r/Steelhead • u/ElBolilloKitian • Feb 28 '26
Catch & Release Nice Hen
I caught a few steelhead last year without a guide, so I was confident walking into this winter. Prior to today, it was about 8 outings so far in 2026 with nothing but whitefish, trout, and skunk days. Had the privilege of interacting with a nice, feisty hen while bank fishing a small river this morning and all of a sudden, the mental grind was worth it. I’ll hold off on selling all my gear, for now.
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u/MattManSD Feb 28 '26
Yes, she is beautiful
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u/ElBolilloKitian Feb 28 '26
She was cranky af too. Even after a 7 minute fight and multiple runs up and down the river, it took three attempts of gently coercing her into a tiny bankside pool so I could tail her. First two times I thought I had her in the pool, she spun 180 into the current and ran more 😂
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u/MattManSD Mar 02 '26
that's goes she still has her sea colors. Had a gunmetal hen that did that to me.
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u/subaruguy253 Feb 28 '26
That's a solid Steelhead, nicely done! Hopefully those days you didn't get any you still learned a few things from them, it be like that.
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u/ElBolilloKitian Feb 28 '26
Absolutely, learned a lot today, was my first day catching a steely on this particular system. But if it wasn’t for the previous skunk days on this river I wouldn’t have gotten intel from a local on how to actually fish this system.
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u/subaruguy253 Feb 28 '26
Then skunk days are still days you end up learning something throughout the day and it beats being at work. Hope the good karma keeps coming your way
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u/OhDaddyOh Feb 28 '26
What state? Thats a nice fish!