Wilson River Steelhead from the Solar Cargo Trailer Conversion 4-1-2021

If a fool goes fishing in the woods on April Fools day and nobody is around to hear him, does he still make a sound?

I finally crawled out of the forest for five minutes to fish a river I don't normally catch any fish at. "My" other river is "closed", for now.

As luck would have it, I finally bumped into MR STEEL on the WILSON RIVER. Finally! Just as I'm about to vacate the area.

I also took video of my new trailer build. My Cargo Trailer Conversion. AKA "The Coffin". It seems to be lucky.. It's lead me to two Steelhead this week.

This one was about 4-5lbs. real good fight.. while on the side of a cliff. His bigger brother I caught and released last week, 30 miles deep into the woods away from any asphalt.

Here's a 22minue video for everyone to critique and thumbs down. :LOL:

Enjoy, folks. Get out and smash some fishes. I finally got my Wilson Sorbet Steel. It was a wild full fin rainbow colored fish, not hatchery clipped chrome. Had to release it.

https://youtu.be/sg_x7t13PsU

Tacklejunkie Over and Out!

Attachment 53147
I was on a cliff. I had to lift the fish mouth up to unhook him. I don't use nets. They rip fins up. His head was as big as my dog's. It promptly ripped my finger off with it's teeth and splashed my camera and my dog and took off.

You can see how hard that little guy fights in the video. You should see their big brothers!

Woah! That's a big one. Great catch and Pepper is adorable!

Just after finishing this report last night...

I was scanning around on the Ham radio on 2meter simplex bands, at random. This turned out to be a great idea! I found a channel of people hosting a "net" meeting on the radio. One of the people mentioned he would be doing a fishing show on 2 meters at 145.27(0)MHZ at 8:10pm Thursday. He added that "the tone would be 107.2Hz. I managed to dial in the repeater a few moments early and sure enough, at 8:10pm and not a moment later, they straight up hosted a fishing gathering on the HAM radio right before my ears last night! I couldn't believe it. I was in so much shock, I took some video. bahahaha.

I'll throw them talking about fish into my next video.
I was unable to participate in their conversation because I don't have my license yet, I can only listen. But they were all local guys from the portland area checking in from clackamas and portland etc etc asking fishing questions and sharing fishing tips.

The whole thing was called "The fishing NET". lol! I was totally floored!

Definitely need to get my license and share fishing tips on my ham radios. I have the whole thing on video to prove it. I sh*t you not!

all this happened because I decided to scan the 2 meter simplex bands at random (which I learned to do from the HAM book channel plan a few days before) on my $25 Chinese HAM radio!

As far as fishing tips for the Wilson River steelhead,

I don't have any. It took me a year to find that fish in here. No joke. Other rivers are easier but may be more remote.

Don't drive from states away to throw a spinner into Wilson. You will almost surely be looking at several heavy handed skunks. :LOL: That took me a lot of work to do. You will need to dedicate a lot of time to that river to find a fish like that. It was not easy. That river is over 30 miles long with 20 different tributaries and a BIBLE of rules to go along with it.

I didn't think there was any steelhead at all in there, that far up. But obviously I was wrong.
There is some guide services, lower down on the river. Catching the 20lb toads that come in from the sea, seasonally. They do make a living off that river. You can see them fishing 20lbers on youtube. Type wilson river steelhead

I get the impression you have to be in the right place at the right time to catch the seasonal runs.

A stones throw away, my record is 8-10lb Steelhead and an 8-10lb Salmon, of some sort. Hook jawed af.. lookin' like an alien.

Hey TJ!

Glad to see the PNW is treating you well! With my permanence in the "working from home" club, I may just drive the ole Taco up there and you can show me the ropes.

So do you have a "base camp?" Or is base camp where the trailer is parked that particular week?

You ever thought of heading east? Maybe hit up the Ohwyee? Fish your way to Idaho and perfect that double haul in some blue ribbon trout waters?

I’m in Idaho, now. Trying to get the vessels registered, etc.
the dog is treeing squirrels already. Cold af.

man hit me up two weeks before you are after steel tail and we will make it happen.
I’m already missing my river and wanting to go back. Sometimes I have a home base. Other times I do not. I’m currently searching for a piece of land to homestead. I have a home base right now. But when I made the video I didn’t. Lol.
May life changes every day. I can’t stop it.

but I can make time to fish if you need some live pointers like lucky craft.
On the house. I’m not a guide service! But I do smell like a skunk.. ����*♂️��

honestly if you hit any of them rivers I been taking about with 10lb line and a stout rod, you’re doing as good as me.
hit all the turn outs and cuts. The rivers are huge. Miles long. Find several spots per mile. Hiding along the highways. Between the houses.

read the hell out of the rule book. I change my mind weather what I did was legal or not every day I read the rule book again. I’m pretty sure it was constructed to F U. If you catch muh drift.

off to go check you other report. Things are sketchy lately with the riots etc. I left to Boise.

im right here ready to fish the rivers again when you’re ready. I need to go back soon and get my dose of steelhead.
mid YOURE with me or not lol.

forgive my typos. The phone does whatever it wants because it is “Smart”

You know I don’t lie.

areo-float af1 with 1/8oz steelhead jigs on 10lb vanish. 9’ medium stick curado 70

#4 blue fox vibrax all copper color. As you saw in the video. 10lb vanish line. 7-9’ Crankbait stick Curado 70
use the single siwash hook throw the treble away. I’m sure you’ll crimp the barb.

find pools and hit it like it’s SoCal u til the fish teach you what they want.

bring waders and a stairmaster.
Oregon has berry bushes on the sides of hills everywhere you look. Be ready for that. Lol.
tick spray, also.

Stop by Tillamook fishing shops. Two or three you should see.
lingling’s (all the best tackle at twice the price because you’re in Tillamook)
Tillamook sporting goods (over priced but has most things, “par” tackle or less)
Bi-mart Im forest grove will get you licensed and deserves your money. Highway five to highway 26 to forest grove
(aaaaaalmost all the best tackle. Missing super custom local
tackle items found at lingling’s and one of the beer shops of highway 6 you probably wouldn’t notice unless you were ucosuctomed to sleeping in the forest, drunk off your a...

higheay six to TILLAMOOOOOOOOK WUT WUT UGH

After like two weeks of solid skunks and getting rained/snowed on, you’ll start to think there is no fish in that river.
then you’ll catch a dink trout half the size of your spinner. You’ll be so mad, you might eat him for dinner.
a year later, you may just find Mac daddy. Lol. I dunno.

some people have beginners luck. That river gets pressure. That’s why I don’t catch there often.

the lower you go the better than chance I think. But I avoid people and go higher.

the crazy Oregonians run boats, in these rivers. As you will find. They have a huge truck and dump a tiny boat in biscally off a cliff off a tiny wooden boat ramp and float down these rivers like rollercoaster. I think they are crazy af. I’ll take the bank. Thank you!
hard enough as it is...

for prep.. see the YouTube videos like I said. Lol. They are in there. If you got the balls to find it.

score:
TJ
——-
10x cutties over a year span
1 wild sorbet mini donkey steelhead who took a piece of my thumb

i hath vindication for like, days. Wilson is a skunk factory! To nail it on video on AFD was epic.

catch a few of these Oregon donkeys with their heads flopping back and fourth in the current and you’ll understand. Ridiculous.

so many variables. Like..
there might be a 20lb salmon in there. Your hook might be too small. Steelhead eat smaller lures. You just lip-slipped a 20lb because you F’d up and fished for smaller game!

the river is only six inches deep. How the F is this happening?!

you aren’t paying attention to the trout, we’re you? Oh man then you really screwed up lol steelhead gonna break your whole ego into frequencies. Youll
be applying for a HAM radio test.

..if you had an ego left after searching for six months In sleet for a bite.

The whole thing honestly reminds me of fishing chatterbaits at Perris. You get a massive hit and it feels like a snag that wiggles a bit. Lol. Then you need to reel down and present authority or it will throw the bait and be gone in the drink. Probably because I’m not using braid, like everyone else. In most cases, I never found braid to be superior. ��

mono to float and fluoro to sink. I’m liking fluoro for the coastal rivers ‘round there. Despite the less-than-desirable “mending” characteristics.

Also,
them damn baitcatser drags are silent. Lol!
this doesn’t help anything. I like a nice loud drag singing like a shimano spin reel. So does my dog.

I’ll be back in Oregon in a day or two.
bringing a rod with me. Send me a PM if anyone needs steelhead.