Who, what ,where ,when ,why and how.

1. Both my Kids first fish. My daughters 12 in plant in Lake Alice at age 4 and my son's 3.5 lb Rainbow in Curlew at age 4 this past summer.

2. A 73lb king in Tofino BC. Trolling a mini hootchie in 30' of water over a sandbar 2 miles off shore . The Kings where everywhere that day. They averaged 30lbs but it was tough getting them into the boat before the sharks took them. This fish peeled 400' of line off(15lb test,11' noodle) like nothing and stayed at the end of it for 20 minutes. He came to the boat gave us a look and headed back to Alaska. He did the classic 3 runs and then came to the side of the boat. The net was too small so I had to grip him by the gills and chuck him in the boat. He was the perfect chrome bright fish. He looked like a 15lb balckmouth just a lot bigger. I had top go to a commerical fish packer to find a scale big enough.

3 steel nates on the Sky in the AM, than a late King 20+ and a Pink in the afternoon!

With so many great days of salmon fishing that get blended together I'll pick out my best day of steelhead fishing: It was last April and we were floating the Sol Duc when fishing was tapering off. By the end we had caught 4 natives that were 24, 21 and two other teeners. All were chrome bright and gave up the hardest fights I've ever had. The temps were in the fifties too!

Upper quinnalt in late march '03, and Blue Dot off of Neah Bay also in aug. '03. Two totally different days, techniques, and locales but I can't decide which was better. Catching large numbers of large Chinook in the salt or numbers of large steelies in a stream. Best two days of fishing I've ever had in this state.

Lots of great days to choose from, but if you go by numbers of fish hooked it would have to be a late febuary day on the Grand Ronde. A good budy of mine and myself hooked 27 steelies in just over three hours of fishing, all on the fly. The temp reached almost sixty that day and we were in short sleeves, almost unheard of for that time of year. I don't think I will ever see that kind of fishing again without spending a ton of cash.

Neah Bay this last summer. We caught limits of big Kings,Silvers and bottem fish. I swear you couldn't get a jig to the bottem and then back to the surface without catching a fish.
We also had close encounters with about 20 whales. The best three days CATCHING I've ever had.

A day on a river in Alaska, where we caught 20 to 30 inch rainbows nearly nonstop. I probably landed over 200 lbs of rainbow, plus 200 lbs of char that day.

First trip to Sekiu. Did two days. Never thought you could catch that many salmon!

Three hatchery steelies in about 6 hours of fishing on a local streams that lacks a great run of fish! Also caught them on three different techniques.

There are 2 trips that will always rate high in my book and both include my dad who passed away a couple years ago,

1) my dads first trip to Ak. to fish with me, the weather was brutal but the fishing was good. He had caught alot of kings in Wa. but never cracked 30lbs, he got 2 mid 30's and 2 high 20's.

2) We both placed in the top 15 in the P.A. derby and won about $750

First trip to Cabo with my boys. First marlin trip ever and had an incredible day! Started out with the skipper taking the cruiser thru the arch on the way out. 10 marlin sighted and tried for. The whales with calfs and the porpoise(7 in a line) surfing on the waves right up to the side of the boat before they submerged and went under the boat. I was hooked!

I know this is probably not all that unusual, but it's the only time that I've been able to pull it off.
Parked the rig and walked out to the river right at day break. First cast...bam! Dark buck, released. Second cast....bam! Chrome hen, bonk. Third cast...bam! Chrome hen, hesitate, hesitate, hestitate, bonk. Done.
I really wanted to release that second hen, but I didn't want to mess up the only time I have ever hooked three steelhead on my first three casts, my only casts of the day. I have had a half dozen or so back to back, but only one day like that one.

my best day was this summer out at freshwater bay trolling of the campground with my dad, we hooked 19 kings and landed 16.

Well, my best trip was during the worst days of my life. To make a long story short. Was about to get a divorce. Life was in turmoil (way too much to explain lol). My yearly salmon trip with my Dad hit. Went reluctantly with a ton of stuff on my mind (my Dad had no idea what was going on when I went, well, my exwife didn't either, long story I said). After I told my Dad that night (I didn't make it down to the Nooch until sun went down so didn't fish until next day). We sat around the campfire and spoke about what was going on and I told him I might leave. He told me that this could be last trip I go on with him (another long story) and I opted to stay. That next day I woke up and had my coffee. Woke up with instant headache from the stress. Got out on the river, started BS'n with my Dad, started catching fish, and forgot about my problems for the day. Can't remember how many, just know I had fun, had good company, and forgot about life for the day. Went back to the cabana, started a fire, had some coffee, had dinner, and started talking about the old days when I was little on our first trips. Was a good day, one of my all time toppers.

Guess it went longer, but this is the SHORT version. LOL

Best day of fishing was Aug 10 2002 on the lower Kenai (where else?) when my 10 yr old daughter Marci graduated from tossing spinners for pinks to backbouncing eggs for silvers. We were anchored in tidewater at the Bluffs along with her grandfather who was also being baptised into the art of backbouncing. Needless to say, the kid quickly developed perfect form, and before long, it was obvious she had "the touch".... while grandpa just struggled, never quite getting the knack of maintaining contact with the bottom and walking that bait downriver.

We limited in less than two hours, with Marci hooking both of grandpa's fish. The first pic says it all! In the second one, a very proud dad helps to display her first silver limit.

1) A couple of years ago going 13 for 14 on summer runs standing in the same spot, getting 4 fish on 4 casts in one stretch.
2) A buddy of mine took me to the coast to a river I had never fished and between the 2 of us that morning we landed 20 winter fish and lost a bunch of other ones.
3) 2 winters ago getting an 18 and 20+ pound natives in back to back casts on the same leader. Went 5 for 7 that morning. That was fun!

This November fishing with my son, catching so many doggies on the Satsop that we lost count. The first trip with my son that we spent more time catching than fishing!!!

Too many to list,

The best day: the day we caught 44.5" native, or the day we hooked twenty nats, or the day I went 12 for 17 on summers. No those aren't the best days. The best day ever was when I caught my first steelie, all 4.5 lbs. of her. I was the happiest man alive.

My best day fishing was when i took my sister out to deception pass for humpies. I got her up at day break, ran over to the fishing spot then told her how deep to put her rig, then after that it was non stop smiles and laughs. She was having a blast duno if it was from catchin her first limit of salmon or the fact that she was out fishing me 3 to1. All in all that was probably the best day fishing i have ever had.
My other best day fishing was when i got my first steelie. I had been fishing my zipper for a few weeks and saw people catching steelies and wanted to be one of those guys who gets asked where did you get that nice brat. And finally that day came. while i was float fishing a head hunter jig tipped with sand shrimp my float went down and then up came a 8-9 pound chrome bright winter run buck. ever since then i have been hooked ( i was hooked before that but now i am really hooked).

Lower madison in Montana salmonfly hatch 9-noon fishing big dry flies I caught over 40 trout the smallest measured 16 inches most of them were 18-20 with two brute brown trout caught back to back that measured 24 inches.

There was another day on th Washougal when i was a kid where i got into a pod of fall steelhead ( not late summers) an actual fall run. chrome bright the day before thanksgiving water was in summer flows and i nailed 5 out of that pod in about 15 minutes. every single one of them chrome bright with lice all on eggs. The largest about 12 pounds was a buck that i missed once and took violently on the next cast.. Here's a tip if you miss a bite with eggs try covering the same spot with a bait of eggs on the swing. but whatch out you don't get your arms ripped off..
dang i miss havning lots of wild fish in the Washougal