No, it isn't a 20 pounder...but it is my first.



24" long and maybe 5 pounds, but it is a righteous steelhead! Saw the clipped fin so decided to keep it, but didn't realize till after I bonked her that it was a spawned out hen (kelt?), but filleted her out for the smoker all the same.

Hit a spoon in the tailout below the house here, and put up a very honorable fight..enjoyed every second of it.

Here's a shot of the fish + gear....



This is the first fish I caught on this new rod, a Lami 10' Cert. Pro and Trion reel...what a way to break it in!

I know most of ya don't get too excited over a little one like this, but since its my first I thought I'd share it.

Mike

I think trouble is ahead...cause now I want a bigger one..:-)

Great Job and Great fish!! I get excited when anyone catches a fish but their first steelhead is the best. Too cool dude.

I get excited over any fish I get lucky enough to hook... Good job on that one

Hey, 5 lbs is a start... I would have gave my left n*** for a 5 pounder when i first started steelie fishing...good job You got a good setup to boot. I love my lami cert, its great for throwing spoons and drift fishing(sensitive tip, strong backbone)...Is that Izor High Viz you got on the trion?

Looks like your ready for a Skagit Nate

Mike,

It was great meeting you on Wednesday night. Guess all the talking we did about getting that first fish was just a warm up for today. Glad to hear that you broke the ice on your first Steelhead.

Way to go Mike B !!!

They get easier after the first one. Mike. Just wait until that 15 lb native buck drills that spoon next time you're out.

Congratulations Mike!!! It seems like you "popped your cherry" pretty quickly. I fished for 3 years before I got my first one. Of course, that was before the internet and Piscatorial Pursuits!

Excellent condrats it'll get easier now:)

Mike,
The journey begins!!! Nice Fish!!!
Winterun

There are no bad steelhead. What kind of spoon?

Mike

How is that reel working out?

Way to go!!! That first one is a great feeling of accomplishment. There are a ton of people who will never know that feeling.

Atta Boy!! Next ...... "the limit" ....... Go for 'em!!

Congrats Mike! Got my first on a spoon also.

Beezer

Getting the first one is pretty tough, but it's not nearly as difficult as catching the last one.

Thanks to all for the support....getting the first one is the big uphill battle, it seems.

bank walker: Yep, its the High-Vis Izor. Its 15 lb. and seems a bit stiff/kinky to me, and I plan to re-spool with 12 lb. this weekend. The rod seems super for spoons, but I need to get a bunch more proficient with the Trion. I can wing a spoon right out there, no problem, but for some reason trying to cast a float/weight/jig setup causes nasty backlashes...so I got to work on the mechanics a bit.

Grandpa: The Trion is awesome. The Islander needs to go on the market to pay for the Cert. Pro/Herzog rod and the new Trion reel. Told the wife one would pay for the other..so sadly the Islander has to go. (I am entertaining offers if anyone is interested).

Mike

got to agree with AuntyM, ya never should a done it! Now you have to spend hours upon hours frezzing your n*#s off trying to catch your next one and then the next one and so on... Soon you will understand how a crack junkie feels, unable to control you actions, lying to your boss about being sick on the days the river drops into shape, no longer able to drive past a river without looking for a new piece of holding water, slobber running down your face every time you pass a drift boat or new sled. You might as well divorce the wife, ship the kids to boarding school, sell the house and use the proceeds to buy every color corky, spoon, jig and plug out there because it is only a matter of time until you start getting the yips, cold sweats, and shakes as you look for that next flash of silver, that run towards the logs, that tell tail pause as your lead is lifted off the river bottom.

Its a sad experience watching grown, resposable adults turn into steelheaders.......

Excellent... Way to go!! I dont know about the rest of you, but every steehead still feels like the first one! May you fish long and prosper!

Mike; I remember talking to you at the PSA seminar. I knew it would come soon for you. WAY TO GO!

Way to go, Mike!

Honestly, I don't even remember my first steelie. I remember my first king, but not steelie.

I know it happened down at the Ballard Locks in the early 80's, but I must have suffered some form of traumatic shock, as I can't really recall "the first steelhead".

All I know is that I've had the "sickness" ever since. There is no cure....just temporary "fixes".

"Fishing Junky" parker

Right on, I remember my first it was abt 5 pounds as well

Mike,

Way to go!! Lemme tell ya, hundreds of steelhead in your future will not ever dim the adrenalin rush of the first flash of chrome or hearty throb as you continue to catch 'em.

Sorry you ducked out of the PSA meeting early the other night...I was hoping to get to say "hi" after the talkin' was done.

Congratulations!

I think I speak for many of us when I say we're green with envy that you can literally steelhead fish out your back door!!

Fish on...

Todd

Todd:

Was that you sitting in the back of the room with the pitcher of Buddummer?

I was stopping in there on my way back from a biz trip to Spokane/Pullman. Had left Pullman at 2 pm to get there, and was pretty well wiped out with still another 90 miles to drive home. Sorry...next time I'll be sure to hang around!

As to fishing out the backyard...your always welcome. We have access to about 600 yds of super bank area, all accessible only by boat or private property. My fish was the first steelhead caught down there in several years, but I don't think anyone really fishes it much...I never see anyone else down there and can view it from my office window.

Mike

Yeah, Mike, that was me in the back.

Thanks for the invite...count on it being used at some point! Maybe I'll be able to hook you up with a boat ride sometime.

Later,

Todd

Congrats on popping your cherry. I have to admit that mine was about 28 years ago, but I still haven't lost that feeling. My frickin knees get weak just about everytime I put a hook in their mouth. Just think, if you get a few more in a short period of time, we'll start callin gyou a who*e and a tramp

Sheesh, Hawk,

You hardly catch anything, and I still think of you as a wh@re and a tr@mp!!

Comin' out this spring?

Fish on...

Todd

Way to go! My first steelhead was only about 5 pounds also!

Congrats! You are now certifiably incurable. My first was slightly(and I mean slightly) larger, but the feeling was almost as good as the horizontal bop! That was back in 2002, but now I just can't stop, knowing the next is going to be just as addicting. Unfortunately, when I got my first, I did'nt have a digital camera, and the still camera on the boat screwed up, so as a result, I have no picture to mount or cherish.. Soon you'll be freezing your a** off, wondering what in hell I'm doing trying to catch some mythical piscacine monster, that may or may not exist, when I could be home doing honeydo's that will get me more of the horizontal bop points that I previously mentioned!

Congrats Mike, my first steelhead was caught in the summer somewhere around 1958 in the Mad River, trib of the Entiat River, in "downtown" Ardenvoir believe it or not. I didn't know what a fish scale was at the time but it measured all of 23 inches so it was definately smaller than yours. I caught it on a fly rod and a "pennywinkle" fly while fishing for trout, it took me 2 1/2 hours to land (going by the mill whistle) and I thought I had caught the monster of all rainbow trout until I got it home and my Grandpa Red told me it was a steelhead and explained what they were. That was before Rocky Reach Dam, now they are pretty much extinct up there. I was all of 8 at the time and I still remember every detail, as you will the rest of your life. Way to go

Way to go Mike, Now that the stench is off the rose you can expect to spend countless hours, standing in water up to your *%#@* and spending lots more cash...Really though would not have it any other way. nice fish, and once you start catching them, they are never big enough!