Did some late morning/early afternoon fishing today and managed to pick up this hog. According to the fish calculator here, it's 20.6 pounds.



And don't worry about the fish's condition. It was out of the water just long enough to take a measurement and snap the picture. It swam off as soon as I placed it back in the river.

Nice fish, what river were you on?

Way to go Jacob! Nice fish!
Good Fishing, Darin

Congrats on the fish.....

BUT... "dont worry about the fish, it swam right off." Thats BS. you can keep a fish in the water and measure it. You can take pictures of fish in the water. Beaching a fish is never good for it and the effects from that beaching can cause fatal damage after the release. Just because it swam away doesn't mean it was fine.
Sorry but I dont agree with what you did as far as handling the fish.
Not meaning to be an a$$hole but that is my opinion.

Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is your fish out of the water also!
Maybe you should practice what you preach.

my fish is out of the water but its not on the dirt. dirt scrapes off the protective slime that covers the fish. If you look closely, or you want me to post up a bigger picture, you will see that I am standing in the water and there is water running off of the fish.
Taking it out of the water is fine but having roll around on the beach is what gets me.
As far as practicing what I preach.... where does it say anything bad about having it out of the water as being bad. I said you can take pictures in the water. That is much better for the fish than beaching it and then taking a picture.

Way to go, Jake, that's a pig!

I presume that was the usual rig (float and jig) on the usual local spot (yeah, like I'm gonna post it?)?

Congratulations...I hope good karma lets you catch him again next year!

Fish on...

Todd.

I agree about pulling fish to be released on the bank, is not the right way to do it but if that guy is by himself how the hell is he going to measure and take pictures of his trophy?

I just thought it was funny how you say you can take pictures of your fish in the water,
but you obviously don't practice this.

I am no saint. I've pulled fish on the bank unhooked them and released them. If you have ever fished by yourself I am sure you have to.

I fish by myself all the time and am able to take pictures of fish in the water. I am not saying that they have to be in a foot of water but if you can put them in the shallows and take a picture I think it is better for the fish.
You obviously have no idea whether I practice what i preach. Nothing says that I took that picture.
If you want to see visually how to handle a steelhead in the shallows, measure it, watch Lani Waller's video on flyfishing for trophy steelhead. He does it very easily. He doesn't take a picture of it but he could.

It's amazing how some guys can turn an excellent day on the river with someone showing off their catch into an ecological disaster scenario...

I think we should congratulate Jake on a great fish without the bashing. Advise for future releases could be warranted but I think the point of the post was to show off a great fish being landed. I agree fish should stay in the water but perhaps an explanation of proper technique would be better warranted. Great fish Jake!

~steelymann~

Thanks guys! I really do care about the fish, so I did make sure to treat it extremely carefully. If there had a been another person nearby, I surely could have done everything needed without bringing the fish on to the beach. But there was no one nearby, and I don't see how I could have held my rod, held the fish, measure the fish, take off my vest, unzip the back compartment, take out the camera, unzip the camera case and take the picture all while holding the fish in the water at the same time.

Thankfully, the fish didn't struggle while he was laying down so he didn't scrape himself or anything. While I wish the circumstances had been slightly different (hell it would have been sweet to get a pic of me holding the fish) I made sure the fish was treated as carefully as possible.

Not that I agree with laying a fish in the dirt or on the rocks, but you,ve just landed your first 20# Steelie and you're by your self? Think back to the first or largest steelie you ever caught, were you excited? Ya think maybe Jacob was excited? Jacob, congrats!!!

D3Smartie,

You need to get out of LA/So-Cal now!

Good Fishing, Darin

Nice fish man.


....theres always gotta be someone to point out every flaw just to get his name shown though.......

~MATT

i couldn't agree with you more steelnerves. I'd be better off elsewhere.
I am sorry that this got turned into such a big deal. I just wanted to point out a way that it could have been handled differently, I have no need to get my name on the board.
I a sorry that i came to this. It was not what I intended.

Congrats Jacob.

Yessir.....just a dandy fish! that wet clay/silt didn't hurt your fish, so don't sweat it.....very nice!

BEUTIFUL Fish!!!!!!!!!

Nice fish Jacob!

I know the wild steelhead CNR ediquette threads are getting old, but come on!!
This fish is lying on the beach nowere near water, while the angler fumbles for a tape and a camera! Is it worth putting a fish through all that just to know exactly how much it weighs?
I also got a 20+ pounder this year. It was a very tough place to land a fish and i wasnt able to get pics being by myself, but the memories will always be there. I know guys want something to show off when they get the big one, but sometimes you gotta put the fish first...

After seeing a filleted wild fish on my fav. river and seeing a "guide" net a wild fish and let his clients roll it around in the bottom of the boat makes me glad the rivers close March 1 on the Sno/stilly/sky....Just a little bitter fellas

Nice fish though