Marty's Drift December 2005

Christmas Steelhead
Ice Storm
Show Schedule

I’ve been hoping to catch a bright winter-run steelhead for Christmas dinner. It’s always a long shot that I will be able to do this. This year my odds really dropped. Just after Thanksgiving the weather turned cold. Temperatures were driven down by a nasty east wind. For over two weeks we have had no rain. The rivers have dropped and cleared, making whatever fish that may have entered spooky. High temperatures during the day haven’t risen above 35 or 36 degrees. That’s too cold for an old wuss like me.

Several years ago I did catch a nice winter steelhead just before Christmas. It made a great Christmas day main course. I really prefer a fresh salmon or steelhead to turkey.

About 30 years ago I used to fish half a day every Christmas. In 1974 or 1975 my mother and father were visiting over Christmas. Dad and I got up early Christmas morning and took off for the Sandy River before daylight. Dad had caught lots of salmon and trout during 30 years of living in Alaska, but he had never caught a steelhead. We were at one of my favorite drifts below Marmot Dam and conditions looked good. The weather was fairly warm and the rain only falling lightly. The water was about a medium flow and clear.

We used spinning rods and reels and fished with Pearl Pink Li’l Corkies and green yarn. When winter steelhead bite it is often very subtle; sometimes the only indication of a bite is that the line stops moving or the regular tap of the lead on the bottom stops. “Set the hook every time some thing feels different,” was the advice of the seasoned anglers I knew. That’s what Dad did to hook and land his first steelhead. Turkey was the meal that awaited us when we got home that afternoon, but catching a steelhead on Christmas day is a special Christmas gift.

Ice Storm

Weather patterns in this part of the world are often difficult to predict. I think it has something to do with the influence of the Columbia River Gorge and our proximity to the Pacific Ocean. We have experienced two weeks of near or below freezing weather. Yesterday a warm moist system began to move in from the southwest, bringing rain. The problem arises when the two fronts meet. The rain falls through the lower cold air and turns to snow or freezing rain as it hits the ground. If it is rain, it freezes when it hits the ground, and our world becomes one big skating rink.

Yesterday our world turned into that skating rink. All evening the ice built up, and roads and freeways became parking lots. Luckily I was home when it happened. Joyce and I had taken a break from Christmas shopping and drove home to have some lunch. As I was dishing up soup I glanced outside to see it snowing. I figured that the ice would be worse when I got up this morning, but it seems that the warm front is dominating and the forecast is for warming weather through the week. By Sunday, Christmas Day, it is supposed to be in the low 50s and partly sunny. That could be the time to try for another Christmas steelhead.

Show Schedule

We are scheduled to be at a number of Sportsman’s Shows over the next three or four months. You can see our complete schedule of shows elsewhere on our web site. The first show that I will be working this year is the Portland Boat Show January 7-15. Next is the I.S.E. show in Sacramento, January 19-22, followed by Western Washington Sportsman’s Show in Puyallup January 25-29, Eugene Boat and Sportsman’s show February 3-5, Bellevue Fly Fishing Show February 10-12, Roseburg Sportsman’s Show February 17-19, and Jackson County Sportsman’s Show ( Medford) February 24-26.

If you attend any of these shows, stop by the ClackaCraft booth and sign up for one of our door prizes. We will have drawings for some nice things, like fish boxes and model ClackaCraft boats, at each show. See you there.