When it comes to pot stirring, you were about as good as it gets. When I find a river that is open to fish, it is anything but a ghost town - it's pretty crowded because it's often the only show in town, or nearly so. And yes, that is frustrating, especially when it's because WDFW closes rivers because a tribe tells them to and not because conservation makes it necessary. Steelheading in WA appears to be forever changed, mostly due to factors no one can control and partly because WDFW chooses to bite the hand that feeds it. Sorry about the loss of a fishing buddy; that's never easy.

I make a couple trips a year to MT to throw flies for trout and keep thinking I should try a few places in ID as well. There are so many excellent fly rods on the market - we call these the golden years - that dumping money into expensive rods and reels doesn't make anyone a better fly angler. Instead of spending $1,000 on a fly rod, 99% of all anglers are better served buying a $160 Redington Classic Trout (or $200 Echo) and spending the rest of the money on casting lessons. Even the people selling those high end rods agree with that advice.

This site was a going concern and began dying off before the fishing did. I haven't seen or heard from Stam, Todd, or several others in years. I stay in touch with Francis and fished for coho with him last fall.