Steelhead widow?

Every year, when the leaves start to turn and the weather gets colder, Jeremy starts getting itchy feet as steelhead are making their way inland from the ocean to their natal streams to spawn. Out comes the fly tying kit, the steelhead books and bits of feathers gather in corners all over the house. Back in North Carolina, it was a common sight to see him flailing about wildly at the park near our house with his 14 ft spey rod. Steelhead season makes men do strange things, and turns their partners into eye-rolling steelhead widows. This year, I decided to meet up with Jeremy and his buddy Rich on the Salmon River in Idaho in the middle of October, to see about this obsession that keeps him awake at night.

The day we fished was a cold day for a float (reference my puckered red face below), but the colors and the canyon were stunning. Rich had an extra spey rod, and Jeremy gave me a couple of lessons on the art of spey casting (see video below about what its supposed to look like). It is kind of awkward, and I felt like I looked like some fake steelhead fisherman/spey ninja while I was flailing about trying to avoid slapping myself in the face with the fly. Jeremy was patient with me and gave some good pointers, but it got to the point where I turned around, gave him a hard look and said that he needed to head up the run to fish himself so I can figure this out. After awhile, I started to get the hang of it, and actually managed to cast my line out into the run and fish, with the help of some warm-ups with Canelazo (see my recipe below).

As the day got colder, we headed back to the RV park for some late lunch, and decided to try the run behind the camp as it had fished well for Jeremy the day before. As the light started to fade, Jeremy hooked a beautiful fish (the one I'm tailing below) that came out of nowhere right next to the spot I was wading in. After hootin and hollerin for Jer, I got back down to business, and not ten minutes later, felt an intoxicating tug at the end of the line. Used to dry-fly trout fishing, I raised the rod to set the hook, forgetting all of the tips about NOT setting the hook like when trout fishing that Jeremy had given me earlier in the day. My line went slack, the unseen fish swam away and I was left stamping my feet in frustration and exhilaration. I think I finally get it, Jer!

It was a fun weekend, and I'm excited to try it again. Especially when we head back to Cleveland for Christmas, where last year, Jeremy and I landed two nice Lake Erie steelies. According to The Drake magazine, Ohio is one of the most underrated of the steelhead states. So, with all due respect, a hearty SUCK IT to those snobby steelhead fishermen in the NW! O-H! I-O!

Photos from (top to bottom) Jeremy Christensen (1 and 4) , Ky Frye (2 and 3) and Rich Hemingway (5).

Go here to see what spey casting is supposed to look like ... it takes awhile to load, but its worth it:

http://theflyshop.com/Mikes_Folder/kindofabigdeal.mov

And my Canelazo recipe. (Canelazo is a drink we had when I lived in Ecuador - down South it is cinnamon-y and tart with passion fruit or taxa fruit. For lack of Zhumir and exotic fruits here in Utah, I substituted rum and lime. It is still delicious!)

Canelazo

~4 C water
1 C Sugar
1 C Dark Brown Sugar
4-5 cinnamon sticks
Orange slices
Lime slices
White Rum

Add sugars to water and boil over medium heat. Add lime, orange and cinnamon sticks and boil for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture has a cinnamon flavor. Add rum (I usually add about two cups) and reduce heat, so that the drink is merely staying warm and no longer simmering or bubbling (you will reduce the amount of alcohol if it is). Serve in shot glasses or, if you're like me, in a thermos strapped into a drift boat.