To go or not to go fishing, 10:00am the wind is gusting up to 20mph, a south wind has the temp. up to 38*, we decide it's a go, we can always call it quits and come in if the weather gets worse. The coffee is made, the fishing gear is all preped, our spirits are high, 12:30pm and away we go.

Launch the boat at Couse Creek, when we were backing down the launch it was iced up, and the Jeep was sliding for about ten feet before we got traction, Barb was a little nervous, but I assured her that all was okay, the way she looked at me I do not think she was convinced, anyway after the initial slide we got the boat in the water, Barb does all of the boat loading on and off the trailer, the launch in the wind goes good, and off we go.

We head down river through a couple of rapids, and pick a good stretch of water tthat has been productive in the past, Barb points the boat upriver, I crank up the little Honda, engage the TR-1 Autopilot, in hopes that it can control the boat in the prevailing wind, we get the plugs all gouped up with scent that should frighten any fish in the river (it's amazing what we do to catch Steelhead), so we get the lines in with wind gusts hitting the bow, trying to turn the boat sideways, it's somewhat of a challenge, the wind gust pushes us down stream too fast, I speed up the motor to compensate, the wind suddenly dies down for a few seconds and and the boat is then shooting up stream. We continue with this situation until about thirty minutes has passed, then Barb's rod slams down, a steelie comes out of the water before she can get the rod out of the holder, she takes the rod out of the holder, the fish is stripping out line, then takes two more leaps out of the water. The wind has increased and the boat is about ten feet from the rocky shore, I must make a sharp turn and speed up the motor to keep us off the rocks, have not had a chance to pull my line in, Barb's fish has crossed over it, I get the boat headed away from the rocks, and start to pull in my gear, her fish comes out of the water again, at about the same time my plug pops out of the water, and my line is wrapped around her line, when the plug popped out of the water she thought it was her's and the fish had thrown the plug, she then realized that the Steelhead was still on, she lowered her rod so I could unwind my line from her's, that was accomplished without losing the fish. Barb then plays this beautiful Steelhead out and I net it, take a picture and release it. That was really fun let's go get another one.

We go up to the start of the run, and start another pass, not more than ten minutes go past when Barb's rod is just about ripped out of the holder, a big Steelie breaks water then makes a strong run down stream, Barb works him back toward the boat, he comes out of the water again, the plug comes unhooked and flies over our heads landing on top of the boat canopy.

We are still at the top of the drift, so we push upstream with the Honda to start another pass. The wind has died down and the surface is glassy, river temp. is down to 40.5*, ambient temp. is around 40*, has turned out to be really nice. We are on the Idaho side of the river, traversing from side to side while slowly going down stream, in about fifteen minutes my rod gets a bump and then bends double with a Steelhead on the other end, this one came out of the water three times before Barb netted her, we then took a picture and put her back in the river to catch again

Back to the top of the drift for another pass, it is starting to snow, rain, and sleet. After about thirty minutes or so without a bump we decide to head for the launch. The wind has picked up again, and it is getting pretty dark in the canyon. This was sure a lot of fun today and hope to be back on the river soon. Ken & Barb

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