That fish in my avatar is not cross eyed and was a monster buck! Caught at the stair step hole the last time the Skagit was open for c&r. It was one of those runs where all the line melts away and you get nervous and start walking downstream immediately. That reel is 4.5" across to sorta put it in perspective. I landed it at the mouth of the Baker River where it went very deep like a chinook in the dead mans hole. My guess is 18#.

Later that season, the same thing happened again on April 5th. I thought I had 20 plus steelhead but it was just a 20 plus Spring so I was butt hurt.

I miss fishing in the Spring on the Skagit that was my main fishery back in the day for me and its closure is probably a big part of why so many folks around here are such cranky a$$ cracks including me.