Here are a few photos from our trip today. We had a fantastic day on the river with my friends Jon Geyer and John Brackett. Had some sun, some rain, and some hail. We brought 10 fish to the net….all released quickly back to the water. We lost one hog that John hooked that had the head shakes of a real T.O.A.D., big shoulders for sure. Never saw that one, ran hard, stayed deep, and the hook pulled out after a good battle. Oh well, cant win em all.
We got some nice shiny hard pullin’ acrobatic winter fish. Found another dandy one that couldn’t resist the Reel Tech Custom Steelhead jig. I just love the photos of yet another mouth stuffed full of marabou. That makes my day!
Great times with great friends…..what could be better??

Here is John BENDO on a winter steel:

John had the hot hand today, landing 6 fish. 5 in 5 passes at one point

The Reel Tech bent on steel:

Some real cool water shots of a Reel Tech Custom Steelhead Jig:

A nice winter steel with a mouth full of marabou!

Tight Lines and Screaming drags to all!

Had a great day on the water with friends George Freitas and Alan Odom. We landed a couple and lost another. Not an epic day of fishing, but a great day with great weather.

Here’s George bent to the cork on a nice winter steelhead:

The fishing will only get better here on the Rogue, there is lots of fish coming!

Tight lines and screaming drags!!

Spent a couple days on a wonderful Oregon River with my friend Jon Geyer and Kim Parara. We had some rain, some sun, and some willing fish. We got a couple of Dandy fish on this trip. Good fun with great people!

Kim Bendo on a nice Steelhead:

Jon Bendo on some Chrome:

Kim landed a HOG steel:

A nice one for me that fell for a yarnie:

Photo of a Reel Tech Custom laying next to a nice Steelhead:

Tight Lines!

The Reel Tech would like to thank Andrew Armstead and John Rabjohn for inviting me down to Redding, CA to do a seminar for their Fishers of Men Christian Sportsmen Club. My wife Jennifer and I cannot thank you enough for the friendly and kind hospitality. What a pleasure it was to speak in front of a great bunch of kind hearted fishing fanatics. Great questions were asked, and I really enjoyed the audience interaction throughout the presentation.
Again, a big thank you to the Fishers of Men Sportsmen Club, and to all of you who came to listen to me speak. It was my pleasure, and I look forward to doing it again!! I really enjoyed the time with you guys!

Hello all,

Just wanted to say that I am proud to have met the acquaintance of Christopher Heller, owner of Allaroundangler.com, a site for river fishermen, by river fishermen. Chris’ passion for fishing is undeniable. Just recently, Chris advised me and made an announcement on his site that I would be officially endorsed and recommended as the preferred Fishing Reel and Fishing Rod technician for Allaroundangler.com. I am honored to be part of, and to be associated with Chris Heller and Allaroundangler.com.

The link to the announcement is: http://allaroundangler.com/blog/2012/01/the-reel-techaaa-endorsed-reel-rod-repair/

I have added a link to Allaroundangler.com to my Friends page. Please take some time and browse through Christopher’s site. Chris and his friends are REALLY talented fishermen and know how to harvest the chrome. Their great videos are both entertaining and very informative. The articles and stories section is full of top notch, very accurate, and extremely helpful information.

One thing I applaud Chris for is the fact that he keeps all river names and locations anonymous. Chris encourages site visitors to send in success photos or any fishing photos for that matter, without fear that where you are fishing will be revealed. Gaining true fishing knowledge is never about where, what river, or what spot, its about learning the techniques and tactics, and then applying them to wherever you live, and whatever river you fish. There is a lot of fantastic knowledge that can be obtained from the site, no matter what your skill level at fishing may be.

Thank you Chris Heller and Allaroundangler.com !!

Tight lines and screaming drags!

Had a great time on the water for a couple of days with my Dad and friend Jon Geyer. Water was low, and the fishing was good. We were able to catch fish both side drifting yarn, as well as getting fish in the hard to reach areas with the floats and Reel Tech Custom jigs. My Dad got his best steelhead to date. Fun times! Thanks for joining us Dad, it was great having you along!

Dad bent on steel!

Dad’s jig biting chromer

Jonny Bendo!

Dad with more steel

This fish survived a sea lion attach early on in its journey, never would have known the way it fought!
Check out those teeth marks, finally grabbed a bit of the belly and tore it out.

Myself with a couple

Winter chrome with a mouth full of maribou!!

Reel Tech Jig = Steelhead candy

More to come, its still early!
Tight lines and screaming drags!

They don’t get much prettier than these December Steelhead. Had the pleasure of joining friend Ken Berryhill on a trip to the Smith River in CA. Ken has been friends with Mike Coopman of Mike Coopman’s Guide Service for a long time, and we had a great couple of days on the river together. Low and clear conditions meant you had to work hard and be very stealthy for these skittish fish. Mike really knows this river intimately and he was able to use his expertise to put us on fish despite the very difficult conditions.

Anyone interested in booking a trip to the Smith River, give Mike Coopman a call.
You won’t be disappointed. He is very professional and will work very hard to give you an unforgettable fishing adventure.
Phone: #707-218-4501
Email: catchin2manyfish@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.mikecoopmansguideservice.com/

My biggest steelhead to date:

Ken Berryhill with a bent rod:

Clear water Chrome:

Pretty face:

Ken with a nice chromer:

Me with a bright fish:

Tight Lines!!

Had a great day on the water with my friend Jon Geyer. The summer steelhead still are willing to bite despite the cold weather we have been having. Got them on a mix of plugs, ugly bug flies, and glo-bugs. We even scored a nice upper river Coho on a plug. I think we landed 7 Steelhead and the one Coho between us for the day. Jon hooked 2 fish back to back on consecutive casts, in two different spots on the float!! All fish were released. Winter steelhead are coming……..can’t wait!!!

Had a nice day on the water with my Dad and Jon in the upper Rogue. Beautiful weather and some cooperative fish made for a fantastic day. My dad had a blast fighting all the hard pulling acrobatic steelhead to the boat. The smile says it all!

Frank Galusha from myoutdoorbuddy.com contacted me and we discussed doing an article about the benefits and advantages of having a custom rod built. The article can be found here http://www.myoutdoorbuddy.com/fishing_report.php?fishing=4278