Many people on theis board have some pretty cool avatars. Some of them mean something, others are just some great pictures, while some have stories behind them. I'd like to know what the stories behind some of the avatars are.

My avatar is of a 12" Westslope Cutthroat I caught in Glacier NP. It took me a half hour to catch this one fish. I kept watching him rise to some unseen hatch in the same spot every few minutes. No matter what I threw at him, he would not take it. Finnally I was able to get him on a size 22 Cream Spinner (a dead mayfly) pattern.

FJ,

Never had an avitar image before..just tried to upload one. Probably will need some serious "touch-up" ....

Let's see what happens..


MB

My first 20 lb. hatch summer on the cowlitz June 6, 1999. Still the prettiest hatchery fish I have ever seen...and I look at it daily!!!

Mine is just a pretty buck I got on a real long float on a real cold day with low conditions, only one other fish hooked. Was fishing with my cousin and a friend who took us down River Side and Bear creek in pretty low flows. Bumpy ride but I wanted my cousin to see the Upper Duc from a boat for the 1st time. Catchin wasnt good that day but it was expected with the conditions.

Well, most of you know the story behind my King caught the summer of 2003 at Westport. But for a few of the newbies, here goes. The thing about this fish is that weeks before I caught this fish, a past PSA president, Jerry Peterson, had caught a 58 plus at Westport, and this was after I had boated a 45 and 47 and called him over on the VHF. You know, PSA bragging rights. Well to make a long story short, after a close call with a shark circling the boat with the fish in sight, we netted this montster......60 pounds 5 ounces. Will most likely be the biggest King of my life, but the bragging rights that go along with it.
You know the saying......Priceless!

Steve

The 4 fish in my avatar were caught by resort guests on my and the 2 other guides boats, it was June 30, 00, normally prime king season. Well the previous 2 or 3 days had been somewhat slow for kings so most of our fleet 17 out of 22 boats went to a hot silver bite which was an hour run south of the resort, myself and the 4 other boats went an hour north of the resort to a known king spot and it was on fire, besides these 4 (L to R 50.5, 51.5 55 and 50) kings shown, all 5 boats limited and alot of the other fish were in the 40lbs. range, thats my story and I'm sticking to it!

This is a picture of a girl I met at the Testicle Festival in Montana.

18 and 20.5 # cohos. And the first two casts of the day on the Queets. What a day to remember.

COHO

Mine's a little domestic I know, but this one reminds me of the time my kids were nice enough to let me come along fishing with them when Mom sent them off to fill the freezer at CQ one summer. Good times!
My daughter set this one up, bless her little heart.
My son was always telling me to be patient 'cause there were plenty of fish and sooner or later I'd catch some too. He still schools me, but now my daughter sends her husband and her son along to do the same.
I included the caption to remind myself that one very fine day I might be able to catch fish like them and maybe, God willing, come to bear even the slightest resemblence to my father.

PS. I know I gotta let this go someday, but to the person that "borrowed" the pictured hand-wrapped Loomis graphite and my lovely Winona (it purred like a swiss watch) off the Lyre a few years back (OK maybe, 20) would you please consider returning it to it's long lost home, no questions asked?

just a cool pic I took this summer on a 90 degree day on the upper Vedder.

My first Steelhead caught Christmas morning 2 years ago

An upcoming STS feature about this fish is due out this spring, but here's a little preview.

STORY: My all-time biggest Kenai king in thirty seasons of salmon fishing. It fell for a backbounced Flash/Spin Cheater and cured roe rigged as described in the "hook bite" thread. It measured 53 inches from snout to mid fork, and 31.75 inches around immediately in front of the dorsal, estimated live weight of 72 pounds. Caught and released on July 21, 2003. (The lo-mag avatar doesn't do the size of this fish any justice... click on my username for a larger view and see just how close to the driftboat that tail actually reaches... still makes me shake!)

MEANING: It's time to realize just how special the planet's largest chinook strain really is. For three decades, we have selectively targeted the Kenai's biggest kings. The fishery has created very un-natural selection pressures on the run whereby large size has become detrimental to a fish's ability to escape the fishery and pass on its genetic fitness. In about four chinook life cycles, we have begun to undo what Mother Nature took centuries to accomplish.

Anyone in this area who can afford to visit the Kenai doesn't "need the meat"..... if that's really why you go to Alaska, then bring home sockeye and/or pinks which return by the million. There's really no need for the trophy hunter to kill one of these hawgs either. With museum quality fiberglass replicas readily available, you can have a special memory on your wall that will outlast any skin mount.... and more importantly, have the satisfaction that you helped to preserve the unique genetics of an angling treasure!

Hoh canyon with the boy along, lots fo fun camping on the OLYPEN and some fish to keep things interesting. Take a kid fishing!

Right on, Fish Doc.
If putting a kid on a native in the Hoh canyon doesn't crack a few smiles and bring back a few memories I don't know what would or why bother. Heaven on earth if you ask me. Who says you can't take it with you. Stuff like that, they can't ever take away.

Eric and Jerry, I can't wait to hear about yours.

A favorite, occassionally fished piece of summer steelhead water. The photo sums up what I look for in a perfect summer steelhead fishing trip:

- Overcast and balmy

- low,clear water at perfect flow.

- Great eggs (in my gear bag)

- fresh fish present (trust me.....they were there

- And, most importantly, no people!!!!

Solitude rocks!

My avatar changes frequently.

The latest one is just me and nice late November nook.

Not too happy with it, so I'll be changing it again once I snap another good photo of something worth looking at.

Hey Bob - is there a size limit for avatars? If not, I think there should be, as some of the avatars are getting pretty darn big. You know there's a problem when someone's avatar takes up half of my monitor!

I'd be happy with a 200x200 pixel image. That's plenty big enough...if not too big already.

Just a thought.

Mine is just a shot of my dog Nick, sleeping with his head on my pillow.

Part of me always wants to be the class clown, so while you all have pictures of yourselves, I would have a shot of Nick and give you a humorous sig to laugh over.

Besides, either I forget the camera, or don't take the picture when I catch a nice one. They are all in my mind, and a few on film.

Rob

Just a picture of me circa 1982. I had just started getting into fly fishing and managed to catch a couple of sea run cutthroat on a fly I tied myself...

Believe it or not the original photo is actually in black and white. My buddy Robert was taking a photography class in school at the time...

The hat, vest, flyrod and reel all belonged to my dad (I still store them at my house). I hope to pass them down to my son someday, along with a love for fishing.

full photo:

Ahhh, another day on the Sky. Boat is one I built from Ken Hankinson plans. A winter project to keep me out of trouble in 1999.

I sell 'em and smoke 'em.

John

Mine is a reminder of two of my favorite hunts ever.

The smaller bull was Yakima 2001. My favorite hunt EVER. We bugled bulls in 7 straight days (really, I promise). Never done any thing like it before or since. I called a big 6X6 to my partner on the opener, but he missed it. It got mine on day 2 (took him 45 minutes to come within range), and we called bulls in on days 3-7 (partner had a rough year). On day 6, I called in a huge 6X6 broadside at less than 30 yards to me - my partner couldn't see him. I could have nailed him but we don't party hunt (I was armed in case I saw a bear).

The bigger bull I got at 24 paces this year. I was actually scared for my safety after I shot him and he looked at me and walked my direction. He fell at about 10 yards while I was wishing there was a climbing tree nearby. What a funky rack. What a horrible pack out....

I could tell you about the really big one I almost got, but I'd start crying on my keyboard....

It just makes me smile to remember.

Nothin' special here....just a couple days worth of silvers headed for the smoker. The "cookie cutter" bunch of four hanging caught my eye.

Just a hatchery fish I got from the Bogie in December. I just got a roll of film back and this was one of the better pics.

Just a pleasant surprise fishing deep in the Buckhorn wilderness erea.

Just a memory of me and my old lost friend – a golden retriever named "sport".

I was having a resolution issue with mine but just got it resolved (thanks for the help, Fun5Acres). Let's see what it looks like.

It's a 44" x 22.25" buck I caught in British Columbia in 2001. I'll keep looking for a bigger one of course, but common sence tells me it may not happen.

mine has nothing to do with fishing but is the Logo of one of my favorite bands, The Offspring !!!!
Being a musician and X- band member I had to put up something a bit different.
Peace Superfly

My First King over sixty. Mearsured something like 51 x 31. Caught in the salt. Immature fish. Would have liked to seem him the following year. Same day, commercial troller fishing same area landed a King that dressed out at 84lbs. Estimated weight of 93. At the time they were getting about a dollar a lb. $100 dollar fish, somethings wrong.

Drifter

Was that a red or a white king?

Just one of my dozens of 20+ Zipperlip fish :p

Taped at 26-27 pounds or so, caught several bigger, but framing worked best for an avatar pic.

'Bout time for a new one ... maybe I'll find a new pic in Aruba!

I can force avatar size, but it would have to be a perfect square to do so ... and I hate to do that. I just trust that folks will try to keep them reasonable. If you need help with that, email me and I can usually help!

What do you play? I play the bass and some guitar. Offspring is cool but I'm more of a classic rock guy. Kinda odd since I'm almost 16.

ZEPPELIN ROCKS!!!!

edit: Oh and thanx for all the replies!

Just a nice evening on the sound last summer, on the way back from PNP with a full cooler of pinks and coho.
Thanks Andy for taking the nice pic.

Fishing Jumky,
I am almost 40 and listen to all the new stuff as well as the old. Linkin Park, simply incredible, anyways I play guitar. stick with it man, it got me lots of chicks back in the day!!!
Peace
Superfly

People call me lots of things but Spawnout kind of pops up now and then and is pretty appropriate, I mean, I'm pretty much spawned out at my age So I just had to go find a pic of a spawner on the web and here it is

Ol man and I with my Mule Deer I shot in this last deer season in Eastern Washington up around McNary Dam