TheBerg 241 Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Went home over Christmas. Dad and I grabbed the 10 weights and decided to target some Gold River Steelhead. We had heard some reports coming from the lower reaches of the island that the Steelies were staring to move into the rivers for their winter spawning. Armed with obnoxious and outlandish flies we set out. During the spawn the whole idea is to try and piss the trout off enough that he has a go at your fly. They aren't too concerned with eating during this time so you have to keep at it. Anglers have named the Steelhead 'the fish of a thousand casts'. After pushing that 10 weight around all day my arm certainly understood why. Despite braving the cold and putting in the time we both came up with a fishless day. We froze our asses off despite rugging up, we cleaned countless chunks off ice out of the guides, toes and fingers constantly numbing. I stupidly tried wading some small rapids and almost went for a tumble. Dad later slipped on a icy bank and went face first in the stream. Don't ask why but we ended up with a rental minivan which turns out has some decent 4x4 capabilities. Overall it was your classic first day out of winter fishing. Many laughs. Even though it was a great day out it was damn cold, so I think I'll stick with fishing in the hot Australian sun for the time being. Although that elusive Steelhead is still on the bucketlist. Squid Inc., ChuckTseeker, Cal and 3 others 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AquaticResearch1 1,046 Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Wow, nice looking place. That does look bloody cold, could deal with that for a bit but if the wind came up I'd be in the car pretty quick. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn2fish 4,612 Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Does look like a real nice place for a fish. Cheers for the report. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheBerg 241 Posted January 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 Wow, nice looking place. That does look bloody cold, could deal with that for a bit but if the wind came up I'd be in the car pretty quick. Yeah it got pretty windy for a bit there. Came screaming down the gully. Their was a section by the estuary that just blew icy wind constantly. We didn't stick around long there. Heater in the car sure got a working that day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheBerg 241 Posted January 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 Does look like a real nice place for a fish. Cheers for the report. Beautiful country up that way. Was my first time fishing a river of that size too. Was challenging to say the least. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cal 480 Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 Nice post Berg , beautiful looking wilderness there.Much wildlife about? Do you have to be on the lookout for grizzly bears, wolves? Wheres home ,Canada, Alaska? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheBerg 241 Posted January 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 Nice post Berg , beautiful looking wilderness there.Much wildlife about? Do you have to be on the lookout for grizzly bears, wolves? Wheres home ,Canada, Alaska? Hey Cal, At that time of year you won't see any bears. Come spring and summer though you best be carrying a can of bear spray. Not uncommon for them to be around especially when spawning is happening as they catch all the salmon coming up the streams. As for wolves they are around but they well and truly do not bother you if your even lucky enough to see one. Pretty sure there has only been one fatal Wolve attack on human's in Canada...don't know if that's because nobody is round to tell the tale after the fact..lol In any event they are no problem at all. Only Wildlife we saw was an otter for a brief moment. Popped his head up for all of 5 seconds had a look at us and was gone. Cal 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AquaticResearch1 1,046 Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 What's Bear spray? Here I was watching movies and documentaries, thinking that Wolves and Bears are some relentless, unstoppable, blood thirsty man eaters and there has only been 1 fatal wolf attack?!!? And you can ward of bears with spray. Bears always play in the back of my mind when I think about northern north America. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheBerg 241 Posted January 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Bear spray is basically pepper spray. It comes in a little fire extinguisher bottle. The whole idea is to blast the bear in the face and pray it is enough to spook it off. I've never actually used it but I know it is pretty strong stuff. Some goof at a house party back in the day thought it would be a good idea to let off as can indoors. It cleared the house. Nah...they aren't all that bad. Bear attacks are almost 90 percent human fault when they happen. Either not wearing a bear bell on your pack when hiking or keeping food in the tent, or getting out the car to take photos and close range. Just need to be smart about it when your out there in the right season. I guess its similar to here and sharks..you know they are there but you wouldn't go swimming the metro beaches with a Tuna tied to your ass. hahahaha plankton 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
plankton 725 Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Bear spray is basically pepper spray. It comes in a little fire extinguisher bottle. The whole idea is to blast the bear in the face and pray it is enough to spook it off. I've never actually used it but I know it is pretty strong stuff. Some goof at a house party back in the day thought it would be a good idea to let off as can indoors. It cleared the house. Nah...they aren't all that bad. Bear attacks are almost 90 percent human fault when they happen. Either not wearing a bear bell on your pack when hiking or keeping food in the tent, or getting out the car to take photos and close range. Just need to be smart about it when your out there in the right season. I guess its similar to here and sharks..you know they are there but you wouldn't go swimming the metro beaches with a Tuna tied to your ass. hahahaha In Alaska bear spray is called a ".45 automatic". But most time they don't want to be anywhere near humans. I lived in the mountains of Colorado for awhile and in the Spring you'd sometimes get black bears nosing through rubbish bins, they were pretty timid and easy to scare away with loud noises. Brown bears are more aggressive, but they're close to non-existent in that part of the world now. Hiking in the mountains what you really needed to look out for were mountain lions, although most experts would say you'd never see them coming anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheBerg 241 Posted January 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Too true about the Mountain Lions. They just stalk you and hit you from behind. They go for the neck and throat like any cat and your done. Once every few years you will hear about this happening somewhere. Theory has is that if attacked by a black bear your best odds are to fight back, give it as much steam back as you can and it should piss off. Any other bear, Kodiak, Brown, grizzly..your screwed no matter what. lol Hiking to the falls in the summer and came across this lovely paw swipe on the bridge..don't know what that sign did to piss him off but it did.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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