My most exciting fish turned out to be my first introduction to steelhead.
Fishing the summer gin clear upper Kalama for trout with light trout gear many, many years ago, I watched dumbfounded as a monster summer run came from the far side of a deep pool to smash my little 1/8 rooster tail right at my feet. After battling all over the pool with this beast, it finally just stopped and hung in the pool for a while refusing to budge. While I was wondering what to do next, he finally proceeded to move right towards me. Staring up at me on the big rock I was standing he then opened his big white mouth and spit my spinner right back at me. Stunned I could only watch as he cruised indignantly back to his hiding spot. When I looked down at the rooster tail, I was astonished that he had not straightened, but FLATTENED the treble hooks I had been using. My legs were quaking so bad I couldn’t get down from that rock for quite a while. Even today I don’t think of that fish as the one that got away, but the one that hooked me. Been chasing him ever since too.

Other fish that have also been as exciting to me in their own special way:

A. Hooking my Dad up with a big 25# king in front of his house on his 72nd birthday, which was the first and only salmon he's ever caught. Epic battle, touch and go all the way. He couldn't wipe the grin off his face then and he still gleams about it today.

B. Being with my son as he released his first 30# native king. The brute hit 20 feet off the boat as he reeled in to check his bait. Great battle, gorgeous fish, but what I will always remember was my son looking up at me and asking if we really had to release it. When I told him that was his call, he held the fish in the water for awhile and then slowly released it in total awe. I didn’t just get to watch a magnificent fish be caught, I got to see my son grow up that day.

C. Mooching with my mother-in-law early one August Sunday morning. Catching big 3 kings within 1/2 hr, on 3 herring and getting back in with plenty of time to get to church with the rest of the clan to praise the Lord for his bounty and goodness to us.

Wanting to share that same first experience I had with my steelhead, I have endeavored to get many novices into their first steelhead as possible. This is not always an easy task, but it has always been a rewarding experience. Two of my most memorable:

a. After losing 12 straight ( that’s right, 12! ) steelhead in two days, it was down to the wire for a very, very dejected young man who was just dying to catch his first steelhead. As darkness descended on the last day, the pole went down one last time and before the fish even realized it was hooked, I was luckily able to net him as he passed beside the boat. All the way home you should have heard this kid talk about how hard that fish fought and seen his face when he presented it to his friends and family. Priceless. Another one hooked.

b. Last, but certainly not least, was with my wife when she caught her first steelhead. For this I take no credit because she is a natural and is probably the luckiest and best steelheadesses I have ever known. Ticks me off. Time after time she schools me. She always wonders what my lame excuse is for coming home fishless. But whether she accepts my excuse or not, it really wasn’t until her first one that she came to truly understand my passion and excitement for this sport.