Fishing Report,    fly fishing for steelhead,    trinity river

A Little Photographic Evidence I'm Only Half A Dry Fly Purist

By Tom Chandler 11/28/2012

If I had thirty usable hours today I couldn't get all the work done, but I am taking a minute to post dramatic proof that I can, in fact, catch the odd steelhead on a fly.

Trinity River Steelhead That there is a Trinity River steelhead.

 

Two of them, actually.

On heavily weighted nymphs. Hanging below indicators.

I know. I just turned your whole world upside down.

Altered your perception of reality.

Blew your mind.

It's how we do it here at the Underground; you expect us to zig and we zag instead, heaving giant rubber-legged nymphs and many split shot at big anadromous fish instead of #16 dries at 8" trout.

A full report as soon as my 30 hours of work are done.

See you gloating just a little, Tom Chandler.

UPDATE:
Ok, I'm suddenly struck by the possibility this is the first steelhead caught by Jacob (in the front of the boat) instead of the first steelhead caught by the knucklehead in the back (me). I took very few pictures, and in my old age, I grow confused. For now, let's just say this is a generic steelhead caught by one of two people on the Trinity River sometime Monday. Good?

MORE UPDATES:
The guide's right, this is my fish. First one of the morning. I am vindicated.
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

26 comments
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With 9x tippet.
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Absolutely gorgeous fish! And to think you caught it on a 3 weight. Niiiiiiice!
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Chris, no apologies necessary buddy! I knew you were not implicating me on that satire - and it is truthfully funny, for many successful guides are like that!! But only because they demand excellence. And the Hank Patterson stuff is pretty damned funny. As for Tom and his other responsibilities... that was a big reason I was stoked to get him in my boat for a day. Wish it could have been at least ... more one more day. I'm hoping to spring him again and go someplace he enjoys too fish, w/ one of your bamboo rods & dry flies in hand, of course.
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that is a beautiful stock-photo photo. kudos.
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Carl: “MORE UPDATES: The guide’s right…” First and only rule of a fish pimp outing!Neal tried to assert this rule at the start of the trip, but we quickly disabused him of that notion by doing almost nothing he told us to. Guides love that kind of client, right?
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C'mon man, cooking a wild steelhead? I bonked a few Rogue hatchery steelies on the head in the past, but not this beauty.
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"MORE UPDATES: The guide’s right..." First and only rule of a fish pimp outing!
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Puleez tell us how you cooked it...a trick question to see how far you've "evolved"!
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Neal can take the abuse. After all, he survived a whole day in a boat with me.When he first showed me the rig (the 7' leader, the shot, the weighted flies, etc), I made Darth Vader breathing noises and said "Luke, I am your guide."Seemed appropriate at the time.
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Turnip Truck Driver: TC, a beautiful fish, only a minor sin and just the right amount of contrition, my son – weighted bobber fishing is sometimes necessary. Go forth, being forewarned though, if you start wearing one of those chartreuse, advertisement covered bassmaster suits and you will burn in Hell. OK, so I should have thought twice before getting drunk and getting ORVIS tattooed on my ... more ass? Damn...
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Tom Chandler: And I haven’t even touched on the groupies. Probably a good thing. Touching on the groupies can get you, well, you know.
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Hey man, you're confusing Dave Neal's guiding methods with your bamboo fly rod teaching tactics...
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Ian: Ha! I knew that wasn’t your fish! Otherwise you would have done the obligatory grip and grin. It’s much easier to be a creative photographer when someone else catches a fish. HA! Turns out it was mine (note the unclipped fin). I am again self-righteously indignant.
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Dave, my apologies, I re-read my post, and I can see how it looks like I've singled you out. Again, sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you. I wanted to cast a bigger net, and make fun of all guides in general! Tom and I have spent a little time in drift boats with a certain Southern Oregon guide that goes out of his way to insult us while captive in his boat, pointing out our lack of fishing skills, ... more and our inability to drink as much as he. That said, he is far more thin-skinned than you. If his wife reads this post to him, he will be mad. Sorry to hijack this thread. Those are nice looking fish. Tom said he had a good time with you. He's gone from care-free trout bum to father of two in just a few years, so time for fishing is scarce. As far as my teaching Tom anything, all I can say is that with my constant help, he has perfected his tailing loop.
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A lovely fish shaped objected.
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TC, a beautiful fish, only a minor sin and just the right amount of contrition, my son - weighted bobber fishing is sometimes necessary. Go forth, being forewarned though, if you start wearing one of those chartreuse, advertisement covered bassmaster suits and you will burn in Hell.
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Kantuck Jim please remember TC lives and fishes in the People's Republic of Kalifornia....Yes,anything is possible.....and allowed.....Even in Shasta County.....
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Rest assured Tom, that is one of your wild fish. Jacob's first one was a big hatchery buck. Judging from the light, I would say this was your first one in the morning. And LMAO Chris Raine, although I certainly CAN get that intense sometimes, I never yell or swear (directly) at my peeps. My blood pressure just goes richter while my anchor drops extra dramatically as I pull the boat over for another ... more "lesson". I do, however, have at least 3 days of stubble, always. Shaving is like mowing a lawn... a huge waste of time! Also, despite bringing Tom over to the dark side for the day throwing big weighted flies, indicators and lead... he is totally clean on the bead pegging. Actually, I would have really enjoyed fishing steelhead w/ Tom another day. For an old guy who fishes bamboo and dry flies... the dude can fish, and fight em, too!! You have taught him well.
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A "dominatrix" who is a "he"? Hmmm... Just to let that go for a moment, congratulations on your two fish, whatever they looked like...
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"Drop it over there! Mend!! MEND!!! God-damn, MEND! You missed it, you MISSED IT!!! Shit. You need to set the hook harder, man!!! You know, a Snap-T will get you a better presentation, better drift. You need to get that goin' for you. If I teach you anything today, you gotta get the Snap T. And you should bring a switch rod with you next time, too. That rod you brought just doesn't cut it, dude. SET!!! ... more SHIT!! You missed the set again, god-damn it!! Ok, pick it up, we're going thru this slot now. Ok, cast over by my oar. NOT THE RIGHT OAR!!! THE LEFT OAR!!! SHIT!!! You missed the drift!!!! God-DAMN IT!!! I CAN'T ROW THIS BOAT BACK UP FOR YOU TO GET YOUR RIG IN THAT SPOT!!! Shit. Best damn drift on this run. You screwed it up. Big fish holding in that one. SLABS!!!! I can't believe you didn't get a drift through that. Man, this is gonna be a tough day. You need to listen to me more, dude. I can't get you bit if you keep screwing up like this...... Tom, tell me you didn't pay for this? A dominatrix in a drift boat? With 3 days of stubble on his face? And you pegged beads too, right. Ah, jeez. You tipped him a hundred bucks, too , right? Was it good for you too?
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Ha! I knew that wasn't your fish! Otherwise you would have done the obligatory grip and grin. It's much easier to be a creative photographer when someone else catches a fish.
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Ian: Ah to live the glorious lifestyle of a fly fishing blogger. I’ll just settle for the current routine of “off season guide” for now. And I haven't even touched on the groupies.
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Mike Sepelak: I wouldn’t have believed that you had a rod that could throw shot. Who knew? We all do, tucked away in some corner...
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Ah to live the glorious lifestyle of a fly fishing blogger. I'll just settle for the current routine of "off season guide" for now.
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That is a beautiful fish.
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I wouldn't have believed that you had a rod that could throw shot. Who knew?
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