All these memories are cool, and the old pics are awesome.

I grew up in Colorado and Texas, so I never fished for steelhead as a youngster, but I recall being fascinated every time I saw a picture of one in one of the old editions of Salmon/Trout/Steelheader the guy at our local "fly shop" (it was the sporting goods section at the local grocery store) gave me one day while I was chewing the fat with him.

In 1999, at age 25, single, and ready for something new, I decided to move to Olympia and get back into fly fishing, with the primary goal being catching my first steelhead. It took me over a year, but I finally scored on a HOT Kalama (hatchery) summer run of about 10 lbs. on a marabou spider. Since then, I've caught a bunch more, on all different types of gear, but they are getting fewer and farther between these days, partly because I don't fish as hard as I used to most days, but also because they're getting rare. That said, I thought I should break the mold a bit and remind everyone that, while we don't always get 'em these days, when we do, it's just as cool as ever. Keep fishin', people!