Since 1972 I have been aware of steelhead fishing, as a young boy I had no idea of the path it would lead me on, into the culture of fly fishing.
Since 1998 I have been a fly fishing guide. Some of you already know the prior vocation and being lucky is the only way I survived life to see this lifestyle, turned avocation, turned business as a fly fishing guide.
As so many call it “Back in the day” if we caught one steelhead or three it was always a great day, mostly gear fishing pre 1987. My home water was the Green River, Puyallup and Carbon River. These I fished nearly daily when in town or in shape, whichever construction work allowed. The OP or Forks Wa was a “week end warrior” or off work time fishery. Which in the early days of fishing addiction was common November through March. I was in the right spot at the right time, we worked very HARD to force the hand of catch and release regulation. Much harder than today with social media and email. Personally showing up and writing letters was the only way then. I was “lucky” as my home waters were of the first to go full on C&R later in the seasons. My vastly increased success in steelhead fishing in a short period of time, I owe to that regulation . The fishing pressure went to zero for a few seasons. Luckily I had formed a MO, follow the C&R regulation.
Before then fishing hard for a couple steelhead and the great days of double digits where not so common. I was lucky enough and worked hard enough to gain a edge in the game. The top 10% as some call it. Only a member because of pure hard work not at all by excellence. Yes I knew were to catch them, I knew how but mostly because I fished more than others, A LOT more. I was fortunate (my luckiest moment in life) to marry the best fisherman’s wife known to mankind.
It was only after the “public JOE” anglers acceptance of C&R that I could start over life as a fishing guide. Luck and timing has allowed me this fortunate lifestyle, fly fishermen were not catching steelhead in any numbers on the OP then. I did very well with that, my angling prowess was at a peak and my timing was perfect. Now 17 years into guiding as a form of making a living I often compare the past fishing with todays fishing. The anglers that helped formed the path into this culture are plenty, the actions even more plentiful.
Today my luck is in the form of the people that I have had the good fortune to meet along the way. The guides and hard core anglers that I know and work with formulating “the crew”, my friends, my guests, all that I consider my family. Most recently I have been surrounded by guides that far outweigh my social abilities. Luckily Steelhead runs are better than ever in select zones, the zones I fish. The guides I employ are far better fishermen than I was at there age, better than I may ever be.
When the 2015 spring steelhead season came to a stop I have spent the last few weeks thinking. This spring was one of the best on record for my service. Not just in pure fish landing numbers but the season as a whole:
The Weather was odd the rivers cooperative and the runs plentiful.
We lost a grand total of 4 days of fishing in three months.
But mostly because of my guests, they come from all ends of the world, as close as Washington itself and as far away as Finland, Austria, Holland and Japan. As an uneducated blue collar American I feel lucky to even know the caliber of individual that pays me to go fishing.
In the big scheme of things I consider myself the luckiest one, being submersed into the culture of fly fishing, surrounded by the finest anglers/guests I have ever met, at the peak of my steelhead career, during the best runs of steelhead I have ever encountered.
I thank you all for being a part of it and hope my luck wont run out, not yet!
Thanks for subscribing, Jeff Brazda
