Affirmation

Had a really cool experience this week fishing the Manistee with a group. Lead guide and friend Jon Ray wanted me to get a steelhead on a swung streamer, so he got me hooked up with guide Russ Maddin. Our group was spread out in search of chrome, but Russ was planning to float the stretch above High Bridge. He was game to help me learn the swing game. A perfect combo.

I spent the first hour thrashing with my switch rig. Lots of effort for little result. Frustrating, to say the least. Russ asks to throw it around a little. After two casts, he turns to me and says, "this thing's a rocket". Just watching those few casts enables me to correct my form (I wasn't stopping high enough on the forward cast, plus my line's a shooting head with a sweet spot you need to strip to). After that BAM -- I'm belting out long, accurate casts effortlessly. This facet of Skagit is one of the prime attractors; easily covering lots of water.

After another hour or so, I get completely blown up just as I'm starting to strip in at the bottom of a swing. This strike was like nothing I've ever experienced. When swinging, you're looking for the "player" fish -- aggressive fish who're looking for a tasty meal. Normally detecting strikes is one of the challenges of steelhead fishing on the fly. Not so with a swung fly. The water just exploded. A really cool experience.

I'm not sure who was more excited -- Russ or me. And then Jon was equally happy I'd succeeded. I have a ton of respect for Jon and he's taught me a lot about steelheading. It sort of felt like graduation day from Newbie to Angler. Having these guys whom I totally admire for their skill, know-how, and ability to make the complexities of steelheading look easy view me as solid was really rewarding.

Another cool thing was as I was fighting the fish. This group trip usually has a lot of folks who are new to steelhead. And it's a different fishing style than other species. The fight is a lot more challenging and rich with opportunities to hook but lose fish. There's typically a lot of coaching. Russ didn't say a word while I fought mine -- he was just ready with the net at the right time. That felt cool; he knew I had everything under control.

If you're looking to have the steelhead experience in NW lower Michigan, I can't say enough good things about the guys at Hawkins Outfitters. Chuck runs a class outfit and Jon, Russ, Tommy, and Ed are all top-notch guys. There's a reason they were the Orvis Guide Service of the year.  I've had the pleasure of instruction from all of them, and fished with most. And I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to earn a measure of their respect.

-Sean-