Ice is Finally Gone!!!

This winter has been horrible for fishing…for me at least.  For the first time in a few years, all of the local creeks were completely frozen over.  We would get the random breaks of warm weather allowing for somewhat of a melt off, however, the water wouldn’t be fishable and usually froze back up the next day.  Now the water is open and slowly clearing up, giving it that perfect green color.

Saturday I was able to get out for a little while and temperatures were actually kind of warm.  Although the conditions weren’t perfect…the water was still pretty brown and just on the edge of being “ok”…we were able to have a great time out.  I landed one in my favorite spot but that was it for the day.

Even though the fishing was slow it still felt great to be out in the fresh air.  The one fish I was able to land was a small one, but again, when you haven’t been out in a while it is great to have one on again.  He didn’t put up a huge fight but I had a little trouble brining him in because we were wading up to our knees and unable to get him to the bank.  But I have to say, I did like the quick catch and release that that allowed for.

Yesterday we got out as well but were unsuccessful.  We drove 30 minutes south to the same creek as Saturday but had to turn around because it was icing up.  So we headed north and met up with one of our buddies.  It was so cold yesterday we didn’t last long.  I have a real tough time keeping my fingers warm.  Right now I’m using the Simms Fingerless gloves but when it’s windy I can’t have my fingers exposed or I freeze!!!!  With centerpinning it isn’t easy to find gloves that won’t get in the way of casting so if anyone has suggestions let me know.

This weekend I’m supposed to head up to Salmon River with my boyfriend for a boat trip.  I still haven’t decided if I want to go yet…he may end up bringing one of his friends instead.  Although I’ve never been on a drift boat before I do get sick fishing off of a boat.  Everyone keeps saying it isn’t the same thing and I’ll be getting on and off when we stop at different spots sooooo maybe I’ll end up going.

I’m torn because I want to go out and catch a ton of big fish but I really don’t know if I’ll be able to handle being in a boat for 8 hours.  It certainly would give me some fantastic pictures though so we’ll see what I decide.  Wish me luck!

-Chelsea

Out Fishing Again

After the blizzard was over we got a big warm up that caused some crazy water conditions in the creeks!  Most of the local creeks were completely flooded over and there were ice jams everywhere.  Once the temperatures cooled down a little we were able to find some perfect water conditions to fish.

Our morning started out perfectly and as soon as the sun began to rise we starting getting some hits.  Here is a picture of the first fish I caught that day.  Just a small one but it put up a fight!  Once I landed it I had a difficult time posing for a picture because it wouldn’t calm down…I was sliding on the ice in this picture actually! 

This little one was hanging out in an awesome spot surrounded by some fast water and quite a few tress from the recent flood.  My first drift through the hole was a good one, my float went down at the perfect spot but I was convinced it was a snag.  The second drift mirrored the first and when the float went down this time I made sure to hook it as best as I could…and well I was able to catch this cute little fish!  Unfortunately, as the sun rose higher the fish stopped biting so we hiked upstream to a another favorite spot.

The recent flood had certainly changed the creek but we decided to try a few drifts.  My last drift was perfect and towards the end I hooked a beautiful brown trout!  In my opinion, steelhead are more fun to fight because I think they fight harder and longer.  Browns however, are just a little bit weaker…but still fun to catch of course! 

This is only the second brown I’ve ever caught (technically 3rd but I only landed 2).  I get excited every time because I’m always stunned by their coloring.  Unfortunately, the picture doesn’t do it justice because this was one beautiful fish.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about fishing it’s stick with what is working.  Rather than continuing to fish the creek where we were having luck, we tried going to a couple different ones.  Well, let’s just say we should’ve stayed put because we didn’t catch another fish that day. 

The flooding really messed with the creeks because one of my favorites actually had ice walls at least 6 feet high.  Hopefully things will go back to normal in the spring…if not, we’ll be on the hunt again for good fishing holes. 

This weekend I’ll be getting out again if the wind isn’t too bad because combined with the cold I don’t think it’s going to be comfortable fishing! 

Blizzard over, driving ban lifted….time to go fishing!!!

Last week was a little crazy because of all the snow we got!  Temperatures dropped below zero so every creek within a reasonable driving distance was frozen over.  In fact, the weather was so bad there was a driving advisory throughout the county and most towns had driving bans…including my town.  Watching a near constant snowfall made me feel claustrophobic and I could not wait to get back out and go fishing.

Once the driving ban was lifted I decided to stop by a one of the smaller creeks in the area so that my sister could get some cool shots of me fishing.  It was still freezing cold out…around 15 degrees…but we bundled up and headed out for a quick day of fishing.  Unfortunately, I didn’t catch anything…we were only there for about 30 minutes…but it was still disappointing.  But, in all honesty, we were on the only stretch of the creek that remains open because of a water outlet…so I was limited to about 20 yards.

Even though the fishing wasn’t great it was nice to get out and enjoy a hike with my sister.  She doesn’t like to go fishing but she loves taking pictures!  Here are just a few of the pictures that she was able to take…unfortunate there weren’t any pictures with a fish but hey, we’ll get em next time:)

This is me!

As a first post I would like to begin by introducing myself…

My name is Chelsea and I have been fishing with my dad since I was a little girl.  I can remember catching my first rainbow trout and just falling in love with fishing.  Since then my fishing skills have evolved to the point where I rarely am shut out.  I’m not the kind of person that goes out just to enjoy the scenery…no, I go out to catch fish.

Over the years my life has slowly come to revolve around fishing…odd for a girl, yes.  After class I would meet my dad out on the stream, school breaks would involve fishing, my boyfriend and I even met while fishing.  Fishing for me has turned into an important part of my life because it offers relaxation in an often too hectic world.

Blogging is new to me but I want to document my fishing stories!  As a girl in the sport of fishing my goal is to encourage other girls to get out and fish….and I mean really fish.  Not just go out with a guy and pretend to fish.  Girls don’t always get the respect we deserve when we’re out on the stream.

Back in the day before I owned  a ton of Simms gear, guys would try to “teach” me how to fish when I was out.  At one point my father told a guy, “Don’t let her appearance fool you, she can and will outfish you!”  Now that I use a kingpin, custom rod, and am fully outfitted in Simms gear, other fishermen treat me like I belong on the stream.

So I hope you enjoy reading my posts, checking out pictures, and reading up on some fishing tips!

Chelsea:)