TALES


READER FIL MARTINEZ SWITCHED FROM FLIES TO BAIT TO GO FROM


SKUNKED TO SUCCESS. PHOTO: FIL MARTINEZ


Heeeerre Fishy, Fishy... See our complete line of fishing kayaks at jacksonkayak.com


BY any MEANS NECESSARY


put that maxim to the test on a week-long fishing trip to Salmon River in Upstate New York. His fly-fishing trip turned into a bait-fishing trip that ended with suc- cess on monster steelhead.


If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Kayak Angler reader, Fil Martinez


mouth and pedaled up stream until the water got shallow, then pulled and dragged the kayak over rapids to deeper pools. There were plenty of steelhead, I could see the fish porpoising and rolling, but they wouldn’t bite. The first few days, I tried to catch them with my nine-weight fly rod but that ended in frustration. The weather changed from sun and warm temperatures to freezing wind and snow. Desperate, I switched to egg sacks. That got bites, but the fish were stealing


When I arrived, the river was running low so I launched close to the river


my bait. Again and again, I brought in an empty egg sack. Then, I set the hook when I felt the slightest tap on the line. That was the answer! A steelhead on the line is like a crazy, chrome torpedo that zips up and down the river and jumps out of the water. I hooked into several big fish and landed two trophies. In the end, it was the pain and effort that made the catch that much more valuable.


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72…KAYAK ANGLER Send your fish stories to cpr@kayakanglermag.com. We’ll post them on Kay-


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