TFF Staff 0 Report post Posted January 17, 2008 My brother and I decided to hit the PM this morning before the deep freeze hits here in Michigan. It was a balmy 16 degrees when we reached the river at 9 am. We considered stopping at our parents until the temps rose a few degrees but once we saw the river, the decision was made to brave the cold and fish. The level and stain was near perfect. It really wasn't that bad until the breeze started shortly after getting in the water. Not sure what the windchill was but my best guess is "cold". The cold quickly vanished when my brother was able to land a skipper on the first cast. We weren't sure if it was a sign of things to come or the curse of the first cast. After picking up a couple trout a piece, I set the hook into something heavy but it would only last a few seconds. Three casts later, while still annoyed with myself for a poor hookset, I was into a good fish. She immediately launched herself into the air and I saw the tell tale white belly of a fresh steelhead. This girl was very hot and she would leave the water 5 more times before giving up. We both laughed in excitement as my brother slide his hand up under her belly revealing her heavy girth. She was easily over 10 lbs and taped at 31". We didn't care what happened after that. Our day was already made. Over the next two hours we would lose a couple more brief hookups with steelhead and land a few more trout. Every fish that we could confirm came on a nymph. Bear's hex and grizzly hex doing the majority of the damage. Here's one of the better browns for the day. It was another great day spent on the river with my brother. We only saw one other angler who packed it in shortly after arriving. The fishing was good, the scenery was awesome and the company was even better. Matt Reply To This Topic: http://www.talkflyfishing.com/index.php?showtopic=16769 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites