Trey Carskadon Joins Chris Vertopoulos For Native Steelhead On The Wilson River
We had initially planned on covering an innovative new hatchery program that’s resulted in robust returns of steelhead. In cooperation with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and The Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation, we’d planned on covering each element of what has been called, “The Brood Stock Program”. The Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation (OWHF) hosts an annual event where native steelhead are caught, placed in a holding tank and then taken to a local hatchery where the fish are spawned and then released back to the river alive where they can return back to the ocean.
Unfortunately, just a few days prior to the filming of the show, Oregon’s Governor issued a statement calling for the end of this program. Severe budget challenges had forced the Governor to seek other means of funding public education and this program was one that was targeted.
Public outcry has placed this program in limbo as legislators and the Governor seek the means to fund much-needed State programs as well as this brood stock program…we are hopeful they will the revenue necessary to continue this successful and innovative approach to raising fish.
If so, we’ll certainly return to share that story with you.
Good fortune takes many forms, in our case, it was pro guide, Chris Vertopoulos. Chris has earned a reputation as a top-flight guide in a relatively short time (8 years). He’s one of those guides whose name is always finding its way into the pages of some fishing magazine, and for good reason, he’s a passionate and skilled angler who’s on his game every time he launches his boat.
The timing of our trip was March 26th, which placed us near the end of the run. Good fishing is available well into April but pressure drops significantly around the 1st of April.
We made two drifts, the first was from Donaldson’s Bar to Sollie Smith Bridge, the second, from the Guide Shop to Donaldson’s Bar. This strategy gave us a jump on angler’s launching upriver and had us fishing “clean” water all day long.
Chris prefers to drift fish and “pull” plugs (backtroll) for these natives. These techniques effectively assure the successful release of these steelhead that are strictly managed as a catch-and-release fishery.
Chris, a devout drift fisherman, revealed a twist that paid off in just our first few minutes on the water. We used a size 10 pink pearl Corky by Yakima Bait with blue yarn tied into the egg loop on the hook and a small sand shrimp tail that had been rigged to allow a small chunk of the tail to be held in the egg loop. Cured eggs would be an excellent second choice for bait.
Chris preferred to keep his weight (in this case a “slinky”) secured to the line by a snap swivel as opposed to a “slider” system. We fished relatively short leaders between 24” and 30” in length.
The key to success in drift fishing is to find the right water, that is, water that’s 4’ to 8’ deep running at a brisk walking pace, and to keep your offering near the bottom. The trick is to find just the right amount of weight so that you’re making occasional contact with the bottom…a kind of tap…tap…tap, where every couple seconds you’re weight’s touching the bottom as it glides downstream.
An important detail that will up your catch rate is learning how to “extend” your drift. Extending your drift is a simple matter of pressing the free-spool button on your casting reel and paying out more line thus lengthening the distance of your drift. I’ll begin extending the drift when my line’s straight across from me, and continue to pay out line all the way to the end of the drift, when the line’s nearly straight downstream from where I’m standing.
Using spinning gear to extend the drift can be done but it’s more difficult to master.
Scent is another important consideration. I chose Pro Cure Prawn/Shrimp scent and believe it’s made a difference in the number of fish I hook each season. Chris balanced his drift fishing attack by backtrolling plugs through likely holding water. Though we only “plugged” for a short time it paid off with three hook-ups and one fish we landed.
It’s important to follow some important steps when backtrolling plugs. First and foremost is to properly “tune” your plugs so they run perfectly straight. That is, they shouldn’t wander off to one side or the other. This will enable them to dive deeper while maintaining the integrity of the action of the plug.
“Plug water” may be similar to premium drift fishing water although most guides prefer to fish plugs in water that’s at or below a normal walking speed.
Keep your plugs 40’ to 50’ in back of the boat. Most guides, Chris included, have developed some kind of system that enables their guests to easily put out the proper amount of line. This may be a mark that’s been placed on the line, a piece of yarn that’s been tied to the line or a certain number of passes of line across the reel before putting the rod in the holder and waiting for the strike.
Last, is how fast you allow the drift boat to slip down the river. The goal is to present the plugs slowly downriver, that means you’re rowing upstream against the current as the boat slowly moves downriver, at a rate of say, 1 foot every 30 seconds to a minute. For N.W. river anglers this is called “backtrolling” and is one of the most popular methods of catching steelhead and salmon from a boat.
We set a new milestone using Yakima Bait’s brand new Fatfish plug. Yakima Bait had been kind enough to give us some proto-type plugs to use, which we did and connected almost immediately on a metallic red pattern that dove beautifully right from the start. After contacting Yakima Bait to share our story of success using their new plugs we found that we’d been the very first to catch a fish using this new fish-catcher. We’d also had a take down on a chrome and blue herringbone pattern. The “Fatfish” looks to be another success for Yakima Bait who produces many other fishing standards like the Roostertail series, Flatfish, Corkies, and Spin N’ Glos.
Our backtrolling gear included: Rod: All Star Elite 8’ Med/Hvy Hot Shot - Model # EHS962 Reel: Medium Casting Line: 12 lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid Lure: Worden’s New “Fatfish” in Metallic Red and Chrome w/ Blue Herringbone Scent: Pro Cure Prawn/Shrimp
In addition to our time fishing together, Chris was good enough to share his knowledge of fish photography. This meant getting the shot as quickly as possible so we didn’t unnecessarily stress the fish while getting the shot of a lifetime. Chris did both using an all-weather completely automatic Pentax camera.
Chris likes to compose his shots at the “level of the fish”. This meant that I knelt down in the water holding the steelhead horizontally to the water and Chris knelt at the same level and filled the frame with me and the fish. His goal is to eliminate any outside “noise” that might detract from the focus of the shot. As you’ll see from the attached photo…it worked.
Chris is also a proponent of “fill flash”. In fact, he admitted to using it in most every shot he takes. Fill flash means using the flash on your camera even though the auto setting doesn’t require you to use one. This helps to remove shadows and balances the overall lighting of the subject.
I had several “firsts” on this trip.
We were not only the first to catch a fish on Yakima Bait’s new Fatfish plug, it was also my first experience with All Star rods and Yo Zuri Hybird line. The rods functioned flawlessly. They were light, transmitted the feel of the bottom beautifully and responded well on the hookset. In the heat of battle they were perfectly balanced with just the right amount of backbone for power to turn the fish and tip action to absorb the powerful runs.
Yo Zuri’s Hybrid line is a super strong composite with a fluorocarbon coating that has less stretch than regular monofilament, is nearly invisible in the water, has excellent abrasion resistance with outstanding knot strength. This line handled beautifully from start to finish and comes off the reel smoothly…I’m sure it improved my casting distance and allowed me to cover more water.
| Show#: |
6004 |
| Host: |
Trey Carskadon |
| Guide: |
Chris Vertopoulos / Northwest Angling Experience |
| Phone: |
503-335-3849 |
| Location: |
The Wilson River is located just out of Tillamook, Oregon. Accomodations provided by Shilo Inn, Tillamook, OR. |
| Species: |
Steelhead |
| Equipment: |
Drift Fishing Gear: Rod: All Star Elite - 8’6” Casting Rated For 8 to 17 lb. test line - Model # - ESH1025-2 Reel: Medium Casting Line: 12 lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid Leader: 12 lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid Lure: Size 10 Pink Pearl Corky With Blue Yarn Hook: Size 1 Bleeding Bait Red Daiichi Bait: Sand shrimp tail Scent: Pro Cure Prawn / Shrimp |
| Tips: |
We highly encourage your support of the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation. Their important work is making a positive difference in critical fish runs and wildlife all over Oregon. Your donation will be multiplied through other grants and programs the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation’s developed which makes them a truly unique and productive organization. If you’d like to donate to the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation please call (503) 255-6467 |
