Excerpts from my field journal:
“The biologists/anglers are still catching grayling mostly, but talk of Sheefish and the hope of a big catch is on the rise…” -August 13, 2008
“I just caught the biggest Sheefish we’ve brought in yet- 29 ½ lbs!
Our campsite, appropriately named Sheefish Island, is one of the best yet. It’s a gravel bar in the middle of the main channel with huge Sheefish right in our front yard. It’s actually ridiculous. This is how it happened- Carson coached me as I cast a few times into the deep, fast moving water and then …wam, just like that: Fish on! I start reeling in as the fish puts up a bit of a fight- then flops and jumps partly out of the water. Whoa! It’s a huge fish! And it’s caught the attention of the entire camp. Soon the group is gathering in excited chaos as the guys give me directions and I cling to the rod and continue to reel it in. We land the fish, hold it up and measure it…29 ½ lbs! Such an incredible moment- the whole group is jumping and exclaiming. What a fantastic catch.” -August 16, 2008
As it turned out, the 29 ½ lb record remained as the largest catch of our group. Several other 26 lb fish were caught and most of the Sheefish were 13-20 lbs. But the shear ease in some cases of getting a fish on was ridiculous. The next morning at the same camp, Jeff cast six times and landed five fish. We were surprised by the places the Sheefish were in mass- fast moving, deep water was chalked full of them. After that first day when we crossed the invisible Sheefish threshold, it wasn’t unusual for a raft with two or three fishermen to have 13-15 lb. fish on all at the same time- this in fact makes for a bit of entertainment in watching them try to reel them in, work around each other, and let them off. The abundance of Sheefish was just one testament to the productivity of this river, and helped make some of the most memorable moments of the trip.