Man, this is good stuff! What a great thread.

I would have chimed in days ago but just got my life, er, power back on from this past week's storm catastrophe so here's mine....

Winter-run: 1981 Willapa River. 2 dark unspawned(but VERY ripe) February hatchery bucks caught with a Stee-Lee spoon DAM Quick spinning reel and Fenglass rod. Caught in separate holes the same day......I was ECSTATIC!! My partner at the time, a more seasoned fisherman who had many seasons experience and success on me(though we were the same age...16) hinted that maybe they ought to be thrown back.....he didn't want to offend me knowing they were my first. No way! Those bad boys went home and, I think, were smoked and, I think, tossed after that feeble attempt.

I had fished hard for 2-3 years prior to this on the Deschutes in Olympia back when the old brewery was the happening place. I still remember how my world revolved around hooking one and the sense of accomplishment when it finally did happen. I've been ruined ever since, putting more time into these fish than any other.

First "keeper" winter fish came in 1984 freshman year in college at Oregon State on the Alsea river on the Central oregon coast drifting a plain chartreuse/flame corky.

Summer-run: Fishing a size 1 Mepps spinner as a 10 year old fishing for cutthroat with Dad on a lonely little out-of-the-way Grays Harbor tributary. Day was about done, we'd caught some nice SRC's and came to the final hole before the hike out. I cast in, let the spinner sink, started a slow retrieve and watched this giant white mouth come in behind the spinner, inhale it and immediately let me know it wasn't happy about the state of things. Me? I panicked of course. I forgot what the handle on a reel was for and decided I'd have better luck putting the rod over my shoulder and running backwards up the gravel bar. We parted ways about 10 seconds later. That was my introduction to what a steelhead was and is still a vivid memory. I had no idea at the time how that that fish would shape my life....but I'm glad it did