Wasn't the first time I fished a pink worm but it sure was the same season. First a little history, I had picked up a few PW's at Fred's Custom Tackle in Vedder Crossing after spending my first two days on the Vedder in the fall of 2000. During that first Vedder adventure I didn't catch any chinook but I was new to the river and wanted to learn as much about this new river as I could. After driving a up and down the river a few times I saw a nice stretch that had allot of access but not many people. I began to fish by working the bottom with my standard drift rig. I was seeing a ton of chum but couldn't get any of them to hook up. My gear was just not being presented correctly. While I was struggling to fish effectivly in that fast water, I was watching two locals hooking very large chum just about every other cast. They were using floats and "wool" ("yarn" in American...). I finally figured I would go up to them and ask them to show me how they rigged their dink float and terminal end. They were real friendly and basically rigged me up using one of my dink floats I had bought at Fred's (Fred actually told me to purchase a few when I bought my liscence). I ended up learning to float fish that day. Having huge biting chum was a great way to "go to schoool" and learn the small difference between natural movement and a strike. Just a light unnatural turn of the float means a fish has picked up my offering. I had a sore arm at the end of that day but had great confidence using the float.

Now, a month or so later I am on the Nooksack. I have rigged up a float and pink plastic worm (also bought at Fred's). I had fished the PW only a little on a previous trip but hadn't really given it a good chance. This time I would give it a fair opportunity. It was one I would never forget.
First cast, my worm is working a tail out and when the float disappears. I set the line thinking I was hung up. No snag but a steelhead. After releasing it I made the exact same cast in the same spot. My float goes under again but this time it was a nice dolly. Released and on the third cast of the morning....yes....another float submersion and another steelhead. Three casts, three fish. All alone and no one to hear my screams of joy. My first real PW experience. Thanks to a day a month earlier on the Vedder learning to use the float technique in preperation for a great day Steelhead fishing on the Nooksack. I have been a float and PW man ever since.