Icy Sandy River

**Chinook SSSF** · 12-16-2008 02:51 PM

I got down to the river yesterday for a few photos and to check out conditions. I had to have gloves on or my hands would freeze in minutes.....my ears...nm...

It was not bad looking, and the water was also fine but my gut instinct told me the water is cold and steelhead are laying low and deep waiting for the next transition.

It was a very nice evening and I had enough gear on to stand around and take photos for an hour up to sunset but I am not so sure I would have wanted to be holding a fishing pole for very long.

I saw a couple of guys come by in a drift boat, I thanked them for the nice photo. After a few words were exchanged, one of the gentalmen replied 'IM just glad you will have been the last person to see us alive before we freeze to death' ...

Flashbacks of rowing a willie boat through the Greek hole in icy cold heavy winds ran through my head, somehow I could relate to his comment.

I think I shot like 162 photos but this was certainly my favorite. Shooting straight into the sun once again proved to be helpful in knocking out the housing structures along the bank of the river.

Summery, it was very cold and IM not ready to fish it

ty....lol

**TailOutSwingin** · 12-16-2008 04:36 PM

It wasnt too cold to fish!

On this one we tried to float the bobbers on top of the ice drift for the ultimate stealth approach. Kind of like dangling bait off a lillypad for bass

**TailOutSwingin** · 12-16-2008 05:18 PM

There was actually a lot more ice than it looks like in the pic. NOt only was there the stuff on the top but there were bowling ball sized pieces that were floating below the surface.

**TTJLN** · 12-16-2008 06:29 PM

A couple more from todays trip:

**Chinook SSSF** · 12-16-2008 06:39 PM

Today was alot nicer then yesterday but it looks as if alot more ice had formed since yesterday evening, during the night...that sheet ice was not there yesterday lol..is that occuring in the mourning?

Just a bit to cold for a bite ?

**TailOutSwingin** · 12-16-2008 07:10 PM

Those were taken about 12:30 today. It was a lot nicer than yesterday!

With no wind and a little sunshine, it was down right balmy!

I am still contending that it was not too cold for the bite, but that the fish were all laying under the sheet of ice! We couldnt remember the max diameter for the hole that we wanted to cut in the ice, so we had to leave those fish alone

We only put in an hour or so. Tracey hooked and landed a nice 36" chunk of ice and that was the highlight of the action.

**Chuckster** · 12-16-2008 08:27 PM

Those are some great pictures! The last time I fished when it was close to this cold I was frezzing to the rocks! I've never been out when there was ice floating in the river

Chuck