Way too easy
Thirty yards above the money spot, I threw an awful cast that piled up. Rather than pick it all up and recast, I stripped in some line, threw in a mend and let it fish.
The current pulled the line and the fly became presentable. Beneath an unremarkable tree the fly started to swing then stopped abruptly. It darted slightly in the opposite direction, then violently back. Fish on.
The water both up and down river from the pocket under the tree was fairly shallow, but the fish knew the deepest lanes and shot upriver, then down. Inspired by the current it continued downriver, spinning my reel.
There is romance in chasing a fish downriver like Paul Maclean, but the reality is rocks are hard if not hard and sharp and the water cold. To attempt a mad scramble over slick rocks was to invite a spill. There would be no running.
I slid my wading boots into what felt like solid footing as I pursued the fish. As the steelhead approached a log, I took a solid stance, reeled down and lifted the rod in an attempt to turn its head. This is a risky move, but has to happen at some point. The fish has to be commanded, or made to stop and turn, especially if it’s nearing the safety of a snag. The current will then work for you. If the fish holds it gathers strength, but you collect line. In terms of feet you’re about back where you started, but the fish has used up juice.
