Photo of the Day: Hail Mary Steelhead

Written by: Kubie Brown


Tough conditions caused a change of tactics, which paid off for Kubie.
Photo courtesy Kubie Brown

I headed to New York’s Salmon River last week, hoping to land a few steelhead to kill the winter blues. When I got there, I found that the river had risen quickly overnight and that the day was a sunny 60 degrees. The spring-like conditions put me in a optimistic state of mind, so instead of dropping an egg in the high, fast water, I decided to throw my Spey line on the reel, tie on a small Intruder fly, and try my luck on the swing . . though I wasn’t expecting much in the quite cold water.

This bright fish came as a surprise on my second cast, as I swung through the guts of a long pool. While it was the only fish I landed all day, it gave me hope for the days to come, letting me know that no matter how long winter lasts, spring is always on the way.

Kubie Brown, a former Trout Bum of the Week, is a Vermont native who used to man the fly-fishing desk at the Orvis flagship store in Manchester, but he has since moved to Montana to pursue his fly fishing dreams. He is now a “Jack of all trades” at Hubbard’s Yellowstone Lodge.

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