4-16-06 - A windy morning on Lake Superior at the mouth of Sucker Creek.

We're packed in and anxious for steelies.

BOOM! There it is, another big steelhead - hey, this is the same buck Renee released yesterday evening! (Copyright 2006 Renee)

Pay it forward... (Copyright 2006 Renee)

4-16-06 - Last day on the North Shore

Waters Fished: Sucker Creek
Fish Caught: 1
Outing Date: 4-16-06
Weather: Sunny, calm
Air Temp: highs in the upper 50's
Water Temp: N/A
Water Level: still "up" but receding
Water Color: Stained, visibility 1-2'
Fish Species: Steelhead
Pattern Fished: Egg Patterns & Wolley Buggers
Pattern Color: Eggs in Oranges and Buggers in Red/Black

After yesterday, we slept in and really only got started at 10:00 AM. If we wanted to get home at a reasonable hour, Renee and I had to depart around noon.

With that said, we decided to return to Sucker Creek, which was on the way back. Being Easter Sunday, it wasn't packed, but there still was a fair share of sinners on the water ;)

Well, it took most of the morning...I never really saw a fish until I finally figured out that a rock or two were "moving". Once you locate the fish, steelheading becomes MUCH easier. Another 10 or 15 minutes of drifting...BAM, FISH ON!

It took a while, ran and shook a lot, but eventually we got it in. ONLY LATER, when looking through the pictures did I realize that this is exactly the same fish that Renee caught and released yesterday evening!

Not to lecture, but I can think of TWO fish now that were caught twice in the 24 hours...This buck and the fish that Nick landed and released yesterday, only to then be caught a few hours later by Dan. And who knows...for all we know these fish, and possibly every other one we landed, may have very well been caught several times before. I can't stress enough how important catch and release fishing is, especially considering that there aren't that many steelhead running around in most places to begin with. I can think of MANY days now where we've caught fish we've let go only days or even hours before. More fish released means more fish to catch again, which translates to a better fishing experience for everyone who goes out. These days, considering how cheap you can get a rainbow trout at the grocery store, I'm hard pressed to come up with a good reason why ANYONE should creel a steelhead.

Put 'em back and it'll pay off for you down the river...

We left Will and Emily to finish out their day...turns out things actually went fairly well with Will landing 2 or 3 and Emily landing her first...just took them 2 days to pull it off. I can think of MANY folks who've gone a lot longer (years) without landing a steelhead, so in the end just stick with it...it WILL happen.

  MP