Thanks everyone!

I was so spent and exhausted after that fish that I could barley tail it, let alone get the mid-section of the fish up for the photo - hence the grimmace on the photo.

I flat out just quit fishing for the day after that fish. I was spent. Done. Shaking like it was my first ever steelhead. Talking a mile a minute to Bob, who was laughing the whole time.

Wish I had a great story to tell like Salmonella, but I do not. The fish fought really hard and flat out abused me on the spey rod (hence the "this is gay" comments I made on video). I tried everything in my power to lose the fish, but could not. I had no feel for what a 12 pound tipped could or could not do on a 14' spey rod.

The fish eventually left it's little pool and made a run down the heavy water with me in running on water in tow. Fortunately, I was able to coax him over to the shallows where Bob helped in landing it, as there was no way I was going to muscle that fish all the way to the beach on it's side.

Regardless of what was said on the board earlier, that trip was by far the best fishing trip I've been on and I can only thank the other 3 guys for putting up with my crap. I'm overly-competitive when it comes to fishing and it rubbed off on my fishing partners for the week. They were up for the experience, in their sacred waters, I was not . I don't think they will ever truly forgive me, but at least I walked away from this experience seeing myself in a different light - a light I will work hard on to change.

We can all be a horses ass sometimes. Just wish someone would have pointed that horses ass out to me earlier.....


Probably will never get invited back up there again, but at least I have some awesome memories.