Guest Post-Heather's First Swung Steel

The text came through last weekend and you could feel the happiness in the message

"It happened, my first steelhead on the swing"

An that person is Heather Hodson, friend and super enthusiastic creator and leader of
Spokane Women on the Fly.    Heather's group is doing a tremendous job of creating a sisterhood on the fly and making it easier for ladies to get into fly fishing.  They're breaking down barriers and making it fun and easy for women who are interested but dont know where to start. Lets be honest, if you're on the outside looking in, man or women, fly fishing can look pretty intimidating to a novice.

Well Heather and her boyfriend Britton have snagged the steelhead bug pretty bad, and now that she has found that elusive first pull....they're pretty much screwed!   Here's Heather to share her experience of her first steelhead on the swing.


It was my last chance at getting the job done this season. As I was driving down to the Big River, I was envisioning what the tug will truly feel like. I’ve heard that there’s nothing like catching a steelhead on the swing . I was ready to have the adrenaline pump through my veins and feel what the hype is all about.

Our first stop was more of a two handed casting clinic for me. This is my first year Spey fishing. I can count the number of times that I’ve swung on one hand. Needless to say, I need a lot of practice! After I started to feel a little more comfortable with the Snap-T cast we decided to go to a different run.

As I started to wade out into the run, I started to question if steelheading was for me? My hands were freezing, the 24,000cfs river was roaring and deep, the large rocks that I had to maneuver through was difficult for my vertically challenged 5’ 2” self. Then it happened……

Literally my fourth (not beautiful) cast and then I felt it. There was no doubt that I had a decent steelhead on the other end of my line. At first I was dumb founded. I couldn’t believe that such an awful cast could catch a fish! Then the fight was on. Despite the cold January temps of the river this fish was not ready to be caught. My line kept going and going. I cranked my drag down and landed a beautiful bright hatchery hen. The best part of it was I caught her on my first Steelhead swinging fly that I have ever tied. Such a great feeling to catch a big beautiful steelhead on the swing, but even better when it’s on a fly that you’ve twisted up!

As if I wasn't already hooked, now I can’t wait to get my hand on a spey rod and continue to master the art of this type of fly fishing. One day, I too will be the flyfisher that makes people stop and watch the beauty of spey casting.

So ladies, if you're interested in meeting a super awesome group of women and get into the sport, please get in contact with Heather.

Check out more info from Spokane Women on the Fly via their FACEBOOK PAGE