STEELHEAD SUPER HIGHWAYS OF CHROME SILVER!!!!!!.............BEST RUN WE'VE SEEN IN A DECADE!

(Steelhead Paul with a nice chromer!)

( SCHWING-A-DING-DING!)

OK...........sorry for the delay, but this year will go down as one of the most massive fall steelhead runs I've seen since 1999/2001.............ITS OUT OF CONTROL FOLKS!........NO SHIT!
 After witnessing one of the hugest salmon runs "still going on!"......we are inundated with chrome steelhead in big numbers. Swinging and "matching the hatch".........even fly guys like me are racking up big numbers of gorgeous chrome fish!

( Big Roy hits chrome)

 Last week I had the pleasure of guiding Roy Parks, 78 years young financial person and commercial oyster and clam farmer from Rehobath, Maryland for 5 days. Roy has fished for Atlantic salmon and steelhead all over the world- mostly in Quebec/Matapedia/Gaspe and the Dean and Bulkley Rivers in B.C. I met Roy when I was the featured speaker at the National Trout Unlimited Show in Washington D.C. this spring. Roy took one of my master advanced casting classes and wanted to come to fish with me for a week to catch the Michigan "QUAD-FECTA'.........that is Pacific Salmon, Atlantic salmon, Steelhead and a Lake -run Brown. Roy hooked many steelhead and kings, had a nice Atlantic take his fly at a northern destination and just missed a nice brownie..So congrats!......ROY!.3 OUT OF 4 AIN'T BAD!

( Polish Mafia brother Krys from CHI-CAGO with a nice lake run taken swinging with Drew!)

( Northern Lake Atlantic Roy was chasing!)

 Just finished up with the "IRISH PRINCESS"- Sheela and husband Paul who cracked some good steelhead this morning and afternoon.

( Sheela- Irish princess chrome goddess!)

 It can't get any better folks.........November and December will be "ON FIRE" with all the fish we have in the river system already and still huge numbers coming!

( Todays client lunch at Chez Mateo's dock- Greek Lemon Chicken with Tarragon, roasted red and green peppers, mushrooms and vidalia onions in olive oil- Perfecto Senore!- Gordon Ramsey go "F" yourself...LOL!- I just love the guy and watch Kitchen Nightmares every day!)

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Posted in: Dean River , Gordon Ramsey , gray drake lodge , greek lemon chicken , michigan steelhead , Muskegon River steelhead , muskegon steelhead , Otter eggs , swinging flies , trout and eagle

THIS AIN'T BRITISH COLUMBIA OR WASHINGTON'S WASHOUGAL............JUST GOOD OLD GREAT LAKES CHROME SUMMER SKAMANIA STEELHEAD AT ITS FINEST!

( JAKE WITH HIS FIRST SUMMER STEEL!)

I ain't no Hugh Hefner judging chrome .sweet, center-fold voluptuous steelhead, but what happened yesterday was a once in a lifetime day! It was LOONG in coming, brothas and sistas................looong I tell you, after a heat wave from hell!
The stats and the beauty images are all I got to say..................and it didn't come with a  Dean River price tag!

( PURPLE HAZE............IS IN MY JAW!)

DATE: AUGUST 12TH

PLACE: A COLD, SMALL TRIBUTARY TO LAKE MICHIGAN.....( and it ain't where you are thinking!)

ANGLERS:..........TONY DOMBROWSKI, ACCOUNTANT- GAYLORD, MI,........ SONS JAKE DOMBROWSKI -21, KICKER /PUNTER FOR TOP IVY LEAGUE COLLEGE ON EAST COAST HEADED TO THE NFL- OTHER SON, ALEX, 16, TOP MIDWEST GOLFER HEADED FOR THE PGA- MICHIGAN STEELHEAD FANATICS THAT NEVER CAUGHT A SUMMER RUN SKAMANIA STEELHEAD

PURVEYOR OF STEELHEAD ECSTASY: MOI!

CONDITIONS: PERFECT- COLD 58 F NIGHT, POLAR FLEECE MORNING.........FINALLY!..........WATER CLEAR AND COOLER......THE PERFECT " WINDOW OF RUN" OPPORTUNITY

SPECIES; SUMMER SKAMANIA STEELHEAD THAT JUST CAME IN THAT NIGHT ON THE COOLER TEMPS AND FULL MOON FROM THE BIG LAKE

 DEMEANOR OF FISH: ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!!!!-SUICIDAL AGGRESSIVE/ACTIVE "BULLS IN A CHINA SHOP", AERIAL DISPLAYS UNPARALLELED!.............THESE FISH GAVE THE WARY AND" FISH OF A THOUSAND CAST!" REPUTATION A REAL BAD NAME!!!.......-THEY SMASHED OUR FLIES WITH A RECKLESS ABANDONMENT LIKE STRIPERS ON THE HUNT FOR BAITFISH!.........ABSOLUTELY INSANELY DUMB AND AGGRESSIVE FREAKS!

( JAKE WITH HIS SECOND-  A KICK ASS FISH THAT WAS IN THE AIR MORE THAN IN THE WATER)

TACKLE: ORVIS HELIOS  AND T-3, 8 AND 9 WEIGHTS, ......LOOP AND MIRAGE LA REELS,.......... FLOATING WONDER LINES ,1X TIPPETS , TINY FOAM INDICATOR AND MY "Purple Haze Skamania Crack" FLY

HOOK-UPS/LANDINGS: WON'T SAY!!!!! AND BE GROSS ABOUT IT!- DAYS LIKE THIS HAPPEN ONCE EVERY 10 YEARS AND I BASICALLY CUT THE GUYS OFF TO PROTECT THE FISH, EVEN THOUGH WATER TEMPS. WHERE UPPER 50'S AND FISH COULD BARELY BE HELD FOR IMAGES SINCE YOU COULDN'T HOLD THEM  BEING  SO HOT WITH PISS AND VINEGAR!.........(ONE BROKE A WHOLE IN MY NET AT LANDING!)

( ALEX WITH HIS FIRST SKAM!)

( ENTREE DE RESITANCE: LE PURPLE HAZE!)

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Posted in: B.C. , Dean River , gray drake lodge , Great Lakes summer steelhead , michigan fly fishing , Orvis Helios , purple haze , st.joe skamania , summer steelhead , trout and eagle , Washougal River