Steelhead fishing is coming into it's own

Well, I CANNOT say is that steelhead fishing is coming into it's own for sure. I know it's coming, I know it's on the verge. But I am going to try it this weekend anyhow.

It is the 9th of February. The real run in the Clearwater can happen between now and the end of April...it depends a lot on water temperature and runoff. (As well, and including: depth, water temperature, clarity, and positioning.) Who cares!? I used to keep track of a monitor near Stites, when it got to a certain plane, and I knew the clarity, I knew I could hook into something. It's one of those things you pick up as a "local." ...or at least someone who keeps track of those things and talks to enough people and has enough former knowledge, .... to have a good time.

I remember once. Twice. Thrice? Nevermind... I was fishing with the snow/rain falling after taking off of work early during a workday (it wasn't an uncommon event.) No matter what I did, I remember the songs I was listening to on the radio on the way, I remember the smell of the river and air, I remember the wet, cold, and miserable conditions...and I gladly excepted them all. I hope I can feel that all again. I miss the smell of shrimp-oil, I miss the sound of studded tires on wet snow-covered roads and returning home in the dark, I miss cold days and cold wood smoke, friends that can travel anywhere...anytime...as long as it is to fish for steelhead. Thayne, Josh...I miss your company.

This year I plan on making some notes, because I'm tired of not knowing where and when I have caught steelhead (or at least hooked them.) I know holes. I know where folks throng to to catch them. I am, indeed, different. I look for the places no one is at; to fish. Call me anti-social, call me what you will. I do not "battle-fish." I despise being anywhere less than 50 yards from another fisherman. Call it a little bit of respect...something that is hard to find anymore.

I have had other fisherman come to within spitting distance and cast in my spot. Even in north Idaho, with the prevelance of personal space and violence, I find this unbelievable. When this happens, I move. If he is more concerned about catching fish than being polite, I want nothing to do with him OR the hole...how much difference does it make?

"I'll swallow poison until I grow immune, I will scream my lungs out until it fills this room! How much difference will it make?" (Pearl Jam) I will go to an unproductive stretch and fish all I want, not catching anything, and be happy that I tried my darndest to prove to them that there is more to a river than fish. I heard a quote today(I'm going to paraphrase),

"There is nothing as unimportant as fishing, but everything else is just as unimportant, just not as fun." unknown

But I love this one:
"He told us about Christ's disciples being fisherman, and we were left to assume...that all great fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fisherman and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman." Norman Maclean - A River Runs Through It

I shall attempt to find some fish, but better yet, find some solitude and sanctuary in the river.

I am in desperate need of a fire, wood taken from unlawful people, to be unleashed to the heavens on it's journey to the sky and freedom. I need to see what it is like to rise above it all and find flight. I need to feel the ascent of sparks and hear the roar of a river to calm my nerves...

With that, I shall leave you.