By Louie Stout

Granger Angler Takes a Dive for Big Steelhead

Northern Indiana waters produced several of the Indiana DNR 2019 Fish of the Year winners, but Chris Peabody’s catch might have been the most bizarre.

The 21-year-old Granger angler landed a 38-inch steelhead from the St. Joseph River downstream from the Central Park Dam on Sept. 20. It was the biggest steelhead reported in the DNR contest.

However, the fish didn’t come easily. Peabody had to dive into 40-some-degree water to retrieve the fish that tangled in logs after he hooked it.

On that day in September, Peabody was casting from shore with a 1/16-ounce black Jarhead Jig rigged behind an orange bead. It was fished under a float, allowing the tiny jig to dance with the current and stay off bottom.

“It looks like a leech sucking on an egg,” he explained. “Last season was the first year I used that lure and I’ve since caught about 30 steelhead on it. I found out about it on Facebook and I really like it during certain times of the year.”

The big steelhead didn’t come as a complete surprise. He and his fishing buddy, Nick Wohlford, an IUSB student from Chicago, saw it swim nearby.

“We honestly didn’t think we could get her to bite, but I cast the jig towards her anyway,” Peabody said.

Shortly after the bait hit the water, the bobber danced, disappeared and the fight was on.

The fish made a powerful move downstream, swam under a log, and as steelhead often do, jumped frantically — back over the top of the log. The line snagged on the log and prevented the fish from going much farther.

“The fish was pretty worn out and I could see it just floating there on the surface with my line wrapped around the log,” he said. “I knew if I waited too long, she’d break my line.”

There was only one thing to do. He handed Nick his rod, jumped in the chilly water, and swam to the fish, some 30 yards away.

He dove beneath the log, which sat over 10 feet of water, unraveled his line and got the fish to shore.

After taking the measurement and snapping a few pictures, the steelhead was released back into the river.

The summer-run Skamania steelhead was skinny, weighing an estimated 12 to 14 pounds; Peabody said a well-fed steelhead of that size should weigh in the 18-pound range.

He should know. He’s a die-hard river angler who would fish every day if his job with Patterson Logistics in South Bend would allow it. He figures he caught about 200 steelhead throughout 2019.

Peabody was using an Okuma Raw II center pin-style reel on a 10½-foot Lamiglas X11 Steelhead Float Rod with 14-pound monofilament tied to a lengthy 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. The center pin reel resembles a fly reel except it has ball bearings that allow the spool to spin freely and the bait to move unrestricted with the flow of the river.

It’s a popular rig for experienced steelhead anglers.Winning Indiana’s Fish of the Year title should be a big boost to Peabody’s guide fishing service that he opened this month. If you want more information, contact him on his “CP Float Fishing” Facebook page or email cpfloatfishing@gmail.com.

To see a complete list of 2019 Indiana Fish of Year winners, go to www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-fish_of_the_year.pdf.