From: rickc@scotty.WV.TEK.COM
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.fishing
Subject: Fishing Report...Lower Columbia(long)
Date: 1 Sep 92 23:16:41 GMT
Reply-To: rickc@scotty.WV.TEK.COM
Organization: Tektronix


 
 Fishing Trip Report: Friday 8/28/92 - Rainier Oregon (Columbia river)

        Rick and I arrived on the beach at about 5:30 am, and the parking
 lot was empty. This wasn't a good sign, usally there is a few local
 fisherman there if the steelhead are hitting. But, spending a day plunking off
 the beach is always better than being at work, and it was looking like it was
 going to be a real nice day. This was our second trip out this summer,
 the first trip produced nothing.
        The first few hours were dead, at about 8:30 I heard my bell on my pole
 ring slightly, just enough to make me look and watch my pole tip almost hit
 the water. I grabbed my pole out of the sand spike, but the fish started to
 run in towards the beach. so I ran back up the beach to take up the slack
 in my line so I could set the hook. I got the slack out just in time to see
 the fish roll on the surface and spit the hook..aw shit! I hate that when it
 happens. Steelhead seem to love to pick it up and come in towards the beach.
        At about 9:15, Rick gets a good bell ringer, the fish gives a couple
 of good head shakes and drops it.
        At 10:30, I was sitting in my lawn chair catching a few zz's and I
 heard that wonderful sound of my bell ringing. I grab my pole, set the hook,
 and all hell breaks loose. The fish turns around and starts to head back to
 the ocean, he was stripping line off my reel fast, he made about a 100 yard
 run and finally stopped and turned back up river. I fought it for another 10
 minutes, and it made two more decent runs. I had it in close to the beach
 and then my leader broke! I couldn't believe it, this was a real nice fish.
 We never really got a good look at it, but we thought it might have been a
 early fall chinook.
         It did seem strange that when my leader broke I wasn't putting
 very much pressure on the line. After I reeled in my rig I saw that the leader
 had broke right at the eye of the hook, but the "snelled" knot I tied was
 still there, I pull tested the other two leaders and checked for nicks
 (you are allowed to use up to three hooks at once). The other leaders pull
 tested ok, but then I grabbed one of the hooks, and held it approx.
 45 degrees out of line as compare to the fishing line and the hook popped off
 with no more than 2-3 pounds of pressure! The leader was 20 lb. test! then I
 took a good look at the Eagle Claw Laser Sharp hook(s) I was using.
 On all the hooks, the end of the hook was NOT cut flush, but more like pinched
 before the eye of the hook was formed. This left a nice sharp edge right
 where the cut end is bent around and butted up against the shank to form the
 eye. I'll NEVER use those hooks again, but I guess you get what you pay for.
 I'am still thinking of writing a letter to Wright and Mcgill Corp.
        Later that day, the Fish and Game biologist stopped by to take stats
 on what was being caught and how many fisherman, etc. He mention that he had
 checked a total of 24 fish total off of three beaches. Of the 24 fish, 4
 where wild steelhead and released, 10 where Idaho hatchery fish ranging from
 15 to 20 lbs., 9 local (oregon) hatchery steelhead 5 - 12 lbs, and one was a
 16 lb "tullie" (up river fall run chinook).

  Fishing Trip Report: Sunday 8/30/92 - Rainier Oregon (Columbia river)

        Rick, Gary, and I arrived on the beach at 6:45 am to do it again.
 This time with Gatmatzu (spelling?) hooks only! None of that cheap eagle claw
 shit. There was only one other fisherman on the beach. He mention that he
 had been there on last thursday and another guy landed a real nice steelhead.
        At approx. 8:00, while I was sitting in my lawn chair right next to my
 pole, I saw my tip very gently dip down about 4-5 inches. before my bell even
 started to ring I had my pole out of the sand spike and I set the hook.
 The fish came to the surface right away and jumped clearing the water by
 2-3 feet. It was f*#@king huge, my heart really started to pound then,
 what a rush!. I couldn't do anything but hang on, and hope it didn't strip
 all my line off my spool. I fought it for another 15 minutes and it finally
 tired out and laid over on its side on the surface in a few feet of water,
 and I pulled it up onto the beach. It turned out to be a 20 lb., 38 inch
 steelhead, my personal best! (it still had sea lice on it). Its been
along time    since I've been that excited over a fish. Damm it felt
good to land that one!.
        It was quiet for the next hour, and then Rick's bell started to ring,
 we all looked over at his pole to see it dip down twice, and the fish took
 off straight out towards the middle of the river!. I thought it was going
 to break his pole in half before he even would get it out of the sand spike!
 Rick grabbed his pole and all I heard was "Oh shit, Oh shit, he going!!".
 The fish came up and started to thrash the surface about a 100 yards off the
 beach and with one good head shake it broke off the 20 lb. leader. I
 thought Rick was going to cry. It was no steelhead, it had to been a large
 chinook. I would guess well over 30 lbs. after seeing it thrash around
from that
 distance. The power that fish displayed was amazing. In investigating
the broken   leader, it looked like the fish's teeth raked across the
leader and damaged it.
        We had a few more bell ringers with no fish hooked the rest of the
 day between the four of us. We saw alot of fish rolling during those two days,
 and I hope they all get by the dams and have a chance to spawn. Also, there
 were alot of boats off the mouths of the Washington streams (cowlitz,
Lewis) so    the boat fisherman must be doing ok. In the past we never
fished this late in the  summer, and never have we picked up fish this
size either. It was always in July   when the summer steelheading was
good down there, the Idaho fish must run later    in the summer. It's
day's like these that make fishing off the beach memorable.

  Bottom line of this report: DON'T BUY CHEAP EAGLE CLAW LASER SHARP HOOKS!!
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.fishing