water, this can indeed be the case, and so found the 9th group of the season at BC West.
Veteran river soldiers Scott Hagen, Jim McRoberts and Jay Deeds were welcomed again along with two new BC west guests, the ‘Brothers Busch’, Steve and Tony.
The lowest, and clearest, water of the year would prompt many to go straight to the top and fish drylines right away, but months of Dean river anticipation often makes anglers go dark-side out of the gate, and out come the sink-tips. But Steve Busch was having none of it, mostly because of his keen enthusiasm for the greased line and words of encouragement from the guide.
By weeks end, a majority of the fish, in both the upper and lower river, were taken on surface, or near surface presentations.
Scott Hagen broke in his lovely Sweetwater cane rod and new Hardy Taupo reels with a beautiful Motel run specimen, and Jim McRoberts gleefully beached two fish in successive casts behind two other rods. The week’s biggest accomplishment again goes to Steve Busch, who not only beached the most fish all week on his dryline and after-dinners mints and Pom skaters, but also rose and landed a 25lb Chinook on a dry skater fly! This rounded out a great week had by all.
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