Ain't that the truth Paker? And the best we can come up with is too many hatchery pinks and chums being released in AK and Japan as the reason. There must be a jack-booted conspiracy around that offers a better explanation. Probably somethin' like WDFW's inferior hatchery practices.

Of course your fish don't count. BTW, have you ever caught a fish without the help of a guide. Curious fishermen want to know.

Hey Nate, that's right! You're figuring out this fish biology and management stuff real good. Runsize = the number of fish caught (legally and illegally) plus the number of fish that escape to spawn. So if fewer fish are caught in the ocean, Puget Sound, or anywhere, then more fish return to the river where you catch them. But if you don't keep them, they continue upstream to spawn, so count as part of the escapement instead of as part of the harvest.

However, runsize and escapement may have no relationship whatever to productivity, capacity, and diversity of a population.

Just so we're clear here, fly flossing ain't fly fishing, Darkside notwithstanding.

Ya' know, even though I've razzed a person a time or two about fishing for chum salmon, I actually appreciate the lowly chum. Chum, along with pink salmon, are an important part of the ecosystem. One of the weird things about those species, is that even though they smolt as fry, they often have as good as or better smolt to adult survival rates as Chinook. So the ones that avoid being eaten - not easy since bull trout, cutthroat, and sometimes large coho smolts eat scads of 'em - must be pretty tough little buggers.

And even though I razzed Evo for fishing for chums, his photos of them are pretty good. Much better than his moon pictures from years ago.

Well this thread was fun.

I guess the mood just strikes us right sometimes.

"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats".
- H. L. Mencken

I would have liked to have fished with you back then. I would have helped and it would have been great fun. I never got to experience the real "good old days" and our old timers in their prime. And that really bums me out.

Is it better to have love and lost or not loved at all?

fvcker.

I remember a day on the Satsop in the early 70's that resulted in one of us in the boat landing 4 fish in excess of 20 lbs, with one of those fish pushing the 25 lb mark.

It wasn't me that caught them.

It was still pretty cool to witness a day like that, though.

I caught my first steelhead in 1973 in the creek within walking distance of our house in Shelton. It was about a 10 lb hen and I caught it on a red and white Dardevle spoon. At that time, you could stand in downtown Shelton and catch a fair number of steelhead out of Goldsborough creek and never have to drive anywhere.

Ah, the good old days.

Better to have loved and lost? Yeah - I think so.

I've been Steelheading Washington for about 13 years now with hundreds of days on the river if not more. I've been a "part" of exactly (2) fish over 20, both from the same system. I've been real close to breaking that 20 pound mark myself, but as the days and fish tick away, I'm less inclined to believe that I ever will join the "club". And that really sucks to think about. Knowing that your #1 bucket list fish is all but out of reach. Not having "ever loved" really, really stinks.

My only consolation is listening to my friends and others share their wonderful stories of really big fish. I love to listen in; share in their enthusiasm and see their faces brighten, but at the same time, I'm crying on the inside.

So when other fisherman talk of not leaving the resource to their kid's kids and future generations, just know that it's not some non-descript date out sometime into the distant future. It's really today and more accurately, yesterday.

I caught a 23# flat back couple years back on the op.
Wasn't in a boat or handed off either.

I'd post pics but I would blow the spot. Sorry.



Sounds fun. I still have a few of those daredevle spoons.

I landed a large buck on a river that will remain unnamed so as not to offend any of you sensitive bastards on here. I was drift fishing a pink work that I got from a certain worm manufacturer before he went back into business,of which I still have a small amount of those original worms. This was before team "hey look at me I'm a guide".

I digress. So it's late March,almost April. I'm on the nunyaphukinbusiness
river in whereverthephuck USA. I hope that's better. Anyway I'm fishing downriver from a buddy who isn't very skilled at catching fish on his own,so I plunk him in some easy water and he lands a little hatchery turd on bait. I am down from him where that tailout drops into fast heavy water that spills into a big flat. Money spot.

I cast up in the heavy water and halfway through I get a big grab. I set up and it responds with a few heavy headshakes. I'm thinking I hooked a decent fish maybe mid teens ,I dunno. I call to my friend. He runs down and says "how big??" At this point I haven't seen the fish. I say " I think it's a good one,he's bulldogging me. Maybe mid teens,15 maybe? The fish comes up and rolls in front of us and he says "how big???" I say "Please don't talk to me now. It's the biggest damn fish I've ever hooked,I'll tell you that!"

So below this flat the river drops into some really swirly water and into a boulder garden in a big bend in the river. A nasty stretch to be sure. The flat is ,150 feet in length maybe. So I'm fighting this fish and it just wont give up,I gain a little,he runs back to the bottom of the river and keeps head shaking,and sliding backwards down the slot. I can't do anything with him. I was using 15 pound mainline? Maybe 12 it was long ago. I had an xmg 50 med heavy rod. So I had some backbone but that fish did whatever he wanted. Fought like a king salmon.

So I finally get him to the bank and he does exactly what I don't want,and takes off down towards no man's land. CRAP! I ended up beaching him in the last ditch effort,and a grassy bank with a 4 foot drop into swirly water. I tail him. I'm a big dude,back then 230 pounds and my hands aren't small and I can barely grab the tail wrist. The fish is not cooperating and I can barely get a hold of him. We try 3 times to get a photo but he was just unruly. After the third attempt I let him swim off and my buddy said "WTF I wanted a picture" and I said I'd rather that fish go make more,they are too special to me.

So we snapped a couple of it in the river while I was fighting it. But they don't give real scale to that fish. I was easy 39 or 40 inches. with I'm guessing a 20 inch 21 inch girth. I'm not calling it a 20. But I know how big that [Bleeeeep!] was. He fought for 20 minutes and I really hope he lived . It was fkn awesome! Anyway,I have landed some killer fish before,a 16 pound hen on the ^%$Y^&%& barbarosa river in CA beat my ass and broke me off . That one still hurts.

Exactly. I can pretty much guarantee I will shake hands with another trophy one of these days.You gotta fish where they live that's number one.

I should have added that I still fish and have hope. That very next cast could be the one. When I'm able to fish, I do fish pretty hard. I'm with other really good fisherman & stickmen in great water at the right times. I have faith - I just know my odds are slimmer due to the current state of affairs. That's all.

I mean, it's still my #1 bucket fish and I ain't dead yet!

So very true Avid. And that's the problem. Not many call WA home any more. Or most other places, for that matter. Darn shame.

By bucket list fish, I mostly mean a WA 20. I know I could head in a certain direction and greatly increase my odds. If it happened there, I'd gladly take it too. But it would be much sweeter here wouldn't it?

#1 Bucket Fish = WA 20# steelhead
#2 Bucket Fish = Grander Blue
#3 Bucket Fish = TDF Ocean Run Browns

#1 Bucket Animal = Any legal WA Roosie Bull (Archery)
#2 Bucket Animal = Yukon | Alaskan Bull Moose (any means)
#3 Bucket Animals = Tie for Caribou, Sitka, Coues, Shiras, Musk Ox

I should marry a rich bitch. Headed to Medina - BRB....

Absolutely. The buck in my story was colored up . Still fkn cool. But that hen I landed on the Trask (whoops,spot burn,sorry guys,KMA) that one year that ran me 3 holes down and soaked me when I tailed her,every bit 15,stands out. So awesome! That's why I love the lower Klamath. It's fish are 3-5 pounds but they are so violent and purely chrome and lovely fresh out the salt that it's one of my all time favorite fisheries. Don't tell though because it's a secret and not many people fish the Klamath. The upper Trinity is the real sleeper. Only 100 fly guides a day up there. Pristine!!

Now yer' talkin'. If'n I can't catch a biggun, I at least want to catch a specimen. I caught a 16 - 17 buck last year with Bantam that was just simply perfect in everyway. Gorgeous fish.

Good luck tomorrow dude. That 30 is right around the next bend.

#1 Bucket Fish =Large B.C Steelhead ,somehwere up thar in steelhead big buck country.
#2 Bucket Fish = Big Stripers on the east coast. Those pigs in the surf,
#3 Bucket Fish = Fly in heli or float plane coho in Alaska. Like some remote assed river. With some guide dude holding a large gun so I don't get eaten by a Kodiak bear or stomped by Bullwinkle.

#1 Bucket Animal = My girlfriend tonight with the lights fully on
#2 Bucket Animal = I don't hunt
#3 Bucket Animals = did you say musk ox?

I should marry a rich bitch. In woodinville