Four from Long Island -- First Steelhead Trip Ever

We were joined by 3 Mikes and an Anthony. Mike Albano the Father of Mike and Anthony along with Mike Palma a very good friend. All four of them very good fisherman, but new to the steelhead game. They fish the Delaware for lunker browns and rainbows and they say if you can fish the Delaware system, you can fish anywhere.

They arrived on Steelhead Alley after driving for 8 hours from Long Island and began preparations for their 2 day fishing trip. John Miller and I were their SAO guides for the 2 days and we were excited to get going. Elk was primed and ready to go so we got out early to beat the sun and hit the first light bite. John went low on the river and I went high. It was not long before we were into our first fish. Mike hit a nice shiny steelhead that took him to school and eventually got off. He was excited and shaking. He said to Anthony "those fish are unbelievable". I watched him play that fish with a joy on his face that can only be described as a child on Christmas moring receiving his first 2 wheeler. There was a real honest joy written all over his face. From that moment I knew we were going to have an exciting two days. These guys were not looking for numbers of fish, but the entire experience. All them, as good as they were continued to be students of fly fishing and just enjoy the fact that they were with family and friends sharing new experiences. As it turned out, they caught a ton of fish as well.

The river on Friday was near perfect conditions. It was on it's way down and clearing. By Saturday afternoon, it had dropped quite a bit and cleared to about 24 inches of visability. So with good conditions and good fisherman, we had a banner couple of days.

Below is Mike Sr. with one of the largest fish taken during the two days. This fish took him for a walk up then down the river. It's a good thing he had lots of backing. After about 20 minutes John Miller was able to get this fish in the net.

Mike with a very nice Steelhead

How about the Chrome that Anthony is holding (pictured left)

Mike And Mike

Mike releasing a fine Steelhead (obove left) Anthony proudly shows a nice chrome.

Someone always has to mess up the silver streak with a bit of gold

Anthony with a nicely colored fish (above left) and Mike showing off his solid chrome

These guys were a riot to fish with. It was a fun two days and from the smiles I witnessed they almost had as much fun as I did.

I will need to post more pics on future blogs. Hope you enjoyed these and keep us in mind for your Steelhead fishing trip. I look for conditions to take another up swing so keep your eyes on the weather and book soon.

Scott McClintock
RSM Fly Fishing

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Fly Fishing Specialist.