Messy Flies: Better than Steelhead!

Livy has been my faithful companion through two fruitless fishing trips to a lowland lake in south Thurston county. The late winter kept the water too cold for the bite to come on and she toughed it out with me without a complaint. She's turning into a tough little fisher!

So a couple of weekends ago when the sun finally came out long enough for me to leave a sweatshirt at home we ran over to another lake and dropped the boat in. On the way there I asked her how many fish we would catch. "Seven!" she said. I asked her what if we catch more than that? "Maybe ten but I think seven."

I had just put new trolling motor alligator terminals (and a jack stand) on the Critter Getter so the trolling motor was pulling a nice steady current against the battery. Livy trolled a dick nite spoon, copper dipped in pink on the back. I trolled a small silver wiggle wart, an experiment for hatchery trout. Half way across the lake Livy took the first fish. A small, typical, 7in hatchery rainbow. We dropped it in our 5lb bucket and ate some gummy worms. Three fish later we were feeling pretty good, each of us had two of the hatchery rainbows in the bucket and so I decided to run the boat up the NE side of the lake where things turned a little swampy. That's when Livy looked up and said, nonchalantly, "I got one."

I smiled and started reeling in my wiggle wart when she mentioned that it felt like a big one and I looked over to see her rod bent double and heard the reel crying as the fish took line. I looked up and saw her fish jump. Hatchery trout are usually small rainbows. They're cloned, a bit dumb and don't fight that hard. They're fun for the kids and we usually smoke them if we keep them. The state stocks some larger ones here and there and once in a while you run into a "hold-over", a fish that survived last year's season to grow semi-wild over a hard winter.

I don't know if Giant (as Livy later named him) was a bigger stocker or a hold over but when he jumped my jaw dropped. Livy tried to reel in against the drag and I tried to stay calm while telling her that when the fish is taking line you should just let him run. My wiggle wart retrieved I killed the motor and turned the Critter Getter broadside to where the fish ran. Livy started retrieving line and as soon as the fish got close he ran again, 30 yards of line easily came off the reel and Livy calmly let him run. Twice again the fish saw the boat and panicked until tired and exhausted. Livy lifted her rod and I scooped him up in the net, terrified of losing her great catch.

She was proud and excited! Her fish was more than twice the length of any of the others that we caught, a good solid 17 inches long and FAT. From top to bottom he was as tall as my hand. My heart swelled with happiness for my oldest daughter who played a big trout with as much skill and excitement that I dream about when fishing for steelhead. I would trade this moment for all of the rest of the steelhead I may have had the chance to catch in my life.

As we left the lake after a couple more hours of fishing we peered into the 5 gallon bucket. Giant curled around the outside and six more smaller fish floated within. "See Dad, I was right, we caught seven!". That night we brined the six smaller fish for smoking and cooked Giant and some rice to feed the whole family.