Man vs Ice : A Solo Steelhead Trip

 Clearwater River - Winter 2025

February always finds me anxious to fish for steelhead. The run was good and plans for the annual "guys trip" had been in the works since fall. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, everyone had things come up and the trip slowly fell through. I, however, had already booked a place to stay and had the time off. I checked with a couple friends and family last minute to see who could rally and join and no one could. I would just have to go solo!

The river was low, clear and locked in ice after a severe cold snap. On top of that, the area had received a lot of fresh snow. My optimism was still high considering all the different conditions I had fished over the years and still caught fish. 

I arrived to find the river in the snowiest and iciest state I'd ever seen it. Entire sections were completely iced over! The banks and hillsides were completely white as a couple of feet of snow blanketed everything. The scene was beautiful! As I drove down the river though, it became obvious that fishable locations were a premium. The ice had simply covered so much of the water. If a spot wasn't completely iced over, then there were thick ice shelves lining the edges.

The river had experienced an early push of fish before the cold snap though and I had a good idea of where they were likely holding in the river. As luck would have it, the first fishable place I wanted was unoccupied.  

I beat the water that first morning for a couple hours, trying to decipher the bottom and where I thought the fish would be holding. At 9 am I was rewarded with my first fish of the trip. A couple friends of mine found me, stopping by on their way home that morning and they helped me take a photo.

Fish and Game also stopped by just in time to check if the fish was suitable for the brood stock program. The fish had a wire tag in its nose and they took the fish up to the tanker truck for the hatchery. 

I fished hard for several more hours and hooked 2 more fish before deciding to explore. There was one spot in particular I was extra excited to fish on this trip with these low waters: the 4-some hole. The last guys trip in 2023, we had found this new spot and ended up with 33 fish in a day there. The spot was super cool and has a fun drift with a fly rod. I hiked my way up to the hole to discover a serious disappointment; it was completely iced over. Stupid ice!

I had 3 more days to fish and the weather was slowly warming with rain in the forecast. I hoped this spot would soon open up, allowing me to fish it. I knew if it opened up I would hammer the fish.

The next morning found me back at the location I had caught and hooked the fish from the day before. The morning was cold and snowy and not much action was happening for anyone.

I knew my options were limited but I just had to explore. Around mid-day I packed up and headed to another spot. I drove upriver, stopping here and there to look at the water. I stopped at a corner of the river where I'd never fished before and looked downstream. That water looks pretty decent. I should at least walk down there and get a better look. The run started with a nice pinch and riffle at the top and slowly opened up and slowed down as it rounded a corner. There were 2 gentleman fishing the bottom end where it was slower; one with a fly rod and the other with a spinning rod. There was a lot of good fishable water at the top of the rifle so I decided to give it a try.

The drift was perfect and the run not too deep. I glanced downstream just in time to see the guy with the fly rod hooked up. Then I looked again at my bobber, which slowly sunk. I set the hook and felt the wonderful slow head-shakes of a steelhead. Sweet, that didn't take long! Landing a steelhead by yourself isn't the easiest task but I managed. A healthy specimen lay in the net and I grabbed a quick photo and released the fish. 

The snow had quit and the afternoon was slowly warming. My optimism was high and I was really loving the drift I was getting through this new run. My next fish came from close to the same area, and this time, the fly fisherman from downriver came up to help me net the fish. I thanked him and we exchanged pleasantries and small talk before he went back downstream. 

The fly fisherman downstream was also getting into a fish here and there and we began to talk more. His name was Doug and I could tell he really knew the water in here. I ended up landing a couple more fish that afternoon and helped Doug with a couple of his own. We both decided we'd fish together the next morning in this spot and help each other out. 

With an hour of daylight to spare, I decided to check on the 4-some hole to see if anything had opened up some more. It had but was still not fishable. It was as if the ice was protecting the steelhead. I waded across the river to see if I could break up the ice in a few spots to help encourage the process along. I was able to break up some of the ice along the edge, hoping it would be enough to jump start things and maybe, just maybe, it would be open enough tomorrow to get a short drift. By golly, I was going to fish this hole even if it took until the last day. It was now me against the ice; war had begun.  

The next morning found me anxiously awaiting daylight in the new run. My new friend Doug arrived and we chatted as the sun rose. We began fishing and were quickly into fish, including a nice double hook-up. 

Doug and I began to catch lots of fish together. Fish and Game came down and gave us some tubes for the brood stock program. 

"You guys really like sleeping in don't you? We've already had to release 5 fish." Doug said to the young Fish and Game employee who laughed. 

Doug had one of their phone numbers to call when we had a couple fish in the tubes. It seemed Doug was well known around these parts. 

Doug and I took turns taking pictures of each other's fish. The morning was really shaping up to be a productive one. 

The rain started to fall and I slowly wandered upstream to the faster water where I had been fishing the day before. Sure enough there was fish up here too!

Doug and I had each landed about 10 fish by mid-afternoon. Once again, the 4-some hole crept into the back of my mind.

"Doug, I think I'm going to take off and check out another spot to see how the ice is. This rain may have opened things up some more." I said to my new river buddy. 

"Sounds good man. It was a pleasure fishing with you today. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Maybe you will!"

With a couple hours of daylight left, I was in position at the 4-some hole. As luck would have it, there was just enough open water to get a very short drift right along the edge of the ice. On my second cast, I hooked up!

 

This was a very strong fish and I honestly wasn't sure how I was going to pull the fish through the fast current to my side and net it by myself. I tried numerous times in my current position but realized it was futile. Many times the fish battled under the huge ice shelf and I hoped it wouldn't break me off on the ice. Upstream, there was a small eddy that just might work. I slowly walked upstream to the eddy and was able to coax the fish from under the ice and across the current into the soft water. There I scooped her into my net. She was a beautiful un-clipped hen!

I fished this short drift for another hour without another hook-up, so I packed it up and left the river for the day. It has been a very productive day with 11 fish landed! Tomorrow was my last day and I would only have the morning to fish.

In the morning I walked into Moe's run, only to find it still had too much shore ice. I then went back to the new corner run. I figured I'd see Doug again there, but as the sun rose, no one joined me. Immediately I was into fish, but they weren't biting. I kept hooking up but the fish were nearly all foul hooked. These were especially difficult to land by myself. 

I landed 3 foul hooked fish and broke off another 3 before deciding I better head to the 4-some hole for one last hurrah. Would I be able to conquer the ice shelf once and for all?

I walked upstream to the 4-some hole to find the ice shelf only clinging to both sides of the river by small sections. I started to break open a path along river right, hoping it would cause the other side to break as well. I punched my way through, and just like I hoped, the current grabbed the shelf and broke free the other side. The huge ice shelf was now completely free and slowly started drifting downstream. As it collided with the shallow rocks of the tail-out, large sections would crack and break free. It was extremely satisfying to watch. Take that you stupid ice! The ice shelf didn't completely leave the pool but had shrunk immensely and left open the part I needed to fish. The time was finally here to fish one of my favorite spots on the river.

It didn't take long to hook into a monster!

 

This was another high 30's fish that kicked my butt! I slowly won the battle and scooped the large buck into my net in the eddy upstream.

A huge smile formed on my face as the sun popped through the clouds. Life was good! 

I fished the 4-some hole for another 3 hours before It was time to head home. I hooked another 6 fish and landed 4. It had felt like a triumphant journey, finally beating the ice and conquering the fish of the 4-some hole. It had been a wonderful solo trip with plenty of fish to the net. The guys really missed out on this one...

Steelhead with Katie and Colin

 Late Winter, Clearwater 2024

Katie has a love/hate relationship with steelhead. She loves that they're big and challenging. She hates that it's almost always cold when you fish for them. Last year, despite her best attempts, they eluded her. After a successful trip with Jason this year, Katie was getting the itch again, despite the cold. So we started planning a trip; stocking up on wool socks, heated socks, gloves and all the necessities for a human that would rather be hibernating. 

Colin, a fellow big fish junkie would also be joining us. Colin had never fished this river and was eager to learn some new water.

It had been 2 weeks since my last trip, and the fish were now higher in the system, placing them in a couple of my favorite fly fishing spots. We rolled up to the river and found that no one was in the "fly bucket" or the "corner hole" directly below it. Score!

I showed Colin where to cast in the corner hole and Katie and I walked up to the fly bucket. As Katie and I slid down the embankment to the river, the sweet sound of a fish porpoising caught our attention. Then another, and another yet again. All 3 were in different spots in the run; a promising sign, for sure. I placed Katie on the best rock and on her 2nd or 3rd cast I watched her bobber dive and jerk a couple times. 

"Honey, honey, fish!" I yelled and pointed as the steelhead jerked on the end of her line. 

Katie set the hook but nothing came back.

"Darn! Im surprised that one didn't stick," I added.

I slid in upstream of the prime water she was fishing and focused on a small chute on the far side of the river where I occasionally pick up fish. BAM! My indicator shot upstream and I set the hook, feeling the dance of a steelhead on my line. I quietly looked downstream at Katie, who was intently watching her own stuff. My fish thrashed on the surface near her and she looked upstream to see my guilty smile. Katie grabbed the net and assisted me in landing the fish. 

  

A few casts later, Katie hooked up, easing the guilt I had been feeling. I love catching fish, but nothing makes me more happy than seeing my friends and family catch fish. 

The fish was a giant unclipped female. Katie was jazzed, especially after several days of no fish last year. Now I just needed to get Colin onto a fish and I could relax. 

"I wonder how Colin is doing downstream?" I questioned after we sent the big fish on its way.

"You should see if he wants to come up here and try. My hands are absolutely frozen!" Katie added as she squeezed her battery powered hand warmers. "I'm going to sit down and try to warm up."

"O-kay." I said hesitantly, knowing Colin would probably waste no time in catching a fish up here.

Colin came up and stood on Katie's rock, and like I imagined, he was hooked up in short order. It was obvious there was a pile of fish in here today. 

 

The fish rocketed out of Colins hands back into the water after a picture. Katie still wasn't warmed up yet so she told Colin to get another one. Colin wasn't bashful and climbed back onto the rock. He was into another fish in a matter of minutes. 

"Dang, this is fun!" Colin said as we released his second fish. "F*** yeah! This is way better than Pyramid!" Referring to Pyramid Lake, Nevada where Colin has fished many times.

Katie still wasn't warmed up and was enjoying how excited Colin was to catch these fish. "This is entertaining," she giggled.

Colin continued fishing and ended up landing a few more before the day was over. He was definitely hooked and the pressure was off me now.

The next morning, Colin and I tried a spot lower on the river. The water was a bit high and the clarity off downstream. By 10 am we were back upstream with Katie and decided to try the corner hole, for some other anglers were actually in the fly bucket. 

The corner hole holds a ton of fish but it is deep and harbors a few funky current seams that can ruin a good drift. Regardless, we would figure out how to pull some fish out. We prospected the hole for a while before I tied into the first fish.  

I was now up to 3 split shot to ensure I was getting deep enough. The cast was difficult and the seam I wanted was on the far side of the river. To get the proper drift I also had to make some funky mends at just the right time. When done right, everything would go perfect, and the results started to show. There it is, this drift will get a fish... The indicator slowed and bobbed through the best water. BOOOOM! I set the hook on another fish. 

I got Katie into position and explained exactly what I was doing. A short time later, she grabbed one. Katie has always been a great student and being observant has helped her catch more fish. 

 

Colin grabbed the next fish at the bottom section of the run. 

Before the day was over, Colin and I each caught a couple more fish, finishing another decent day on the water. 

On our last morning, we found ourselves again at the corner hole and the fly bucket, alternating to keep both spots occupied. As usual, the early morning was a bit slow but by mid-morning we started catching fish.

The sun even started shining! Katie was standing on the good rock in the fly bucket getting some decent drifts. Like a lizard, fueled by the sunshine and warmth, Katie's casts dramatically improved and after 15 minutes of the sun on her she was casting all the way across the river.

Her renewed energy paid off and she hooked up; catching her 3rd fish of the trip. 

I grabbed another some time later.

Colin stayed down in the corner hole and began to really figure things out. 

"I set my stuff way deeper. This is the 3rd hook-up from that small area near the tail-out." He said as we landed another fish for him.

"It surprises me that it's that deep. If it's working, keep it up!"

Colin's next fish was a beaut! A large colored up male.

We fished hard that morning until Katie and I had to head home. Colin was going to stay another couple days and I had no doubt, he would land many more fish.

It had been a fun and productive trip for us, tipping Katie's steelhead scale once again in the "favorable" direction. Upon Colin's return and the stories he told, his last couple days were "extremely" productive. I believe it's safe to say, we created a steelhead monster in Colin!