How to Build a Steelhead Fort - Part I
Flyfishing Stories by Bob Lawless

I got this brilliant idea while fishing the Skeena River a few years back. The place was the Remo Bar which is where the Kitsukalum River joins the mighty Skeena. There is a giant hole here at the junction and the huge Kings, Cohoes and later Steelhead Salmon all pile up thick as leaves on the water in a fall wind. The place has since been declared a no fishing zone, thanks in part to what I am about to recount to you, my dearest and only readers.

No fly scene, this is a plunking bar and you rig up as follows: attach an 8 oz. pyramid sinker to the bottom- yes, that's right, a full half pound of lead. Connect the sinker with 18" of at least 30 lb. test. monofilament to a three way swivel. To the other eye of the swivel, attach another 18" mono piece (also 30 lb.) to a 1/0 spin and glow .. Then attach your main line (at least 40 lb. but 50 or 60 LB. would be better) to the remaining eye and you are rigged up. A bit heavy? Hey, we are not talking little fish here! I have personally never seen a king caught from this hole that weighed less than 35 lb.. Most go between there and 50 lb.. I have seen a 60 and a 70 pounder caught by the same dude during the same day. Momentarily, we shall discuss this individual.

There is a viscous rapid right below the hole and the King will surely take you there. Even with your heavy tackle ( I used to use a Fennwick tuna rod and a Penn Squidder), you will not be able to turn the fish. So you jump in your boat; your buddy turns on the motor, and then you race off after the fish. If lucky and almost always after at least one hour, you motor back up and show off your fifty or plus giant. I did see a fish that weighed only 26 pounds once but it was a Coho. Damnedest Coho I've ever seen anywhere! A perfect, mint bright male.

Well, there was this guy, a Realtor from Seattle, who had a jet boat. He had his son with him so they were entitled to eight salmon. But the possession limit was double that - so he could catch (and he did) 16 fish total. He had two enormous freezers in his truck powered by a gas generator and he filled the things up. Then he would go home to the states and cook each fish whole and invite a huge bunch of real-estate dudes for free lunch. In case you are not hip to the real estate scene, houses are not really sold to customers directly. For example, you want a house and you tell an agent. He does not have what you want but he knows a " buddy" who was just telling him last week ( at the salmon feed) about a house that sounds exactly like something you might like. Wham! The deal is closed. And it was at the free lunch that your man learned from his man (the jet boat guy, aka the "buddy," aka the salmon hog) about the house. Called smoozing. $$$$$ All caught with a giant fish. Can you imagine serving a whole 70 lb. salmon to a big crowd and they eat the whole thing? Can you hear the kudos in your ears? Can you see the beautiful women who would be throwing themselves at you or at least at the salmon? Can feel the money rolling in? The commission would be split. Half of a $60,000 dollar commission would be 30K to you. Does that buy gas? Make payments on the jet boat? Buy first malt whiskey? I"m sure you understand this, my dearest and only readers.

Let me just say that this American fish hog was not very popular with our Canadian neighbors. One rotten, old dude even threatened to kill him. So he buddies up to me and my friend and asks for help, like we are some sort of contingent of the American Army.. A race war on the Remo Bar? An international incident? And, again, my friend and I, who were we, the American Army? There's three of us (don't count the kid but I could be wrong) and about 16 or so Maple Leaf boys. They were all pissed and I didn't blame them. We are talking rape here.

Anyway, using the best of my diplomatic skills, we were able to escape unharmed. The jet boy drug off his eight hogs and my partner and I each had two fifties. This was about 1972.

Because of this incident, I got the idea of building a salmon fort on a river bar on some river in Washington at some time in the near future.

In my next installment, I will discuss the particulars of construction and the advantages that such a fort would bring to bear on this troubled, overcrowded, hostile environment in which we must fish. Don't miss this; it could save your life.

BOBLAWLESS

How to Build a Steelhead Fort - Part II

In this section, part II, we will discuss the value of building a steelhead fort and its applications:

Purpose:
1. Such a fort can provide shelter from the elements, the raw wind and numbing cold, the slashing ice-rains, the terrible sleet and hail storms, the violent downpours associated ordinarily with this sport.
2. It can provide protection from unruly mobs and hooligans often scene roaming the banks of rivers.
3. It can establish a certain "ownership" to places along the river, giving the builder certain rights and privileges, e.g. excluding others from fishing in your spot.
4. A nice place to sleep at night.
5. A congenial meeting place where the owner and friends can enjoy a libation or two and compare notes of the day.
6. A second home tax deduction.

The building of such a fort is rather easy, materials are free and readily available, and sites are numerous. But let's take this one thing at a time:

Site selection: find a famous or highly productive holding area on the river. Ignore any crowds that might be there and begin building your fort. Always have the door to the fort facing the river and be sure that approximately one-half of the floor of the fort is actually in the river. More about this later. Avoid sites where there might be adjacent pits or holes within rock throwing distance. There should be no snags, uprooted stumps or piles of debris which might give shelter to the enemy (the enemy is defined as anyone who is not a member of your party or a personal friend).
Should you insist on locating your fort near any of the previously described objections, you must take care to remedy the situation. Fill in all holes or pits, burn snags and debris, etc.
Leave no shelter for the enemy to hide in or a place to take refuge.

Basic construction: use only rocks of good quality (no sandstone) and choose those that are flat on both sides so as to make for easy stacking. Build first an outline of the perimeter. Don't get carried away here. We want a fort not a fishing lodge. Bedrooms are nice but are optional. The author simply builds a multi-purpose room, using it for entertaining, sleeping, dining and, of course, fishing. Stack one course upon another using standard masonry techniques. Build to armpit height. When this is accomplished, place a second wall about a foot or so inside the first wall. When complete, fill the area between the walls with stones; any sort will do here. Leave the entrance large enough to get in and out of and also so that a fish can be lead into the living area when the fight is over. I employ a steel spike grate that can be slammed shut over the doorway, keeping the fish in and the unwanted masses out. Do not construct a roof.

How to use: fly fish as normal. When you get a fish, hold your ground; stay within the fort.
Don't let the fish pull you out of there. Use the thick walls to your advantage! When the fish is ready for capture, simply pull him through the door and slam the gate shut.
When darkness comes, I inflate my air mattress and sleep in the living room on the rock floor, the dry side.
Once, while using this technique, the water rose during the night when a big front jammed its way up the river, flooding everything. I was too tired or too sleepy or too lazy or too drunk to give a care and I just went on sleeping. Fortunately the air mattress lifted me up over the walls (remember: never add a roof) and I was washed downstream for about 1/2 mile where I got caught up in this big back eddy. The night passed OK enough but I did get jabbed every now and again by broken limbs from the downed trees that were swirling about me. In the morning, by the dawn's early light, the fort was still there!

For fighting: remember there will be lots of fighting over this fort idea so be prepared. Keep nice, baseball size rocks stacked in pyramids in the corners of your rooms. These are for throwing, of course. It is best if you gather your rocks from the immediate area of the fort so as to leave none for the enemy. But if no rocks of suitable size are available, then you must import them. But you must have good rocks. They are the key to everything, your survival, your comfort, your walls, etc.
When the enemy comes, and they surely will, throw a large barrage of stones as fast as you can.
Stay down! Try to make the enemy think that there is more than just you in the fort. Keep throwing until all evidence of the enemy is gone. Then go out and get your rocks back. You may need them again. If there should be return fire, and there surely will be, take a peek to determine the direction of fire; now huddle up tight against the wall from whence the stones are coming. Protect your eyes as direct hits, while they will not harm you, could shatter and spray you with fragments. Between volleys, sneak in a cast or two. You never know when you might get something.

Happy forting,
BOBLAWLESS