That fluke springer was caught from the High Rocks hole on the lower Clackamas in '83. It was hooked by then bank angler Terry Seamster, and one of the jetboat guides put him in the boat to help land the record sized Clack 'nook. They called the Oregonian newspaper to take pics of Terry with his monster springer. That was the good news for him - the bad news is that he had called in sick to skip work and fish, and when his boss saw the pic the next day he fired the trophy angler. I've fished a lot near Terry at O.C. and Tillamook on thru the 80's to present, because that was his jumping off spot toward fulltime guiding. He put a big pic of that infamous fish in my '84 guide booth at the Portland Outdoor Show and it made guy's eyes pop. He's been one of the testers for Pro Cure egg curing products for owner John Pirone. Moral of the story? If you would rather work catching fish on the river everyday instead of your present 9 to 5 job, then call in sick and catch a 55 lb. springer. It's that easy.

I concur with what Ryan (ramstrong) posted about the earliest fish going up the Willamette. They always catch a few early ones up near O.C. in Jan./Feb. ... For F4, we will be fishing on the peak movement of both the Willamette and upper Columbia springers at the same time (Saturday, April 13th). Unless we get a bad combo of snowmelt and rains (which would put too many boats at the mouth of the Lewis), that should be a hot fishing day this year - and lots of fun!