Bobber down!
So there was a thread about good 'ol Ali(Meluvtrout) and hooking a Steelhead on the sandy River... Somewhere along the way, they got to a hole filled with floats... Or bobbers...
This reminded me of something that actually happened about this time of year... someplace, sometime, not all that long ago...
First off. Nothing whizzes me off more while fishing, than gear failures, that really arent your fault... And breaking off above a float stop knot is one of those things that can really whizz a guy off...Good thing this didnt happen to me! HA!
So a small group a fairly accomplished Steelhead nerds like to fish on Wednesdays before work started for us at 10 am in the Summer doin the WA Farmers Market thing. One wednesday the three of us had all hooked and banked, or lost at least one or two fish at the Powerlines on the Cowlitz. This is the hole directly below the hatchery on the mainstem Cow mind you. It was shaping up to be one of the better days we've ever had together... Well I drifted bait primarily, a friend threw hardware, and another one of us used to put on clinics with a wine cork(from the night before Im sure) and Marabou jigs. Absolute slayer I tell you. Well as the story goes. James was absolutely whackin fish on lead, 'n feathers, so pretty much everybody in the drift switches to floats/jigs... It was like a friggin drag race with 50 wood, foam, plastic, whatever! There were floats EVERYWHERE. A few were disappearing more than others... Point is, my friend and I who had both been tossing gear moved downstream, and began to drift fish this slot we knew got overlooked. Immediately, I hook up, and see a guys float rig at the tail of the slot! I cant believe this guy hasnt reeled up! I dont pay much attention, and get ripped to the back of the hole by a tiny, but rowdy, dime bright Summer. I notice the float is gone.. Ah, this guy just didnt see I was hooked up, or something... Where is this guy anyways??? I dont see any sign of anyone. Back at the top of the drift, James' manager, and my bosses brother, has hooked up a monster hen that is acting like it wants to go back to sea... This guys float is back in the tail of the slot, and this stuck fish is well past it by now! I head downstream to inform our obviously blind angler that a 60 pound summer steelhead(No Joke!) has my buddys Spinner Dave Spinner, and is headed to Russia... SO WATCH OUT! Welp, the float rips under, and starts throbbing...AND... Nobodys home to set the hook! Nothing is going to set the hook! This fish is trying to shake a float rig it broke off from 300 yards upstream! The braid broke 30 feet above the stopper knot! Now this float is on the surface, and ripping upstream. I say goodbye to Andy, and a for sure, 60 pound Summer. And chase this float back upstream... this is only the beginning! Fish runs up and almost everyone has reeled up to see what the hell is going on! The float stop knot has slid about 15 feet up the line, so now the fish has stopped and the bobber lays on its side on the surface... Almost defeated looking. I was surprised to simply see the fish halt. as if there was something it was afraid of...The float wasnt dormant for 5 seconds before 30 pieces of hardware came screaming overhead from all directions. some guy hangs the line, spinner slides up to the float, and you hear him click over his bail. He didnt get a chance to lift on it, before the fish knew the gig was up! Float pops off the line, and the fish runs head on into 3 or 4 anglers' gear in a slot 6 feet wide, and 5 feet deep; it lines itself, twice, and is pec fin hooked at least once. I didnt see if a spoon was actually attached to meat, or another piece of gear... But this fish screwed itself! By the time it was over, at least three guys fought it in, each on 15 pound leader, and when it was all over, the jig was gone, so nobody knew who had hooked the fish to begin with. There were like 10 people saying it was theirs! This older guy Lee, or Len, I cant remember... who kind of "ran" the Blue Creek, and Hatchery holes, pushed his way in, quickly dispatched the hardware, and kicked the fish back into the river. Everyone knew that if you said anything Lee woulda prolly ripped your jaw off, but there was a ton of ***'s being thrown around. Given the number of fish being caught, I dont know why anyone cared that this hatchery marked fish got to live another 12 hours. Andy, James, and myself ended up hooking about 18 fish that day and landing over 10. It was a top 5 day for me on the Cowlitz, both in numbers, and memories...And that 60 pound Summer. Andy landed her down around the corner, and she is his largest, EVER Steelhead to date.(This is a guy who fishes The Penn. 3 days a week!) 41x18. Not a snake by anymeans, but very, very LOOOOOONG. Gorgeous fish. And hatchery bred too! 41 times 18... plus 40 pounds of iron cuz they are STEELhead.
That would be a tad over 60 pounds...
Bitter!
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I bet your friend had the time of his life that day! 
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