Bill's just a float hater, and since Nick is so good with a float, Bill must figure anyone can do it with a float and jig.

But believe me, Nick's just that good with a float and jig. Parasite fish next to him a few days and you'll learn some things.

Sure, anybody CAN float fish and catch fish. But not just anybody hooks fish like the floatmasters do. You see the same learning curve in float fishing than with any other method.

Bill thinks hardware fishing is the most technical, or difficult method to master. I think that's precisely BECAUSE he's mastered the art of fishing hardware. He's tried it, adjusted this or that, experimented with different spinners/spoons/rods/reels/lines until he anchored himself at the top of Spoon Mountain.

Hardware fishing may BE the most technical steelheading method........but it's the technical aspects of any method that separate the fishers from the catchers. Any grapefruit can hold a Loomis noodle rod in their hand, drag bait, and hook fish...........BUT only if the guy running the boat has mastered the technical aspects of side drifting (i.e. bait size/color, boat speed and location, fish-holding areas). Grapefruits with a grapefruit running the boat DO NOT catch many fish sidedrifting.

Same story with floats. The dude with his dink float laying on its side going downstream at 10 mph because his line is in the water isn't going to catch fish. The guy that realizes the float needs to be standing vertical, maintains a drag-free drift, and fishes the jig at an appropriate depth is likely to hook some fish on any given day. The guy that knows where the fish are going to be, what color jig they prefer, and what gear will get it where the fish are........because he's spent the time on the river to figure it out...........is going to hook good numbers.

Rating the methods made a cool article, and Bill was mighty comical as usual, but it doesn't really mean anything. Just goes to show you, Bill is quite a wordsmith. Here we are still talking about that article. You know you're a good writer when you write an article people talk about years later...........and they're not plotting ways to kill you for writing it.