Pautzke’s on the Middle Rogue
Every once in awhile running this website has a few perks. One of those is being able to fish with some extremely talented and experienced guys, and learn a few things on the way. This past Friday I had the pleasure of taking fellow Pautzke’s pro-staffer Paul LeFebvre and his nephew Joey for a float on the middle Rogue.
I thought I had the plug fishing down extremely well, but it’s when the fish aren’t cooperating that you can learn the most. The day started with us fishing what had been working amazingly well last weekend. However, the steelhead had other thoughts, and we didn’t touch anything for the first 2 hours. That’s when Paul reached into his deep bag of experience, and taught me a few things.
Paul hooks up with our first steelhead of the day.
A nice chromer in the box.
I had to have a shot with it as well.
That little “original” plug he pulled out saved our day (it’s also going to cost me some money trying to find others), and the simple little color change seemed to make all the difference. Paul also used a different hook system on his plugs that seemed to produce just as good of a bite to land ratio, as well as saved hooks from getting bent in the net and made it easier to release fish.
The same plug, but it was Joey’s turn this time.
When it comes to fishing, you’re never done learning. The conditions are always changing, and yesterday’s hot lure may be today’s dud. That’s when soaking up all the knowledge you can get your hands on comes in handy. Paul not only taught me a few things that day, but I was able to return the favor as well. The bouncing of knowledge off each other was priceless, and made us both better fishermen. If you ever have the chance to spend the day with another experienced angler seize the opportunity. Learning can never hurt.
Tight Lines….
Filed Under: Rogue River • Summer Steelhead
