This weekend i had fished my favorite river and finally hooked and landed a steelhead. It was a chrome bright hatchery buck that weighed 8-9 pounds. It hit a float and jig tipped with sand shrimp. Will have pictures once i get them developed.

well then let me be the first to say congratulations!!!

ps. sullie- are you the kid that hangs out at the three rivers store alot?

Congrats on yer first metalhead sullie. I am going to take a wild stab in the dark on which river. How about the skykomish? It's just a guess.

Lupo, I am one of the kids who hangs out in 3 rivers.

Chrome 454 it was not the sky, but very close.

WAY TO GO, SULLIE!! Be sure to post up that pic as soon as you get a chance.......now for that FIRST LIMIT! GO.....SULLIE!!

Sullie,

Nice one, can't wait to see the pic. I remember when I got my first steel, and don't think that I will ever forget that moment for as long as I live. If you were'nt addicted before Im sure that you definetely are now.

Everyone's first steelhead is a memorable fish indeed. Congrats, Sullie.

Mine was caught in the ninth grade and would prove to be memorable for all the wrong reasons. It was caught with a flame corky and chartreuse yarn on Alaska's Ninilchik River over a Memorial Day weekend opener for spring kings. I was so excited to finally land one of these prized gamefish. My first instinct was"Quick, let's get it back in the water." because I was under the mistaken impression that only kings could be retained.

A buddy said "Why? It's legal to keep." After confirming with others on the bank that it really was legal, I grabbed a rock and whacked it solidly across the top of its head. It was a remarkably bright hen measuring 38", but skinny as a snake."So what," I thought to myself, "it looks like a fresh one afterall."

When I cut it open, its meat was nearly white and paper thin along the ribs and belly. After one taste, I threw the rest of the fish away because it wasn't fit to eat.

Lessons learned as I look back:

1) Never kill a down-runner, no matter how bright it looks, even if it's legal to kill it.

2) What a waste of a marvellous wild hen steelhead that had just completed her life's mission and then just mending up for another run out to sea where she could have fattened up for a repeat spawn the next year.

3) That fish in its prime would have weighed 20 pounds or more! Definitely an exceptional fish for that little creek... and I just wasted its chances to pass on those genes on a repeat run.

Definitely one of my darkest and unforgettable moments of enlightenment in my evolution as an angler.

Congrats Sullie. There's no going back now. You are hooked for good. I'm looking forward to seeing the pic.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Way to go on your first Steelhead Sullie!!

Man, I can just imagine how you must have been feeling when you brought that fish to shore. When I caught my first, my heart was pounding, my hands were shaking and I just admired every detail of that 6 LB hen for what seemed like an eternity.

Good Job!

CONGRATS!!!!

Job well done Sullie ... as is usually the case, life will never, EVER be the same! Ah, that's right you're too young for that, try