Day two started out with an interesting twist. Yes, Juan had forgotten his headlamp which we learned in day one. Today, as we set off from the vehicle toward the creek at “zero dark thirty” on a moonless night, we are now operating with no light. Dave lost his headlamp. Ha! Actually no big deal for two country boys who grew up tromping through the woods at all hours of the day or night. Yes, there were a few stumbles an near falls along the way but we made it to our intended location without major incident.

You can see that my trout box on the left had me ill prepared fro steelheading. I had some small egg patterns but I lacked the cool stuff in Dave’s box on the right like Sucker Spawn, Chrystal Meth and White Death. Fly names that strike fear into the hearts of steelhead everywhere on the east coast. You can see the tying materials as well in the photo. Rest assured on the next trip I’ll be better equipped!

Only three hook ups today. Dave lost one of his two hook ups but landed this “old fish” that was clearly not fresh from the lake. It was further evidence that very few fish have made it up the far after the recent rains. We speculated that in a week or so the fish would be thick in this area. Dave got this one on a old Erie standard.. a White Death streamer. What a great and ominous name for a fishing streamer!

Sooo… here’s the fish that Juan caught… I mean snagged. It was an accidental snag. My float “bumped” and I reacted. It’s likely that the fishes tail hit my egg pattern because it was snagged on the tail. When I first hooked into the fish, I was totally pumped because it would have been my first steelhead catch!… I didn’t see that it was snagged until Dave netted the fish several yards below me at the bottom of the pool. Elation turned quickly to disappointment. That being said the fight was fun. I quickly returned the fish to the water without the usual fan fare and grip-n-grins.

Despite the lack of total success, I left the water this past Sunday in an upbeat mood because I’ve found a new angling challenge. It has re-energized me, giving me a new puzzle to piece together this fall. I love a challenge that requires me to learn new skills and species habits!