Back when I smoked cigarettes, I caught fish. Then I quit cigarettes about 12 years ago, and I caught fish. Then I started chewing tobacco, and I caught fish. Then I quit chewing tobacco and started dipping snuff and I caught fish. Then I quit chewing altogether, and I caught fish. Now I smoke cigars and for the last two years, I've done better on steelhead than ever before in my life.

I fish with friends who are tobacco free and they can't seem to catch a steelhead in the Kalama in December and January, when you can't hardly help but catch them.

Doubtless, some things may put the fish off, but I don't think tobacco is the biggest culprit. There's that guy who, several years ago, was famous for his underwater camera work of salmon going after various trolled presentations. One of his videos I saw depicted side by side hoochies being trolled behind flashers. In one segment, he dipped one of the flasher/leader/hoochie set-ups in this oily bilge and made a point of dumping an ashtray full of butts and ashes into it for good measure. He got better results on that set-up than the supposedly clean set-up.