Joe, The Idiot-Angler, caught his first Steelhead today!!!!! At 0810 this morning, 11-16-00, at The Sandy Swimming Hole on the Washougal River, Washougal, WA. God Bless America! It is truly a great country we live in when a 35 year old boy can realize his dream of actually catching and landing a hatchery Steelhead, instead of just continuing his practice of "long distance catch and release!!!!!!! For those of you who might give a crap, this is not only my first Steelhead, but my first river fish ever besides a seven inch trout! Thank you and have a nice day!!!!! Joe

[This message has been edited by IdiotAngler (edited 11-16-2000).]

Congrats, Joe! Nice job.

Way to go!! You understand that you are now hooked for life.

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dank
Keep The Rivers Clean!

Was it a winter or summer? Congrats. It was rush huh? I haven't felt that feeling in a long time but it is a rush. Congrats again.
Ct

Congrats on your first Steelhead, It took me
six years to get my first one.But after that it been fish on.Good luck, STRIKE ZONE

Congrats! I'm new to fishing here in the northwest, and caught my first steelhead in February this year. Haven't been able to think about fishing in quite the same way since.....
Greg

I am curious as well, was it a winter run? (bright)

For those who were asking.....I was told that it was a Summer Steelie. I havent a clue.......It was fairly bright, but had a slight streak of red on the upper sides. Very firm fish.......if that matters. Again, I havent a clue!

Thanks for all the warm wishes. I will keep fishing!
Joe

Yeah it was probably a summer run but,it's the 1st steelie that gets ya hooked for life.

A fish you will remember for the rest of your life Might as well figure that any semblance of a normal life that you may have had is now gone. Steelhead fishing is a very ugly disease that has claimed many a nice fella. Chalk up one more for the fish!

Congrats!!! I had the pleasure of helping a young man catch his first steelie this past weekend. First trip, first fish. Tough to save him now. I also had the opportunity to show him the other side...catch and release. The fish I hooked had fin intact and he was able to learn that the fin means that they go back safe and sound. (after a picture) A good weekend all in all. I just hope you guys understand how much this terrific experience will really cost you in the long run.

Too all of you who responded to my "first steelhead" topic, thank you for the responses! It is certainly a good time...and I expect it will be a long, arduous life trying to catch more of these elusive beings!
Can someone tell me what the physical differences are between a summer steelie and a winter one, and what the good and bad of each are? I have no idea....and of course, dont want to sound too much like an "idiot-angler" when asked by others!

Thanks again...
Joe

First off...Way to go! The first one is hard to forget

Winter fish seem to sexually mature faster. Hens may have more robust eggs when they enter the river because they spawn closer to the time they enter the river (as compared to summer-run fish). This often results in a thicker bodied fish. Summer run fish often have considerable color by late October (green backs, red sides and so on). But it is untrue that this is a definitive marker. Some winter runs turn color rapidly, some summer runs stay bright (not exactly chrome) well into February. But to give you a somewhat useful guide, bright fish are generally fresh fish. Summer runs enter the river between June and September and I believe anything that enters the river after November is considered a Winter run.

Hope that helps!

By the way there are many different opinions on this topic

[This message has been edited by Dino (edited 11-21-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Dino (edited 11-21-2000).]

One sure way to tell is there is a little creature called a copapod that attach themselves in the mouth of a steelhead. The steelhead has to be in the river for a little while before they get them. This time of year the summers will have them and the fresh winters won't. If you look carefuly inside the mouth they look like tiny brown bugs about 1/4 long. A fish biologist told me about this and it seems to make sense after catching several and checking it out.