2010 » February » 2

Ed Cowden

There isn’t any doubt in my mind that I have met many great people through my blog…..a lot of whom will be friends of mine for life. The number of ‘haters’ I’ve met through Allaroundangler is next to nothing. They do exist, but kind of like some old sagging lichen on the branch of an old dead tree out in the woods. Not worth paying much attention to. This being said, today I got to fish with someone that falls into the former category. Ed Cowden is brand new to Allaroundangler and I would like Team Salmon to welcome him to our crew. Ed is a former bay troller and king whacker…turned steelhead junkie. He approached me because he’s learned a lot through the site…which is great. Just like Trinity Ted, Bear, Matt the Metal Enforcer and more….he is pleased to be entertained and educated while getting motivated to recreate some tug on the end of the line.

Today, Ed and I fished one of his favorite rivers that he’s been targeting for steelhead. Ed hooked some coho there last year and is now making the angle for steel….and we all know we can’t blame him. After all; steelhead fishing is as addictive as gambling or drinking….only brings you closer to this beautiful world we have ‘all around’ us every day of our blessed and gracious lives.

I almost gave Ed a website handle of ‘four-leaf clover’ or ‘rabbit’s foot’ because of what him and I made happen in a half a day of fishing today. I think I’ll wait though to give him a name. Maybe he’ll come up with his own. Hell, maybe he already has. He’s humble enough though that I reserve the right to give him a name if he doesn’t come up with his own.

Using my very favorite Dan Cox of Cascade Jigs pattern….I was fortunate enough to hook, land and harvest a 36″, chrome bright steelhead today. This fish weighed 16.4 lbs 6 hours after I removed it from the river. 17? You tell me. No matter. A beast no doubt. What is more amazing than catching it was the manner in which I did so. Let’s get something straight here: I am not glossing myself or building myself up for anyone. I mean to write in a thought provoking manner…and if some of you out there mistake that for lack of humility…well then I cannot help you nor would I want to. I’ve learned a lot from fishing with my main man Brennan the Brick (my handle, not his…but he is a damn brick…and he hikes like a big horn sheep) lately as I mentioned before. One of the things I’ve learned by fishing with him and switching over to braid on my float rod is to allow a loooong downriver drift of my bobber whenever possible. The braid allow me to do this and successfully set the hook. The long drifts offer me a chance to present my jig to a fish that might otherwise be spooked of a closer cast/drift.

Today that was key. I give The Brick that credit no doubt. I tried to pass that along to Ed as well. So, as the story goes…..with over a basketball court’s length of line below me and my preferred Duracast Braid (yes I still love it) floating atop the water like a well-greased fly line…my bobber carried my beloved Cascade Jig right over the top of a big (to me anyway) chrome bright steelhead that gobbled it right up. Two casts prior, I had The Brick’s famous cured and scented salad shrimp tipped on my jig….which I’m sure left a residue of scent that left the fish no choice but to strike. The Duracast gave me the ability to whack that hookset…which doesn’t always work out, but today it did. When the fish flashed and rolled at the top of the next rapid…I caught myself gasping. I didn’t think I could turn her upriver….and were it not for my 10′6″ SST I would not have been able to, no doubt.

Throughout the fight, and while Ed was coming downriver to grab the digital video camera that I had hastily removed from my front wader pocket, I continuously put the wood to that fish. The long high rod let me do that without compromising the integrity of my 12lb Halo P-Line Flourocarbon leader. The real sh*t hit the fan when I attempted to land the fish…with Ed on the video behind me….I long-rodded the fish to my feet as Ed commented on the size. “Huge” is what I remember hearing him say. The water was deep close to the bank and fairly swift. As soon as the fish touched her nose to the rock I was standing next to the jig popped out. I dropped to my knees as the fish looked up gasping and I noticed another hook buried in it’s mouth. Easily a 3/0 hook with the remnants of some probable 30 mono secured to it still in egg-loop fashion.

This all happened in a milisecond. I thought: This fish is going to get away from another fisherman: ME. Without thinking and with the entire fish submerged, I dropped to my knees to pin the fish, only to have it dart between my legs. Quickly I hovered my body on top of the fish…reaching underneath it’s neck until I felt the gill plate entrance. I jabbed my thumb into the said gills and held on for sanity. This fish would have haunted me to no end. Instead, I dropped the MMA grapple hold on it and she submitted. Thankfully. I am grateful.

Thanks to Ed Cowden for the video you will see soon enough. No big deal but this is my eleventh fish of the new year. Damn. We are some lucky people to live where we do. I hope you enjoyed me sharing this story.


36″ & 16.4 lbs

H3llcat