When you think of fishing, maybe you imagine sitting with a line in the water from the shoreline of a tranquil beach, or maybe you see a crew of fishermen, up at dawn, silently sailing out into a misty body of water.
For Western Washington University's Fly Fishing Club, that couldn’t be further from it.
A small group of Western students consisting of: Will Penrose, Joe Fitzgerald, Drew Bone and Simon Hayashi spent nine days fighting to stay dry, while hiking, camping and fly fishing in Olympic National Park. All done in search of one species of elusive fish, the steelhead trout.
The steelhead, with a more commonly found freshwater variant called the rainbow trout, are similar to salmon. They are anadromous, meaning they start their life in freshwater rivers and streams, and once they reach adulthood, they go out to the ocean, coming back to the rivers only to spawn.
“Steelheads are notoriously hard to catch,” Fitzgerald said. “They’re called the fish of 1,000 casts.”
Normally, fly fishermen in the Pacific Northwest spend days, and sometimes even years hoping to sink their hook into one.
“It’s the ultimate prize,” Fitzgerald said.
Penrose said they were on the Olympic Peninsula in the Hoh Rain Forest because it was one of the only fishable waters at the time they went.
“It was the greenest place I’ve ever been,” Penrose said.
On day two of the trip, Penrose said expectations were low but out of nowhere felt a massive tug on his line.
“We were super unprepared in that moment,” he said.
After fighting with the fish, and Fitzgerald scrambling to get a net, it got away. Penrose said it didn’t discourage him but rather confirmed that there were fish to be caught and he was determined to do it.
“The river and the water were moving really fast,” he said. “Everything that checks out for steelhead is what I’m seeing here.”
After that first hit, Penrose said that it was one of the most cooperative fishing experiences he’s ever had.
“We shared everything,” he said.
At times they thought about calling it quits and going home, he said. But on day seven, the weather finally turned in their favor, and not even 500 yards from their camp, Penrose hooked another.
“At first I thought I caught a log, but then all of a sudden, this log started whipping its head,” Penrose said.
This time around, they were not letting it get off the hook. It was around 30 inches and close to six pounds.
He caught the fish using a line he borrowed from Fitzgerald, a fly borrowed from Hayashi and Bone’s net.
“It wasn’t a one-man thing,” Penrose said. “It was a culmination of good deeds, good people and good times.”
Fitzgerald said that all of this is made possible through some of the sponsors of the club.
The club has the ability to lend out gear and have professionals teach clinics in both casting and fly tying. They also get assistance in planning trips, he said. This makes the club accessible to anglers of any skill level.
One of these sponsors is a national non-profit wildlife conservation organization called Trout Unlimited. Clifford Watson, youth fly fishing programs manager for Trout Unlimited, helps organize events with the club.
At Western, Watson helps with four big events every year. These range from casting clinics hosted on campus, to group excursions out in the field.
Watson said fly fishing greatly promotes self-confidence and mental toughness, especially in new anglers.
Penrose touched on fortitude, saying that everything was difficult during their time in the rainforest. They often didn’t have the right gear, they spent hours casting and standing by the water. The weather was wet and cold and oftentimes they lost hope. He said that the overall experience outweighed all the negatives.
“It was wet and miserable for 30% of the time,” Penrose said. “The other 70% was beautiful.”
Ozzy Konez is a sports and recreation reporter for The Front. He is a third-year Visual Journalism major and a member of the Western Tennis Club. Outside of school, you can find him working at the local tennis club, cooking, hiking or at the student rec center. The best place to contact him is at ozzykonez.thefront@gmail.com.
