Furious Fall Steelhead

It's been about a month since rumors have been spread about the secret ascension of our much anticipated silver friends.  Water has been hard to come by here lately, so a consensus as to how the fall migration would play out was hard to find.  But we did finally get a good first dose of bright, healthy fall steelhead!  After the first push we have had little rain so it has been a while since we have seen any fresh fish but the fish being caught are on average very good fish with many of them hitting the double digits.  Having one of these fish hit a swinging fly will blow your mind and scare you at the same time.  If you are prone to day dreaming you might even want to tether you rod to your arm for insurance.  I've been swinging flies with a spey rod which is new territory for me but what a great way to present flies with sink tip lines and do it with ease.  On top of presentation, these rods are amazing tools for fighting a fish that has unspeakable power.  On a trip last Friday a client hooked a big male that looked like it was shot out of a nuclear sub.  I was watching the caster in the front of the boat when he said "I got one".  Having had many novices the weeks prior, I half-heartedly looked up thinking "snag"only to see this thing hitting orbit.  Jaw dropped.  This thing traveled so far in the air it looked as though it might burn up on re-entry.  Seriously, it traveled about 8 feet in the air at about eye level!  I don't think I'd experience as much elation from kicking and watching the winning field goal in a Super Bowl soar through the uprights.  The fish was played beautifully and brought to net after 8 jumps and weighed 9 pounds.  Well, we've had some good rain in the past couple days and more is in the forecast.   Things should only get better...