OC Outdoors: A steelhead adventure on Vancouver Island

Plunging in

I’m a solid fly caster, but it took some time to get the hang of heaving a 9-weight and full-sinking line, while standing waist deep in flowing water. But before long, I was zipping out 60-foot casts with competence, if not panache. And on my 20th or 30th swing through the Gold’s Helicopter Pool I connected with a steelhead. For about five glorious seconds I felt its weight… and then nothing. I’d been warned that I was arriving late, in what had been a sparse steelhead season, but this seemed like a good sign.