Skunked on the American

I figured that fishing on a cloudy day would improve my chances. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I don't believe I had one solid pull the entire day. I tried to make the most of the day by just appreciating the outdoors. However, catching something would of been nice.

Starting out at Paradise Beach, I fished for several hours using 8 feet of T10 and an intruder style fly. I worked several runs and even tried a new spot or two that I missed last time. After I felt I'd had enough punishment, I went to Gristmill and spent a little more time of casting practice. I didn't waste as much time here and moved over to River Bend Park hoping a fish would feel sorry for me.

Access	Paradise Beach, Gristmill, River Bend Park
Air Temp	Low 31, High 52
Water Temp/Visibility	~49 F / 4-6 feet
Weather	Cloudy w/ light drizzle
Flow	~2000 cfs
Time in/out	6:45am, 5:15pm
Leaders/Lines	Compact Scandi
	8ft of T10	Morning
	11ft of T10	Afternoon
	Int Poly Leader	Evening
	7 & 12 lb FC tippet
Flies	Various Soft Hackles	0
	3” black intruder w/ dumbell eyes	0
	Sz8 steelhead blue spider	0
	Various steelhead patterns	0

After scouting out some areas I saw on the satellite maps, I eventually ended up by the footbridge daydreaming as the rain began to fall. The day had ended and all I had to show for it were a few lost flies. Ahh, the fun of steelheading.

As you may recall from a previous post, I was curious what would happen if I put a sinktip on my compact scandi. Well, I now have the answer. There were no problems whatsoever and the line could easily turn over 11ft of T10 with a heavy 3" fly on the end. At this rate, I'm not sure if there is a need to even use a skagit line with the tips and flies I commonly use.