Can Fish Climb Trees?

I promised some updates from recent steelhead fly fishing antics. On December 30th, I had the good fortune to spend the day in Capt. Jon Ray's boat. Due to some scheduling complexities it ended up just the two of us, so Jon joined in on the fishing fun. A string of unseasonably warm weather made for a productive and entertaining day.

The highlight of my day, and perhaps the 2011 steelhead season, was the Tree Fish.

We set-up on a hole on the Manistee river beneath a large tree. Naturally as my indicator drifted under the tree, it happened - Bob Down! Thwap! A quick hookset and I was off to the races with a solidly hooked steelhead.

But just fighting the fish and landing it would be too simple for me. Now, I've got the line tangled in the low-hanging tree. Fortunately, the bowed limb is putting enough pressure on the fish to keep him on. Jon and I have shared a boat a fair bit, and we've seen some chaos. So he calmly jumped up on the back deck and sent me scrambling for the anchor control. I moved the boat down to the tree as Jon untangled the line. As soon as it was free, I plunged the rod tip into the river to keep the line free. Awesome -- still FISH ON!

Sensing possible freedom, my fish makes a run for it. So I let him have some line. Meanwhile, Jon's extracted the boat from the tree and we're back out in the river channel.

But does the story end here with a simple netting, a quick pic and a release? Of course not...

20 feet below the first tree, is a second. And, this tree isn't just close to the water's surface, a significant portion is below. Just as Jon and I look downriver we see a fish jump on the downstream side of the second tree.

At this point, there's a long uncomfortable pause. Jon turns to me and offers, "I sure hope that's not your fish...". Of course, it was, so off we go again.

This time with all the tree below the water's surface, the only option is to shove the rod tip into the water and begin to muscle the fish out of the wood. Did I mention this was all on 6 pound tippet? Yeah, so we had that going for us.

Somehow with a little fancy rod work, I manage to extract the the fish. Jon puts on his best display of netsmanship with a one-scoop score and we boat a colorful specimen. After a few pictures and a careful release, it is decided that perhaps it is time to explore the beer I have in my cooler...

-Sean-