All these memories are cool, and the old pics are awesome.

I grew up in Colorado and Texas, so I never fished for steelhead as a youngster, but I recall being fascinated every time I saw a picture of one in one of the old editions of Salmon/Trout/Steelheader the guy at our local "fly shop" (it was the sporting goods section at the local grocery store) gave me one day while I was chewing the fat with him.

In 1999, at age 25, single, and ready for something new, I decided to move to Olympia and get back into fly fishing, with the primary goal being catching my first steelhead. It took me over a year, but I finally scored on a HOT Kalama (hatchery) summer run of about 10 lbs. on a marabou spider. Since then, I've caught a bunch more, on all different types of gear, but they are getting fewer and farther between these days, partly because I don't fish as hard as I used to most days, but also because they're getting rare. That said, I thought I should break the mold a bit and remind everyone that, while we don't always get 'em these days, when we do, it's just as cool as ever. Keep fishin', people!

That is cool you have some cards of Sammy Specials. I like looking back at all the old gear that worked and still would work.

A bit about my first steelhead I mentioned earlier.
My dad never fished rivers. he was a saltwater guy. I told him I wanted to catch a steelhead, so he read a few things and off we went to the Puyallup on cold December day. I was 8 at the time, so 1968.
We were fishing just upstream of Anton's.
My dad told me to let my pencil lead tap along the bottom and if it stopped to set the hook.
About half way through the day, my line stopped and I set the hook. A nice size steelhead came flying out of the water. I told my brother who was fishing just upstream of me that I had a steelhead on, but he jokingly laughed and said i was snagged on the bottom. The fish jumped again and that convinced him to run upstream and get my dad who had a net with him.
My dad never did use the net as I just kept reeling and backing up until I drug it up on the back. By the time the fish was on the shore, I was nearly in the woods.
I got some back slaps and congrats from some of the old timers fishing there. I was pretty proud of the fish which was about 8 lbs. I think I petted the scales off of it by the end of the day, lol.

On the way home we stopped by my uncles little grocery store, which was across from Sparks field. He was an avid steelhead fisherman and took some pictures of me and the fish. They are somewhere at my house but I haven't seen them in years.
SF

The Kalama fly water above the hatchery was amazing back in the day during the whole Teeny Nymph years.

My friend and I ended up meeting the daughter and heading down to their place to visit.

No picture of my first either.
It came in around the winter of 1974.
8 years old on the Toutle.
I remember the yellow Eagle claw rod and Mitchel 300.
I remember very low vis on the river that day, being cold, trying coffee with lots of cream/sugar, my single corkie between 2 #1 hooks, and my drift going over tight to the bank, behind the boat, in about a foot of water, because I was bored.
I remember the tug.
Been chasing it every since.

The tug is the drug. Nice story.

Growing up flyfishing Colorado, I remember my first truly big, big fish. CO has plenty of tiny to 5-6 pound trout, but seldom larger. When I was 10 or 11, we took a 2 week trip to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota to canoe and fish the backcountry for whatever would bite. Many portages between very remote lakes and all that. After a long portage, we came to a big lake and my dad suggested I tie up some big water gear. On my own, I tied up a 6 oz. banana sinker to about 5' of mono with a trolling spoon off the back. As I had never really "trolled" before, so I had no idea what I was doing.

Anyway, we get into the canoes and start to make our crossing. I let out a bunch of line and held the rod between my legs. After a few miles of paddling we were coming to the end of the lake and that rod doubled over. I pulled back and it felt like I snagged the bottom. Gave the rod to my dad and he immediately could tell it was a massive fish. He begged for me to take the rod back to fight it, but I wasn't having any of that. I knew I wasn't ready for it and made him fight the fish. 20 mins later, up comes a 25 pound Laker. We flop it on board and headed to shore. My Uncle and Cousins were in another canoe and videoed the whole fight on one of those huge old school VHS recorders. I have that old VHS tape around here somewhere.

Anyway, we get to shore with this Laker and it was as big as most of us kids. Lots of pics taken. We ran into some other backcountry canoers and showed them the fish. The look on their faces was priceless. As it was the end of our trip, we had run out of most of our food, so that beast fed us extremely well for the last 2 days.

Once we got back to the lodge | civilization, we told the lodge owner about the fish. He asked how big and I pointed to the big laker mounted behind him and said it was at least twice as big as that fish. His jaw hit the ground. Said no way. So we showed him the video and he about cried. Turns out he'd lived there his whole life and never saw a Laker bigger than about 15 pounds. Then we told him we ate it all down to the bone and tears really started to flow. The end.

Things do seem to be looking up. The tug really is the drug, and I got one good grab yesterday. Couldn't get it to come back though. That's what things have come to, we're counting the grabs as well as fish hooked and lost. My friend hooked and lost one yesterday morning, so we know there are a few around. Few being the operative word. Still an improvement over fishing 5 different days without so much as the proverbial nibble.

First steelhead? Totally unglamorous and drama free. Orange Okie drifter and eggs at the Barrier Dam on the Cowlitz, 1970, about 2 years after steelhead began returning to the "new" Cowlitz River hatcheries.

Cool!

I only wish I'd been fishing the fly-only water, which still looks great, but seems to be missing the key ingredient of fish since about 1990. I was fishing the tailout of the Beginner's Hole. Not as glamorous as a backdrop, but the fish was still a badass!

Dad?

Even more memories.
Sight fishing schools of summer-runs.
I fished the light line tournament every year on the Kalama below the beginners.
My first noodle was a spiral wrapped Loomis Composite.
I believe the guy's name was Robert Reedy that ran the upper hatchery back then and he built it for me.
Caught hundreds of fish on that rod.

My first steelhead came from the Elochoman river 1975. I was up here from for Christmas vacation from Kansas. we camped on the main Toultle river a Harry Morgan Park and drove to the Elochoman river to fish. I was standing next to my Uncle and he said you got a bite, and I said no it's just the damn rocks, he grabbed my pole and set the hook. I fought the 9 pound buck steelhead like a champ and put him on the bank. The next day I woke up early and put my hip waders on and grabbed my pole walked down to the Cable Hole on the main Toutle, made a few casts and felt the same nibble I had the previous day and set the hook, 10 pound chromer hen, Walked back up to my spot 10 casts later a 17 pound buck blazed me around the corner and a the chase was on. The fish was fighter but I finally landed him. I walked back to our camp site at the park and woke up my Uncle, he said where did you get those fish, I caught them, he said did feel the bite, just like the day before! He told me from now on you will never have any problem catching Steelhead now that I knew what the bite felt like. He was right!!!!!

So true. The last few years I went from hooked fish near daily to hooking a couple a season on my home waters that close early. It is really starting to grind my gears how many people I talk to that went 1 for 5. Or hooked and lost one. Or landed a twenty pounder. I’ve been fishing these waters for 20+ years, and apparently I forgot how to fish because it seems like everyone is out fishing me. I really think 90% of steelhead are BS right now. Nobody wants to admit how bad it is, they would rather brag about made up fish to stoke their ego.

I love the first steelhead stories! I remember fishing around Jims Rock on the Sky when I was early/ mid teens, dad would drive me to river and fish with me, as I wasn't old enough to drive. We put alot of time in around Cracker Bar because that is where we were told that was a good spot, well, we had seen alot of fisherman come and go from the gravel bars and nobody ever carrying anything out. We went out around Xmas break when I didn't have school and fished several days, water was low, clear, and cold. I decided to go away from our clown spin n glo and yarn and run straight store bought borax eggs on a #4 hook. We went to the same drift that never panned out, and after a couple hours of cast, step, cast, step, my drift rig tapped differently and I set the hook as a 7-9lb chromer shoots out of the water and spits the hook.... I was devastated, and for the next several months that fish haunted me, now 25 years later and hundreds of steelhead under my belt, I wish I could go back in time and land that fish...lol It wasn't my first fish, but for some stupid reason it left an impression on me. Possibly because I had never caught and took home a hatchery fish

Doubt that! I think I'm younger than you, but as kids may have seen you around ondariv.
I Teeny Nymphed the [Bleeeeep!] out of the upper Kalama flywater just below Summers creek, when they moved good numbers hatchery summers over the falls. I think it was the early 90's? That was hot fishing clear into October. I regret not getting on the Toutle before the mountain blew. My neighbor would go every weekend and come home with limits. I guess girls were the distraction then?

I remember my first steelhead pretty well. It was my second year living in bellingham, and I had plans to fish with a buddy the next day on the nooksack. The night before, however, I got pretty messed up at a bar, and went home with a girl and did a bunch of cocaine and OxyContin. Between that and the sex, there was zero sleep. Morning came, and I picked up my buddy and later that day I caught a small wild buck on a pink fly I had tied. must have shot a whole roll of film on that fish, man it was a big deal. Must have been a long time ago. I don’t fly fish anymore, the river is usually closed now, and my buddy who took the pictures died in 2010 from heroin. I had talked to him on the phone just the day before he died. We had made plans to fish

Myass - the Boundary Waters is unbelievable fishing. It's so remote and there are so many lakes to choose from, that the fish are completely uneducated, numerous and very hungry. Walleye to 5 lbs., Smallies to 5 lbs. and as many big Pike that you can stand to catch. Lakers are only in the big, deep lakes - but a half acre "pond" could (and did) hold a 10 pound Pike no problem. Top water, spoons, jigs, buzzbaits. My favorite by far were Smallies on the bug rod. Angry and mean. Everything pretty much ate everything. I want to say our biggest Northern tipped the scales around 20 pounds give or take. Crystal clear water so you could see the fish follow and the take. Nothing like a big Pike cruise missile coming out of the depths to crush your offering. Trip of a lifetime and its pretty darn inexpensive to boot.

Sorry about your friend.

He was a great guy who was flawed, as all of us are, I guess.

I've had more than my share of that sort of thing.

What a great...and heartbreaking thread. For the first time in my 39 years, my beloved Clearwater shut down due to the lowest return over Lower Granite that they've ever recorded. For the last 11 years or so, I've mostly lurked here and followed the WA decline as told by you all. I read everything I can on steelheading and all of it tracks the frustration and loss expressed here (Gallagher's sublime "Wild Steehead" and Herzog's writings capture the loss especially well). Western WA truly is steelhead paradise lost, and as I read the wonderful stories, I notice all the stream names shut down, and though I've never fished the westside, what has been lost is incalculable. Maybe because I finally experienced a closure, as all of you have for years/decades, that I'm reading this with a pit in my stomach, but regardless, losing the opportunity to pursue the greatest sport fish on the planet is a huge loss, when one lose's their home river (Skagit, Sauk, Sky for many here and the Clearwater for me (though it reopened)), it feels like a death.

Anyhow, my first: 1988; 8-years old, Snake River, less than a mile upriver from Asotin, drifting a naked rocket red/black stripes/white wing spin n' glow from my uncle's jet boat almost at dusk. 23 1/2 inches, perhaps a 3- pound extremely bright hatchery fish, and the only one caught by us that day. I was already hooked on steelhead before that one, as I had personally seen steelhead caught by my late dad and uncle, but that little silver runt sealed a passion that will never die.

I hope the resilient mykiss can rebound in the PNW and that we will see some openings like the Skagit in the future. Hard to have a big piece of one's identity stripped from you.

Wild fish are returning in fairly good numbers in the past few weeks, 4 days fishing and I have hooked 15 fish, largest being 37.00 inches X 18.500 inches. Lots of smaller silver bullets with sea lice. So it's not doom and gloom. Just lucky there are a few rivers still open here in Washington.