Guilt Free

A "screamer" of a chrome hen...

I've never felt more guilt fly fishing than swinging for wild steelhead on the hallowed waters of the North Umpqua. The feeling was inescapable and it haunted me everywhere I went on those banks. It was compounded by the number of suicidal wild smolts that would launch themselves at any and all flies moved over their heads. It took all of one day for me to realize why Lee Spencer only fishes a fly without a hook point. I have not had the same feelings on other wild waters from the Rogue to the Sol Duc. I can say with all honesty that I've never felt any guilt at all fly fishing for Great Lakes steelhead. With wild numbers fluctuating, and a downward trend across the board, I can see the Great Lakes increasingly becoming more of a destination, even for the west coast crowd, to swing flies for large lake run "steelhead". 

Favorite setups this season:

• Burkie 7127, Loop Classic 7-9, Bridge Torrent 475
• CND Gravity 13'4" 8/9, VR Salar Incomparible, Nextcast Salarfinder FFF 8/9 
• Burkie 8128, Loop Classic 7-9, Bridge Wintertide 7/8 

Chrome hen shots courtesy of Mike Kohler @mkohler_photography