This thread turned out to be what I was hoping for. Thanks for all the stories.

Sounds like a pretty decent ratio. My only recommendation would be to try the finesse widegap hooks.

And like the others said, reel into the hook set. Especially when float fishing a bead I find this more effective than setting the hook.

Remember when a guy could go and bank fish the hoko pysht and the clullam drift fishing and catch fish until he got tired of reeling them in ...? Seems like another life

I would go size 1 laser sharp light hook but those are good ratios dude. Size 1and smaller is all I ever run even for chinook with lighter test and we done lose many fish if at all.

My first memories of fishing with my dad were in the 60s on Lake Cushman and Dogfish Bay. I [Bleeeeep!] my pants in the boat while we were trolling pop gear and worms for cutts on the bay and my dad was pissed. I landed my first catfish on the Rock River back in 69.

Fished alot of salt off the old oil docks in Poulsbo catching cod, flatfish, SRC, and salmon in the 70s. Fished Dogfish creek for Cutts and caught my first steelhead on bobber and worm. I have the pic.
Technically a jack but a sea run. Saw steelhead on local creeks including Grovers creek on our property in West Kingston. Dad took me over to the OP and we fished the Quilcene and Dosewallips but not much action.

Took a break for like a decade after the Bolt decision. Met my wife and her dad starting taking me driftfishing for steelhead in Oregon like 30 years ago. Haven't caught a steelhead since I was down there last summer. Nice buck about 12 or 13 pounds. I have a pic on my FB. I really have trouble posting pics here. There must be a short window to post pics when I'm working. I did do some salt fishing last summer and caught a little resident silver.

Haven't been fishing since. Too much stuff going on in my life. A lot of fishing gear in my garage left unused. Had my daughter's baby shower last weekend and I was looking at the Puyallup valley thinking about all the PS rivers I haven't fished. Only fished the Green and Sky once. I think PA and OP river steelhead fishing is dead and will never be what it once was.

I always wanted to fish the Hoko and the Pysht, but we always went to Forks. We used to drive along the Pysht in the summer heading down to Pillar Pt, and it was literally a Pysht creek...almost dried up! The 2nd week of August sometimes a few early kings would be crashing bait along the kelp, off the mouth of the Pysht inside of Pillar and if we lucked out it could be REALLY NEATO!! I generally cracked most everything off, as pops would get me set up cause he wanted me to get my ass handed to me as much as possible! He'd say "this ain't going to last forever", you'd better figure it out--and fast son! He knew the writing was on the wall..God those fish pulled hard on mooching gear with 12# maxima

PIllar Point used to be hot. My dad used to fish there. The local groceryman Chet caught the record Chinook there.

Some of my earliest childhood memories originate at Pilar Point. We'd spend a summer vacation through the '70s there, staying at Silver King Resort, then we switched to the Clallam County Park in '77 I believe (just up the beach). "Old Jack" was the caretaker of the County Park and he ran the little bait shack too. He would mooch up at least 1 50# king each year! There would be a couple 50's taken each year by other lucky anglers but by the late '70's they were dwindling down to maybe 1 big fish the first 2 weeks of August at the County Park. I can still see them being paraded through camp in Jack's wheelbarrow, head and tail hanging over the sides!

Nightly camp life was quite amazing back then, with the men sharing stories of the days fishing after dinner, sitting around campfires and then moving on to the next set of camps and having another beer/cocktail and checking in with the next group of friends (or new folks). Us kids figuring out which camp we'd spend the night at, so our parents could find us at 3am to get up and go fish. (it really was a roving party for the kids and adults alike). Staying with the guides at River Bend on the Kenai and meeting a bunch of "regulars" was a similar experience in the early 200'0's. I've been fortunate (or unfortunate) to of seen the end of big native steelhead and salmon in Wa waters.

Very true.

Hey, look at the good side....great time to do all the maintenance on your reels, clean your rods..........so they will be ready for the next early closing in western Washington.

I think there was a thread a while back with people reporting the number of rivers or creeks they have caught fish in that are now completely closed for winter steelhead. My guess is that for some of us, 25 to 50% of the places we caught fish in are now closed completely, or at least closed for the later part of the season when winter run fish come in.
Some of these places were only good for one or two fish a year, catch and release, but timed right they were there. I went 2 for 3 on hatchery steelhead one day, a few years ago, on a small creek. Less than 10 hatchery strays show up there on a give year. That one is still open, most are not.

I did a count a few years back from the list of streams in the regulation book. I had caught Steelhead in over 45 streams and creeks in Western Washington. I started fishing for Steelhead in 1976. A one point all the waters I had caught steelhead in were open to Steelhead fishing and would close the end of February or the last day of March.
Did a lot of brush busting and exploring.

You guys are just a bunch of old hippies.

Thanks for noticing.
It was my dad's, fully restored to killer, 24' Chris Craft.
The varnish was so thick over the wood it magnified the grain and added so much depth.
I sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded on that boat before we finished it..
There wasn't a glass boat that could keep up with us in that heavy inboard across the Westport bar.
We terrorized Sekiu, Westport, and Buoy 10 for years.

He was a contractor and had the boat's name in gold on the back.
Change Order







Here's to you pops!!!!
Thanks for all the good times and helping me be the man I am today.
You Rock!
(Classic where's my cigs search going on)

That's a pretty sweet ride. Any idea where it is now?

Fish on...

Todd

I'm not 100% but I believe it ended up in AK.

Those pics are dope..
I like the pull tab sippy cup next to you in the top pic...lol

"It'll put hair on your chest son"

Life's short.........................Live it!!!

Life's a garden.....dig it!!!
-Joe Dirt