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North Coast: , by Drew Griffith: Coastal Odyssey : 3 stars

If every winter steelhead season was a play of three acts then this next storm is the final scene of the first act. The past 10 days saw every system fall into shape after a big push of rain brought all of our rivers up to their highest peaks of the season so far. As the rivers dropped and turned green many of us who wait in eager anticipation for the chance to shake hands with a winter fish found ourselves traveling north to the rivers of the coast. My first handful of guide days were spent in the upper reaches of the river, hoping to find a fish or two up high. Angling pressure was high, as is to be expected early on in the season and especially during the first stages of a dropping and clearing river. The first four days on the water proved to be tough fishing. That is almost always true for us folks swinging flies, but I got the feeling from talking with other boats that fishing was just as tough for them as it had been for us. Simply put, there just were'nt that many fish around. It wasn't until the lower end dropped into shape that we saw our fortunes shift. I fished with husband and wife duo Jim and Vivian midweek on an abnormally pleasant and sunny day for January on the coast. Just before 9am Jim hooked into a good fish in the first run of the day. We landed her by the skin of our teeth and were all three of us excited to see what turned out to be a truely impressive specimen. Swinging flies for a winter fish is a game of long odds, mostly you end up with nothing to show for your efforts, but sometimes you shake hands with something that will stay with you for a lifetime. The fishing continued to be productive heading into the end of the week. I was lucky enough to have a few more considerably good days on the water with one time Confluence guide Tyler and his longtime friend Steve. On the last day we fished together they tied each other with each a fish landed and each a fish lost. All said and done, it was a whirlwind of days spent searching for something that is exceedingly hard to find, but once found is always worth the effort. Thanks to everyone who came out to fish with me. It was a pleasure being on the water with you all. Looking ahead into the month of Febuary we are set to see another massive rise for all of our local rivers. Right now as I type away the coast is being lashed with heavy winds as another big storm moves off of the Pacific. If last season is an indicator for what is instore for the second act then we should see a major improvement in fishing as we head into this next month. Lets all keep our fingers crossed for good river conditions after this next round of storms has passed. Stay tuned for more. 

Colin swinging the green ditch
Colin swinging the green ditch
Jim with his prize doe
Jim with his prize doe
Sometimes the clients let me pretend I swung up their fish
Sometimes the clients let me pretend I swung up their fish
Tyler with a early morning hen
Tyler with a early morning hen
Tyler on the board early for day two
Tyler on the board early for day two
Next 10 open days for Drew Griffith: Mar 30, 31
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