1958 on the Humptulips. The hole was called Rosie Hole. River is a long ways from that channel now. But still remember it today as it was yesterday.

Home made copper spoon on a steel pole and a Mitchel 300 spinning reel.

Got a picture but can't get it loaded.

fp

Cool ass thread.

Winter run in Feb of 1965 I caught my first on an orange okie drifter on Drift Creek (Siletz tributary). Followed by another on the next cast.

Summer run on the McKenzie next to Finn Rock while trout fishing with a gold 1/4 oz little Cleo, in July 1976.

First WA steelie was in 1982, freshman year of college at UPS in Tacoma. Finally ventured out for my inaugural trek to the Puyallup. As I drove upriver along the River Road, I could see lots of plunkers working the levees. Pulled off under the Meridian Bridge and had the "hole" to myself. Drifted a giant gob-stopper flame corky with chartreuse yarn into the olive green-brown flows using a home wrapped Fenwick HMG blank and Bantam 200 reel. I wasn't there 20 minutes when I landed a brand new 11 pound native hen (WOW, had to go check the pic to verify that!).

Not even sure if there was a distinction between wild and hatchery retention among the average Joe Fishermen of the day. It was my first, it was bright, it was loaded with eggs.... it was dead!

So can any of you long time Puget Sound steelheaders tell me if I was a criminal in the day? I honestly don't know.

Nooksack, right under the center of the Everson bridge with a glow in the dark hot shot on drift gear in 1981 I think. In fact some helpfull guys in a drift boat had me hop in to land it. Native, had to let it go. Back when they handed out a credit card like measuring device to determine if the dorsal was tall enough to be wild or hatchery. Funny, I spotted that fish on my way home from baseball practice on my bicycle. Raced home for a pole. Used to climb down the old RR trestle.

Pink worm and dink float, 1992 Cowichan River Vancouver Island, 10ish chrome buck not far from tidewater...cheers

First steelhead was about 5 years ago caught incidentally while fishing for cutts on the stilly. It was a dark brat though, so it wasnt much of a fight. The most memorable for me has to be my first wild steelhead, caught on the sky on the swing during a January snow storm. It was a chrome bright wild buck and I hooked another immediately after but lost it on the jump. My buddy also landed a wild buck about 25 minutes later...awesome day.

Arctic Blast 1986 for me....................

Was gearing up to fish the Sky at Ted's when Rieter Rat tells me it's much too cold to fish the rivers. Suggested I try Ft. Casey and then proceeds to sell me the silliest looking spin-n-glow/hootchie thing I'd ever seen. The next day a friend and I are standing on a deserted beach in 15 degree weather and 20 mile an hour winds. It was crazy in that the surf was blowing and freezing so that all the driftwood was covered in about a foot of ice. As I was reeling in I could see my hootchie in a big wave when it dissappears. I set the hook, the wave crashes and recedes leaving a little 7# nate flopping on the beach. I never did feel a thing.

Retreated to a log shelter and polished off the last of the Yukon Jack!

First river fish the following summer on the Sky. Much bigger and meaner!

Dam Freddy theres just one thing I wanted to tell ya ...I wasnt even born yet...

Doc,
You weren't a criminal in 82. It was still legal then. We all know better now, myself included.
Brian

1977 Cablehole Skykomish 8lb summer run on a Yellow Eagle Claw with a Mitchell 300 and sand shrimp.I remember going fishing up there for the first time earlier that same summer with a friend from High School I stood in awe watching him hook and land 2 or 3 fish in about 2 hours .I could not believe that there were fish that big in the river. That sameday I went out and got that Yellow Eagle Claw and I spent the rest of that summer in pursuit of that first fish.I was hooked for life.
Years later I took a friend who I coached hockey with and had never been steelhead fishing before, on the Uppper Quinault and his first steelhead was a 24 lb mint bright buck and he hooked 4 or 5 more fish that day. His responce was this Steelheading isn't so tuff and he is spoiled for life.

My first steelhead was caught in 3 rivers at once. January 1959, 7 years old, hammered brass Tor-pe-do. Back then the Sky met the Crummy to form the Snohomish right above the 522 bridge, like 100 yards or so. I was standing on the tip of land between the two rivers casting that spoon into the Snohomish when a 7lb doe bit. She swam to my right into the Skykomish then turned and swam around to my left into the Snoqualmie. 3 Rivers, one fish.

Beezer

1959, Craig and I will row from now on

1959? Hell, Beezer, I knew you were old, but I didn't know you were that old!

3 rivers, one fish...that's pretty cool!

Fish on...

Todd

One more for Mill Creek outside Shelton. Early 80's, on a wedding ring. I don't think I realized at the time what I had...it was just a huge trout to me. Went with a guide on the Cowlitz in July of 1994, and caught 3 summer runs that day. I've been obsessed ever since. Ok, not just obsessed, I have a problem!

Pilchuck ,OK bridge December 1979

June 1988, Skykomish river fishing with YB Guy. Blue hotshot, 8# buck. Haven't caught one since...........just kidding, but feels like it. Don't steelhead much, coho? Now, that's a different story.

December 1977 I was 12 in the Pilchuck River. I had been buggin this guy from our church to take me steelheading and after putting me off a dozen times he finally relented. The morning we went was in the middle of a cold snap 10 degrees out, line freezing in the guides etc. - he was sure I'd wimp out. Fished hard all day wading several miles of river using corkies with eggs or sandshrimp with nothing to show. I was wearing an extremly cheep pair of thin plastic stocking-foot waders stuffed into my hiking boots and they split open at the crotch in the middle of crossing the river to fish the last drift of the day. Snagged up, broke off and decided I'd had enough. Starting to get dark but I figured I'd rig back up while waiting for my guide to make his last few casts. My waders are full of water which is starting to freeze. I finished up and made "one last cast" and a beautiful 12 lb native buck slams my plain pearl-pink corkie. Heck of a battle making me forget all about the water freezing around my feet. Landed and bonked the fish and hightailed it out of there walking a couple miles back up the railroad tracks to our car. It was so cold the water froze on the fish and then cracked making it look absolutely ghastly until we figured out it was just the water. Had to actually break the ice in my boots to get my feet out which were numb for several days after.

Great experience and spawned many a bike ride to the Pilchuck over the next several years.

Winter 1968/69. Thought I'd cut classes at UW and go fishing. Hit the Sultan Bar about 7 a.m. using a balsa wood cherry bobber with silver blade. Home by 9 a.m. with two fish and made it to my class.....

Thanks for dredging up some nice memories.

Mouth of the Tolt - July 1980. Drove up, 3 PM, made one cast, saw my "pearl glow" corkie go down in 2 ft of water way in close, didn't see the fish but got a major pull back. Hauled it in quick, then left because I wasn't 100% sure about the regs and got paranoid. Total time spent at the park there was maybe 10 minutes max. Took 2 more years to catch the next one, almost got a ticket for not punching. Last of the Nisqually early runs, February, made my grandpa proud since he fished there since the 1920's and told me where to go - I wish I hadn't thumped it now.