What a great...and heartbreaking thread. For the first time in my 39 years, my beloved Clearwater shut down due to the lowest return over Lower Granite that they've ever recorded. For the last 11 years or so, I've mostly lurked here and followed the WA decline as told by you all. I read everything I can on steelheading and all of it tracks the frustration and loss expressed here (Gallagher's sublime "Wild Steehead" and Herzog's writings capture the loss especially well). Western WA truly is steelhead paradise lost, and as I read the wonderful stories, I notice all the stream names shut down, and though I've never fished the westside, what has been lost is incalculable. Maybe because I finally experienced a closure, as all of you have for years/decades, that I'm reading this with a pit in my stomach, but regardless, losing the opportunity to pursue the greatest sport fish on the planet is a huge loss, when one lose's their home river (Skagit, Sauk, Sky for many here and the Clearwater for me (though it reopened)), it feels like a death.

Anyhow, my first: 1988; 8-years old, Snake River, less than a mile upriver from Asotin, drifting a naked rocket red/black stripes/white wing spin n' glow from my uncle's jet boat almost at dusk. 23 1/2 inches, perhaps a 3- pound extremely bright hatchery fish, and the only one caught by us that day. I was already hooked on steelhead before that one, as I had personally seen steelhead caught by my late dad and uncle, but that little silver runt sealed a passion that will never die.

I hope the resilient mykiss can rebound in the PNW and that we will see some openings like the Skagit in the future. Hard to have a big piece of one's identity stripped from you.


Edited by steelheader316 (02/27/20 12:31 PM)
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