we went to this hole called"hoffmans" 30mins everyone limited crome steelies. gonna get them again in morning. luvin the crawdad tail meat.

Master, that's some kind of hot fishing! The 14 fish, landed by 7 guys, each averaged 2 minutes to find the bait, pick it up, and be on the bank; if you don't count the time to rig up and cast, then maybe less than 2 min. per fish. Very impressive. Especially with the Washougal so low and clear, and one hole being thrashed by 7 fishermen and 14 fighting fish! A couple of Q's for ya. 1- What special technique enabled such fantastic and seemingly impossible results? 2- What person or persons are you trying to get even with by attempting to send a bunch of fishing crowds to join them?. Just being lighthearted curious.



[This message has been edited by Reel Truth (edited 07-26-2000).]

Success can do funny things to a person. I too wonder why you are so eager to share this with the planet? If you sincerely don't mind...great! But I know if I found a honey hole after putting in many hours of searching on my own the LAST thing I would do is announce it to all of Washington and Oregon.

No offense, but I'm suspicious.

hey, no big secerets, little tiny baits,3lb maxima,13ft g loomis noodle rod, hole stacked full of fish. letting you guys know where the hot spots are. plenty of fish to go around and around again.

HA HA

good ol' days

The washougal has been very hot this year. My friends and I have caught an incredible number of fish from it, mostly from behind the police station, and the beaver pond. most fish we see now are reruns, but there are a few bright fish comming in. Check the regs, the river is going to close july 31st.

3lb maxima? How big are these metelheads?

It even takes us more than 5 minutes to pull in 5 pound cold water ganaraska slugs on 11 foot noodle rods with 4 pound leader. We have to use light wire hooks to get a hook set without breaking the line. Not knocking you, but how do you get a hot summer run fish in on 3 pound line with light wire hooks in that short of a time period. Our rivers are narrow and shallow, and it's still a chore. I'm mystified.

hey,i admit that it seems strange to catch so many steelhead in one spot in little time. but it takes a lot of skill and me and my buddies have been slaying steelhead on this river for about 9 years. we know how to hook fish when no one else is getting bites. local fisherman say its my seceret egg cure recipe. and well it is but also they love pinky sized baits of crawdad tails, sandshrimp tails, and of coures my famous eggs.

I do quite a bit of low water steelheading, usually casting trout pattern flies and such with light gear. Last year I landed a 16.5 lber on a size 8 olive whooley, but I was using a thin diameter 8lb leader (Gamakatsu co-ploy; thinner than 6 lb maxima). I've never really found it necessary to go lighter than this, although I have used 8 lb fluorocarbon (don't like to do this unless desperate because fluorocarbons suck).

My question to you is: do you feel it necessary to use line as light as 3 lb test. Have you found a greater number of hookups than using say, 6lb. I guess I'm with Hawk; I would find it awful difficult to land a summer fish with line this light, no matter how long the rod. Going with a 7 or 8 lb fluorocarbon would provide more muscle than 3lb.

[This message has been edited by obsessed (edited 07-26-2000).]

well,like i said ive been catching these fish for about nine years and 3lb test is what i use in the summer because of all the swimmers,it seems anything larger spooks them,i know when to let them run and when to lay down the law. i do break off a **** load of fish but not lately.

I am not doubting your fish catching ability. Because I whack em too on light line, and mini bugs when other guys aren't. All the way down to size 12 hooks on 15 pound fish. It just takes me time to get em in on 4 pound. Even if you pour the wood and then back off when they get screwy, it still takes more than a couple minutes to land a fish. That's where the flack is coming from. Reel truth was just having a hard time undderstanding the method of getting them in that fast, especially on light line. Of course, I had to back him on that one.

Glad you got the number of fish that you did, but the watch had to be a little slow. Maybe I can hook up with you and fish for those summer runs some day, and share a little light line freak fish action. By the way, our best fighting fish in the Midwest are Washougal River Skamania hatchery fish that make infrequent trips in to our rivers on high summer water. They never stay until the winter when they come in on the first big cold rain of the fall. Send me a picture of one via e-mail, as ours are bug eyed long silver missiles. Gotta love them craw dads for bait. Try your secret egg cure with loose eggs, tied in blue bridal veil about the size of a blueberry or a dime. They last a lot longer than skein too. Fish On. Nuff said. Peace

I've hammered a few steelies on the Shou too. The light leaders do help but I have to concur that you aren't likely to land them that quickly on 3# line or have so many guys hook so many in one hole with the spookout factor. If you needed that light of line to hook them how come they didn't spook with all that much multiple commotion? Even if I actually did experience such a phenomenon as you described I'd think twice about posting it for what it might due to my credibility. Just my .02

I hesitated responding to this post but it seems now that everyone else has so what the hey....
I appreciate your reports but do you want the washougal to be like the Kalama? People and trash everywhere? Sounds like you really know the water, but reports like this could cause a large influx of people onto this river just like the Kalama.
Sounds like you have a hell of a hole, but it aint like that on the hole river.
I fished the water the day after your first post and had not one hit. I have seen recycles in the water but they just dont want to bite! Last time out I took a 6 wt fly rod with small bugs and muddlers.
Also you mentioned that your friend had done well on jigs below the bowling alley. I tried some with scent the next morning and nothing.... hot pink red& white....
I was there at sunrise, and also very stealthy.
Once again it is cool that your willing to give out information like this. Im not sure I would want to. Especially after fishing there for nine years and working hard to find a good spot!
Im gonna give it a try on Friday, well see if I have results like yours

Let me get this straight you caught how many fish in how many minutes on 3# test,it's not that I find this hard to believe... wait yes I do sorry I think I need my chest waders for this one
nothing personal it just seams a little hard to accept hey I got it maybe they were smolts jk you must be the Master???

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Row Quietly and fish a Cataraft }<<(('>----<'))>>{
Release all Wild Fish

My uncle once hooked two 50lb.+ Chinook, one on each rod, at Sekiu in a Olsen's kickerboat. These fish started to lead him out to the ocean toward Neah Bay, but alas he turned them both around and lead them like a team of horses back to the dock at Olsen's. He was only using 4lb test leaders, but it was Maxima.

That's remarkable indeed Rich. But I think I've got your Unc beat. You know how challeging it can be to hook steelhead on the fly. So I developed the unique ability to cast 2 flyrods simultaniously and lay them across the current just inches apart without tangles! took a long time to perfect this but was really worth it. With the 2 flys swinging near each other the steelhead just can't resist it. They usually grab the second followup fly. However, when I was up fishing the Susitna R. in north B.C. late last Sept. I hooked 2 at once on the swinging flies. Both over 25 lbs. The kicker is that I also had only 4 lb. tippet on! Despite the fish getting tangled on some wild runs in different directions and having to reel with my teeth I was somehow able to get both of them landed in 3 or 4 minutes. Extremely great acomplishment I know, but not in the same league as these Washougal gods that almost simultaniously landed 14 srappy Skamania summers in a few minutes on 3 lb. line. Now that was truely AWESOME guys!!!!!

LOL ya your story is right up there, but I got to give it to gods gift to steelheading, down at the Washougal. Your story is just too believable!

I live in washougal and fish the washougal and know several guys that,I consider very very good fisherman,I'm not to bad myself and NO ONE,I know catches as many as you do !!!

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Bob Dawson

Hammerhead, your the man !!! You forgot to say that you had a beer in one hand..and the river was punched...