Since you know the location, the story went like this:

Parker fights the fish in the "bucket" for a while. Parker swears at Sparkey and wonders why he's getting his ass kicked by a steelhead. Must be a spey thing. Fish finally decides to come in closer to shore and Parker and fish start working in towards a landing. Parker get's to see the fish and pee's his pants. Parker get's another good look at the fish and craps his pants. Fish says "piss off" and decides to go down river. Fast. Parker does his best "Jesus/Moses" imitation and starts to walk on water running after the fish. Fish hits the top end of the white water and Parker thinks it's all over. Fish decides to move right, and STOP in the eddy at the little "spit" that is accessible. No one, including Moses/Jesus is going any further than that spit, as it's all deep fast white water from there to around the corner. Fish is tailed and the rest is history.

Only The Chosen One could get away with something like that.

I get tired of seeing Parker in that photo.

Hahahaha! or BFD, we got a shot of a 21lber from last year that would look oh so familiar with about the exact same story except it ate a birdy on the first cast...

You know what they say about guys with big heads, right?

They need big hats!

The only "shopping" I did to those photos was to remove the logos on the clothes/waders I was wearing in order to try to get it on the cover of SSJ.

Close, but no cigars. Sol's beauty of a buck was put on the SSJ cover.

I actually attempted to put that up but the pic has the wrong file info or some technical crap like that. Maybe your smarterer than me Opie.

maybe................................ sorry that was too easy, like your mom that was t-bird style

OOOOFF!

That was a fun day floating down Beaver Crk. with the "river mascot" herself.......your mom!

You serious? I'm envious. Only thing different, had I landed that 30+ steelhead I would have been done for good given it was a lower 48 fish. But any 30 is worthy of wallpaper regardless of who holds it.

Call it luck or skill. I'd like to have been in Parker's shoes at that time and place. Jealousy hurts......

Keith

Not very often does one see an honest 30 in the lower 48.

27 on the scale (8 hours later) is/was the best I could do.

Unlike you, I don't plan on retiring once I get that 30. There's always a 35...or a 40!

Fish on - Until I die!

It would be an honor to have my ass handed to me by a fish like that!

Beautiful specimen.

There's always a new mountain to climb and I aint going to quit till I'm dead or crippled! I lost Steelhead hunter once a few years ago and saw him again last year in a clear tailout! Thought I saw a ghost!!!!!!

I'll be around for a while... I haven't heard of a 30 confirmed in the lower 48 (SW WA) that I prefer to fish in years. I had a younger friend that beached a fish in Feb that measured 44.5" on his rod, only thing he had to measure it with. That probably was my fish, the one that would have set me into retirement.

I've tried my arse off every Jan-March 15 trying to dominate that 30 number and I tend to fish a creek that's been known to harbor a few, heck I grew up on it....

No biggie if it does happen, I'll likely take up another hobby for a short time span and have withdrawl's of those ass kickin' winter nates that we all love to chase, be it 8 or 20+ pounds.... Every one of them will give a grey haired man a woodie......

Keith

At least he didn't just lay there!

My favorite pics are the ones of people catching there first steelhead.No better fish pic in my mind.

Really any wild steelhead is a thing of beauty. Any steelhead over 12 or 13 pounds is impressive. A fish over 20 is downright surreal and a thirty?........ugh!!!...gets me shakin just thinking about it. 44.5" in Washington is an absolute freak. I would literally pay to see pics of that!!!! You think I"m joking?