Well, here comes another storm - so why not take a moment to reflect on some of those memorable fising days.

For many -this year in review will be a hard one. Especially with 9/11 keeping things in perspective. Let's be thankful for our freedom and thankful that for a moment, a screaming reel can make all our ploblems just seem to disappear...

What is your best fishing related memory for 2001?

Here are a few of mine:
Early mornig mist on the water;
The sun rising as you wade out and make your first cast;
No sounds but rushing water and birds;
The elk and deer that are your only neighbors on the water;
The rod being nearly ripped from my hands;
Going in late to work after my buddy and I spent the mornig chasing fish (yes - I do make up the time...);
Taking time to learn some new water or a new technique;
Being rewarded for that hard work;
Sharing my love for fishing with my 'Little Brother';
Watching my 1.5 year old get excited when I showed him all the pink salmon spawning;
...
well, you get the idea. were all so crazy about fishing - I just want to see what makes others tick....

That Fateful day on the Sauk :p

I didnt do much winter steelheading this past year as we all know what happened to our beloved C&R seasons. But trips made over to the OP were filled with lots of chromers while doing lots of exploring. I floated pretty much the whole Hoh from the Park down to the Oxbow. What an amazing river with an over abundance of fishy water.

The coho fishing was phenomenal. Normally I could care less about salmon but being able to chase after the silvers with the bugrod out in the open water was truly amazing. What a site it was to see coho after coho chasing after our flies out in the middle of the Straights. And what a sight it was to see nearly 15# flyrod caught coho screaming across the surface and coming clear out of the water at the side of the rental boat.

Plus I'll never forget the look on the face of that poor diving bird that beat the coho to a buddy's popper. What a sight!!

And I'll never forget experiencing the greatest salmon fishing in the World in Sitka, Alaska. 10-15 kings a day plus another 30-40 coho in 70 degree weather on the glass calm Pacific Ocean.

I didnt do as much fishing as I have in years past- the C&R closures sure curtailed my fishing time as did the amazing salmon runs this summer which led to 6 day workweeks. But I will say the fishing I did do was awesome as I explored lots of new waters, new techniques and met some freinds for life. THANKS!!!

What will 2002 bring?? Hopefully more of the same!

...many wishes to your families this Holiday Season and lots of fishies as well!...just as long as the wild ones are released.

[ 12-18-2001: Message edited by: RPetzold ]

My best day came this summer (I think it was July or August) after spending the afternoon diving for scallops we settled down for dinner on the boat. Halfway through cooking I hear the clicker on my halibut rod go crazy. I ran out, set the hook and began a fight with what felt to be around 140 lb fish. 20 minutes into the fight the fish wrapped around the anchor (didn't have the option of pulling it) and swam free. Disappointed I regeared and went back to cooking. 2 hours later I still hand't finished a simple dinner because of the seven fish I had hooked. By nightfall everyone who had a license had limitted and we ended up with over 350 lbs of prime white meat.

Nice post Fishnb'. Good idea too. Gives us a chance to re-live a great moment or day from this past year of abundant fish.

Most memorable fishing day for me:

- I had never fished the Wynoochee River before this year, and it was one that I always wanted to try. I fished it with 'Fly and Kid Sauk in Joe's driftboat. Beautiful river! And I got lucky on that day and caught 4 winter steelhead to only 1 between those two WA heavy hitters. So I do get lucky sometimes also. They turned it the other way around on me though on a springer trip together on the Columbia.

I'd like to publicly thank Joe for taking me on several trips on some of Washington's best rivers, including a couple on the outer Oly Pen. On one of them this past fall, he and Doug and I hooked close to 30 fish (mostly silvers, but a few 'nooks too). Such a beautiful area! He has taught me a lot about fishing up there. Thanks Joe. (and your zipper streams will stay that way). ...

Most memorable time fishing this year:

- Fishing the Wilson R. many times with my close friends Mark and Shane. We had a good year there with a lot of laughs together. It looks like a repeat of good fishing and fun coming up for the new year.

RT

What about the beautiful sound of gun fire between bankies and boaters.

Just kidding, don't let me ruin this romantic moment.

I have enjoyed my best days on the river in this past year and have found the time to be there when it was at its peak. I would have to say that I enjoyed my pursuit of the columbias spring chinook more than any. and particularly the wind river. I had been making my morning trip to the river for weeks on end hoping that i would be there on the day that the fish were going to arrive. I had purposely made sure that I would be able to fish everyday the month of may just to get a chance at these fish. well after two weeks of this and only a few fish to show for my efforts I was getting a little nervous that these fish had been intercepted along there path and were not going to show. but I had not lost complete hope and was still getting up at the sound of the 4:00 am call. it was may 13th and It was raining like heck I walked down to the drift I know would produce as soon as the fish did show. and low and behold on my second cast I was tied into a fresh springer. it was a pretty good fish of about 17lbs and if anyone who has ever caught thes fish in the river knows they do a might battle for there size. It was going to be the day that I had hoped for and I was into fish the whole day. a few people came down during the day and everyone that did took out a limit. the fish and the rain just kept coming. It took less than a week for the majority of the run to go past this low river spot and the crowds intensified ten fold everyday until four days later there must have been forty people fishing that drift after ten days. I filled my punchcard in the next two weeks and made many new friends. it was best early and the fish were definately more aggressive in the lower end. there was no snagging that I saw. until the fish got to the seven mile area and began to get lockjaw.
p.s. I would always carry a bacpack to cary out my fillets and all of the trash left by others it made me feel good to walk away from the river with a limit and a bag of trash

2001 will have to go to my wife this year.She has really come into her own this year. The best memory will have to be her happiness with catching a big king on the Sol Duk and losing an even bigger one.A close second will be a 3-4 mile hike on the Calawah where the sea runcutts made a good showing.I can't wait to get her into the big native's on the Sol Duk this spring.She thought that big king put up a fight!

Best day happened on a OP river for wild steelhead. I only brought three to the bank, but one was a 40" hen and the another was a 38" buck. All three were immaculate specimens.

A close second occurred on the Columbia for springers. Four of my fishing buddies and I brought 18 to the bank. The highlight was a triple header. All were caught plunking spin-n-glos w/ sandshrimp.

There are so many good memories from 2001 that I
could'nt list them all,but will list a few.
1)Last Febuary my fishin partner and I goin four
for four on large chrome steelies on a very crowded and high pressure system.Being tagged out by 11:00 a.m. and blowing water to get out from the hordes of fisherman.Kid Sauk may recall this day???????.
2)Hooking six and landing six springers in the sled on Easter sunday,the first four by 9:00 a.m.
The last two I had my wife and daughters with me.
As I was fightin the fish my wife was gettin the net,all I can remember is my kid's yellin, get it mom,come on mom, get it, get it mom.She did great
nettin both fish while under pressure.
3)Bouy 10 family vacation 2001 was the best.I got my brother and my two nephews on limits of coho.The best day was when I took the wife and father-in-law out to the bridge and had our nine
fish in 45 minutes,back to the dock to clean them and pick up my two daughters to get there limits with in an hour and a half.What a great year down there,if it wasn't for the three day's of pouring down rain and the wind blowing I would have had to
go to costco and purchase a little freezer.
4)Elk river 2001 was a great event also,That's where I hooked and landed a chrome bright 40lb buck and had lot's of other hook up's.All fish on the elk this late fall were nice chromers with beat red meat.
Hope 2002 will be a repeat of 2001 as far as fishin goes.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Every time I get to go out Is my best day. Just to get out on the water and see all the sites in Washington. I don't have to catch anything to have a good time. I like to do my fishing in the middle of the week. That way I don't run into too many things to ruin a good outing. Jim S.

This will be a year for me to remember. All these fish have really put it together for me. We are blessed to have such an abundance of resources and to be able to fish in prime runs year round.

1) Drifting, blind (not knowing the drift)on 2 different rivers reading the water, applying the tech. and totally scoring.

2) Last winter catching my first fish on a free drifted pink worm.

3) Catching my first spinger on the drift from the bank. That was a warm sunny day shared with my uncle on the Sandy. That 17lber put up a real battle on my steelhead rod with a coffee grinder.

4) I can finally say I am a good steelheader. Haven't been skunked in 8 trips and my drift boat has landed 15 in the last 3 trips. Remember guys this is Oregon

A couple more memorable days come to mind:

A tripple header on steelhead.

A 50+ steelhead day between 3 people. My wife contributed about 6 of those fish.

Alaska and 20+ fish days on the Kasilof, including chromers of 40+.

3-4 on keeper gators on a Puget Sound river.

The look on stlhdr1's face after the Monster NF Lewis Chrome Kinger Hen spit the hook on me.

Meeting and fishing with many new people from this board!

All the trips with Team Vision!

What a great year it was.

Finally broke the 50 mark on the OP. Almost twice in one day! Still 98 pounds of King Salmon in 2 fish! Not to mention a 39 and 3 big silvers to finish the boats limit! All before Noon.


Bob D

My buddy and i were at my favorite mackinaw lake downrigged at 100ft and 5 minutes into the troll my pole started bobbing so i jumped up grabbed my pole out of the holder, reeled a little slack grabbed my spool, and set the hook. Click, plop, my pushbutton spool popped off the reel and into the lake with 275 yards of brand new Ande on it. So i grabbed the line and wound it around my arms like crazy hoping to bring it up a bit so we could net it. Yeah right. So i check the other end, no fish. I wind it all back in then grab the line still on the DR clip and pop it off and pulling that in a 7lb mack gulped it. Talk about a mess. Landed it though. Glad i had a spare rod with me.

Very next week i brought an amatuer with me and when he set the hook(like amatuers do) the line snapped at the spool, he leaped across the boat trying to get the end of the line but no luck. So he starts winding up his DR and it seemed to be catching on something. I grab the handle and i feel a bouncing on bottom feeling then i realize his fish is still on the clip. A few minutes of slow winding he grabs the line and lands a nice 8lb mack. Crazy days of fishing i tell ya. I still can't believe my spool popped off. Dam amatuer. LOL

I would have to say it was watching my 11yr old hooking 16 silvers & landing 11 of them. He is becoming quite a fisherman and I couldnt ask for a better best friend

Some of my best moments this year were:
Watching my buddy hook his first steelhead (you should have seen the look on his face - 'oh - sh## what do I do!' 'let him run!' I started to say, but 'pop', I was too late and the line broke. He was hooked though!)
Watching my 'little brother' catch his first wild rainbow on an OP river. Then catch his next. Then his first dollie. All on the same trip.
Watching the same buddy and the same 'little brother' catch their first salmon.

What's really fun, it taking out beginners (wife, kids, friends, whatever) and getting them into fish. The trick is to make them feel like they actually out-fished you. When my wife says - "wow, I even out fished YOU!", I just smile, and say "yep, you did great!" Knowing she'll be more exited about going fishing the next time... (OK, OK, so they really do out-fish me. Sounded like a good excuse anyway...

my best days were
1) fishing humps and silvers on the snohomish when no one was catching any thing and i come up and catch 2 humps in 5 casts then the next 3 casts were all silver a 10,13,8lbrs. its amazing what just an 1/8th ounce difference in a lure can make.
2)walking up to the beach on possession point and making my first cast while talking to this guy and asking him if he got anything and as soon as he said no i hooked up with a nice 10lb coho. when i got it on the beach he left pissed!!!! this was my first cast of the day!
tyler

Battling a 20 plus pound chrome pig on the snohomish. I was dead locked for 15 minutes with this slab could not budge it I thought I had a early springer. These four onlooking fisherman could not believe the power of this fish they were blown away. Finely after 30 minutes I managed to land the bright pig only to have my buddy drop my camera in the water. It was beutiful and sickening all at the same time!

We too had a good year with some very memorial moments.

Watching the wife land and release her first fly caught trout, 18" tazmanian strain beautiful fish.

Watching the wife catch and release 15 18" rainbows in a half hour time on a nymph.

Watching the wife catch and relase her first steelhead and then go one to repeat the feat several more times that day.

For myself it was catching more steelhead in one day than I have caught in any one season

And that one hot hen steelhead that managed 6 water clearing leaps before being released to do her thing.

yes it was a very good year.

Great thread!

Halibut limits out of Neah Bay in May!

Anchored up, steelhead fishing with plugs on the Columbia in July. Eligant, crome bright fish. Staying there through the tide change. Just talking. Listening to the Mariners.

Getting a fifty-three year old life long trout fisherman into a thirty plus chrome chinook off Johns River in August. She nearly spooled him but he got her to the boat and then he wouldn't kill her. He is a keeper for sure.

Long days on the ocean trying to find something the cohos would not strike. Couldn't find a thing.

Trooling for chinooks in Nehalem Bay.

The sights, the sounds, just the beauty of the whole damn show.

It was quite a year.

Would definately have to say the trips on the Wilson River with RT and Mark. The two best fishing partners I've ever had.You guys are the greatest!

July 28th on the Columbia River with Fishin Mission. I couldn't keep the steelhead off my rod.Then there was the "after work" Chinook with Fishin Mission.

The two Hot Tamale Outdoors shows. 14lb chromer native...who in their right mind would even think of killing one of these?

Thanks for the great year guys!!!

[ 12-18-2001: Message edited by: STEWY ]

Too many memories to remember. Definetly fishing with my buds RT and Stew for winter steelhead on the Wilson...Good times..good fishing.
Taping the Hot Tamale Show for Steelhead and plucking a fish on the first cast while the camera was rolling.
Watching my wife land her first Chinook on a jig was a blast.
Taking my son fishing and helping him land his first salmon was cool.
Catching and releasing numerous beautiful thick-as-a-football native steelhead that are finally making a comeback...yea baby.

Mark

WOW, this has been a banner year all around... overall, I'm just happy as a pig in [Bleeeeep!] that I moved out to the Olympic Peninsula last year, away from the rat race of Seattle... this was my first full year out here, and I have fished SO much more because of it...

Highlights:
- The coho season in the salt... weekend after weekend at Sekiu, bringing new fisherpeople and their kids out for a day of fishing, and hooking them up time & time again...

- Going out on a charter out of LaPush... SO much fun, limit 7 guys on coho by 9:30am, then go catch a bunch of lingcod...

- The coho season on the rivers... teaching and watching my girlfriend catch her first salmon on drift gear, then her following it up with three more... teaching and watching my good friend Greg land his first two salmon, and both on his birthday... coming into a hole, catching fish, getting the "how is it done?" questions, then having so much fun showing people how to fish and watching them catch their first fish ever...

- Fishing for blackmouth with John Keizer and Tom Nelson, on John's boat... just awesome to see the masters at work... we came home with three when pretty much everyone else got nothing...

- Catching my first steelhead just a couple of weeks ago... getting hooked on it, and realizing there just isn't enough time to do it all...

-N.

Getting my fishing buddy into his first summer steelhead. Having my son (8) hook two summer steelhead in a row, on his own, and getting the second one to the bank. Winter steelhead fishing was good last Saturday while the weather was nasty and the river was blown. The fish were rolling in the afternoon and were moving my line all over the place and I hooked four and landed two.

Being new to the sport, this year was frustrating, humbling and ultimately very rewarding.
First highlite was my first steelie, Jan 7 after getting tips from the board and spending literally 100hrs standing in cold Skykomish water.
My wife was as happy for me as I was.
Maybe the biggest highlite was my wife playing out a 37 lb king on the Kasilof after Bob worked his a$$ off to put us on a fish. I caught the whole thing on video and She and I still smile.
What a great trip.
Then I helped a couple of friends get their first steelhead and salmon and it was a great feeling.
Met some really cool and informative board members and hope to meet more.
Best wishes to all for a great new year!

It was Saturday August 11th and I woke up early to go to work, only my day didn't end up this way. I descided to call in sick to work and went fishing instead. (Sound familiar to some of you?) My cousin and I were lanching my boat at TOA in Tacoma for a little salt water fishing. I remember telling my cousin that I will probably catch a fish (King) of a lifetime and won't be able to brag about it because I was supposed to be at work. Well, we got over to Gig Harbor just before daylight and set up the downriggers. We started trolling along the shoreline in 70 feet of water trying to target migrating Kings to the South Sound rivers. I put my downrigger at 35 feet and began to relax and take in the morning calm. I remember discussing with my cousin that there were an unusually high amount of boats in the water that morning. Then it struck me, there was a salmon derby going on that morning (Boaters World?) We discussed going over to Pt. Defiance to enter the derby but didn't want to miss the prime fishing time so we declined. Needless to say, my downrigger released and I swear that I snagged an anchor! My line went straight to the bottom. Judging by the weight of the fish I knew I had a big King. 15 minutes and a couple of runs later, I had a 36 pound buck in the boat! Wow! This was at 0630 hrs and my day was suddenly getting better! My cousin was telling me to go join the derby but I declined. I'm a local boy and if I got caught, I would get banned for life from future derbys. It was never an option. Anyway, I missed out on the 1000.00 dollar first prize (23 lbs won it) but I will have a story and pictures to last me a lifetime. By the way, the fish had an adipose fin but also had a tag in the head. I'm still waiting to hear from the State to see what river system it was from, I'm guessing The Nisqually. You can bet that I will always enter any derbys that may be going on in the future if I'm going to be out there fishing anyway!

all the fly caught salmon in the sound. 35lb king at sekiu, 10lb humpy possesion bar, 15lb silver point no point. LIFE WAS GOOD THIS SEASON, then the rivers. could go on for days. Ben

1. Having a seal eat a humpy off my line all the way up near I-5 on the Stilly.

2. Taking my cousin out for one of his first silver fishing days, resulting in 58 silvers on the day, plus bonus humpies, kings, dollies, and a steelhead.

3. Same day as number two above. Six casts in a slot approximately ten feet wide and twenty feet long. Six fish. Three silvers, a humpy, a chinook, and a summer run steelhead. Not bad for ten minutes of fishing!

4. The Wild Steelhead Coalition. Old problem, new solutions. New friends.

That's about enough for now!! Happy 2002!

Fish on...

Todd.

I have two memories that fight for my attention every night when I close my eyes.

In August I went to Astoria with my friend who is a fishing nut. His father once had him his see a therapist because he spent all of his time fishing. Anyway, we landed twenty salmon with a mixed bag but a lot of chinooks. I landed a 48 pounder. That fish would not give up. First it ripped line so fast off of the reel that I got a blister on my thumb. Then when we caught up to it I could not get it out from under the boat. My arms were so tired that I thought that I had been moving hay all day. Not bad for a guy who had caught one steelhead previously.

The second happened a few days ago. My buddy from the valley came east and we fished the John Day River. I had never spent any time fly fishing but I was told that I would have to learn. By about 9:00 am I was able to cast (if that is what you call it). At 10:00 am I landed my first steelhead. In all I landed 10 steelhead with the largest being 8 pounds. The only way that I could feel them on that dang whippy rod is when the fly was down below me. I had a great time and I will always remember that day.

At the end of the day we sat on the bank of the river and my buddy said that I should remember this day as a special one. Heck, I can't even close my eyes with out seeing the end of my rod twitch. If you read this thanks for a great trip valley boy -

What a great year it was. First was the awesome springer fishing on the columbia. We sure got spoiled out there this year, we averaged close to 10 hookups a day and The best day was 10 keepers for 20 hookups. Then there was the trip on the Sandy in early april. went up in the afternoon to see if there were any fish around so we would know where to fish in the morning. Hot sunny day and We ended up hooking 7 springers. Total surprise for that spot that early. Then there was buoy 10. Went down most every Monday or tuesday from mid august to mid sept, sometimes both days. Best day was the one we hooked 17 fish between the two of us to get our 8. Turned loose 6 chinook that day. A lot of other great days in between but those are the highlights. Didnt fish much in the fall spent that time hunting.

Such a good year you could go month by month but here is one nobody mentioned yet...

Westport was just phenomenal this year. I took my boat out there five trips and limited each time. Some times the waves/weather were cooperative other times it was nasty, but the fish were always there between 12.8 and 14.4 miles out. Just thousands of chinook and silvers out there...I came to love those new barbless Gamakatsus that are a semi circle hook design as they held the fish well and yet release all the nates easily.

What a year!!! When was the last year that you Knew that you were going to get into fish on every trip?? In alot of cases it was almost a given that you could limit.
Best of the year for me was B-10 & Deschutes summer steelhead, Columbia Springers weren't bad either. On one B-10 trip I hooked 2-25lb & 1- 35 lb nooks in one 30 minute period, that was some work! Oh yeah the new 21' thunderjet wasn't bad either. We are truly lucky to live in the Northwest!
Streetwalker

The year isint over yet and i had another awsome day. I hooked my first 3 steelies and landed one (almost 2). this was definitly the highlight of my fishing carrer so far.
tyler

My 6 year old catching his first steelhead.

The Snohomish brimming with silvers, and telling my friends to make sure to bring their cooler when I take them out.

A 21 lb Winter Steelhead, in early November.

It's been an OK year...

You the man, hilton. A 20+ lb. steelhead before Thanksgiving......now that's getting it done.

So many days this year.

Sekiu: Silvers until it was stupid.
Quilcene river: Right before the crowds showed up...WOW.
Chehalis River: Hatchery silvers pushing 20 lbs. on a semi-regular basis.
Satsop river: A good bite even in filthy water.
****** River: 20+ steelhead hooked by my buddy and I before 3pm.


If it doesn't rain just a couple more days, there's going to be more of "those days" coming real soon.

Catching so many silvers out of my float tube that my arms hurt, chums at Chico Creek with my best bud, my 8 year old catching his first silver, then 8 more in 30 minutes, and dare I say...two largemouth bass. 7-0 and 8-5 two days apart.

One of my most memorable days was the day before the Columbia closed down for springers. Fishing with my freind Jeff, who is the best fisherman I know. It was Monday and we both worked for a few hours in the AM, launched the boat at 12:50 and by 1:30 I was punched out and had passed one off to Jeff and he had not had a bite. Oh the joy. Believe me, this does not happen often with him. We were done by 1:45, tied the sled off to a bulkhead and we each hopped in 2 diff buddies boats and ran their kickers for them for a few hours.

The next best would be bobber fishing for springers on the clack and going 7 for 9 from 4:30 to dark and getting my buddie into his first two bobber caught springers.

My winter steelie yesterday on the pink worm!

Watching my five year old catch his first salmon.
Watching my two year old catch his first trout.
Winning Verle's sports center's big trout contest with a 7.5# rainbow.

Edit: Oh Yeah, Taking friends and family up to Sekiu and guiding 5 people to their first salmon.

[ 12-26-2001: Message edited by: Dogfish ]

Wifie getting a twenty lbs christmas nat


Tight lines

Kevin