First Time You Fished a PW

I'm curious to know if there were many folks fishing the PW, here in the USA before I started preaching their benefits. I first fished the PW in B.C. in 1983. I caught my first PW steelhead here, on the Tolt in 1985. I wrote my first article on the PW in 1989.I subsequently have written more than a dozen articles on the virtues of the PW. Funy thing is I have never caught a steelhead on one while drift fishing. of course I seldom drift fish. I just like those training wheels too much.

Were any of you using it, but not talking about it before 1985?

1988...learned about 'em on the Nooksack from a Canadian while I was up there for college...that's when I started fishing dink floats, too.

Fish on...

Todd

5 years ago on the hoh. 3 natives in a two hour span.

Dave
I drift fish them and knockem dead I just add a little something above them to add some vibration.
I have been fishing them since about 1987 when my cousin turned me on to them. He built rods in Kingston for quite a few years.

Would have been around 96?! Had only heard of a few myths of them, and ran across one day in the canyon of the lyre, so I put it on... Dropped it in the river and I'll be damned if a chrome bright summer run that I couldn't even see, came charging across the river and grabbed it.. first cast! Been a believer ever since =) super low, super clear water and a really skinny 4" bubble gum worm got him! Managed to pull a limit that day off of one worm!

I have never fished them so Dave or Todd is going to have to help me lose my PW viginity.

Fsihtale: What do you add for the vibration? For a few years I was using a small plastic propeller. It didn't seem to do much when float fishing so I quit using it.

JG,

How's about this April? I've been asking you for what? Three years? You're on the short list for boat seats, all you gotta do is ask!

Fish on...

Todd

last year with bob on the hoh

Dave -
While not pink the first time I caught a steelhead on a "rubber worm" was at the mouth of the Tolt in July of 1963 or 64. It was on a "Creme de Long" rubber night crawler. Those that came pre-rigged with 3 small hooks, a couple beads, and a little airplane spinner. The summer runs loved them and would come running from a long distance to gobble the "worms". The playing of the fish was a little tricky due to the small hooks.

Tight lines
Curt

Hey tbird can I get my worm back?

Curt: Too kewl! I know your beloved bull trout sure like them too.

I think you may have the record on the artificial worm. Of course I know lots of old timers used to fish the real ting for summer runs. Not that I'm saying you are an old timer!!!

The first time I ever fished one was in late January of "99".Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Go figure, I was using *real* worms long before the rubber pink ones. Those silly east-sider steelies sure do love night crawlers.....

Once a bait fisherman, always a bait fisherman......

First time I used a rubber pink worm was probably in 2000. Dang near had the rod ripped out of my hand up on The Ranch while drift fishing the PW. Was a real eye opener.

1985? I wasn't even born yet.....

Mid to late 60s (no pink ones then) on that same old prerigged rubber worm with three hooks and a prop. I didn't know what a steelhead was, but I had used them to catch bass in the lake so used it in the creek.

Haha.. Fishaday, If I still had that worm, it would be framed! I take it you've fished em up there? =)

You know the earliest date that anyone posted?

Yeah, I fished them about three months before that.

I remember being down at the Cowlitz just after I had gotten my driver's license. Must have been 83-84. This dude came down with a bass rod rigged up with a drift rig that was rigged with a black rubber worm, and stood next to me. I'm thinking "look at this a$shole.....what a clown."

He made about five casts and walked out with a pair of chrome 3-salters.

If I had a clue back then, I would have beamed in on what he was using and started using them myself. But nooooooooo. I didn't try one myself for another 6 or 7 years. Idiot.

I fish the worm now on a jig. Berkley makes these cool little 3" units that come linked together on a string. You tear one off and thread it on the jig hook and it makes a nice little enticement.

You win

I caught my first and only steelhead on a red/white bobber with a pink/brown earthworm in 1975. I've tried pink worms and bobbers since with no luck. Even put them on jigs. Gotta stick with what I know works and that is drifting bait. Maybe my neighbor Sol will teach me how someday.

I had 3 worms with me that day. Lost 2 on snags and the last one was gobbled up by this fish



Parker said "Gawwddammit, Justin, give me one of those worms!"

Kid Sauk says "This is my last one!"

Parker says "I don't care let me use it!"

Kid Sauk says "Okay, fine, take it!"

Parker clips off his corky and yarn, ties on the *only* remaining pink worm and proceeds to get a plug style takedown without hookup.

Kid Sauk, being the genius that he is, decides that he doesn't need a pink worm to catch fish so he ties on Parkers corky, yarn, and slinky that he left on the bank. Kid Sauk then ends up with this



All caught wayyyyy back when Parker was a "bank whore" and he whored me for bank access He whored me for bank access and the son of a beeyotch whored me for my last worm! I feel so violated!

It's all because your "easy" KId

yeah tbird I've fished em there once or twice

Yeah, you pretty much schooled me that day Kid.

The straw that broke the camels back was when you tied on my rig and caught that fish.

That still haunts me.....

Hey, speaking of whoring, when we going up to The Ranch????

Hey, Parker, I am organizing a Snoopy Rod Classic to be held up at the Ranch. Bank fishing only and the last person downstream has to be in sight of the first person upstream. You can leapfrog, cork eachother, tangle lines or whatever, just can't physically touch other people or other people's gear while fighting fish. You can ambush with bottle rockets from the bushes and carry squirt guns to keep your space. Going to be a complete and hillarious cluster****. My attorney told me how to "bend the rules" so it will not be considered a fishing contest There will be a trophy and a top $$$ callgirl for first place. I will have a spodee and a keg or two. I am going to participate but not compete.....just act as a referee. Help me get the guest list started.

BTW, "Parker's" hole is no more. It's totally and completely changed up there. Going to have to get you up there to pick your new "Parker's Hole". Just don't leave any rigs on the bank or you know what

Oh yeah, Parker, almost forgot. Get ready to swing pink worms with the flyrods this year! We'll knock 'em silly

Hmmm, sounds interesting Justin... Let me know about it. Wonder if I could catch a fish on the Ranch??

Keith

Great story Kid with pictures and a witness to boot.

Anyway Dave, I'm thinking early 80's when I tried foolin' around with plastic worms. Not to good with dates but it was way before they were pink. In fact they were actually plastic bass grubs which I either tried off spinners or drifted like a bigger version of the egg with the plastic tail (forget what those were called). I think I was inspired by the "crippled minnow" (? something like that) TV ad at the time. Never did catch much but was mainly using them and jigs both to rib our "unconvinced" mutual friend anyways. Of course while I was fartin' around he'd be hookin' fish the old fashioned way.......as usual. It wasn't till much later that both of us became convinced after seeing dedicated dudes like yourself hooking more fish. Thanks for stickin' with it. I'm a believer now.

i started using them last yaer, and caught 4 fish in 15 minutes. i was hooked for life, no i just need to go fish for some nates.

First, Lang Creek, Powell River B.C. 1989
Most recent, this morning Kloiya R.,Prince Rupert, B.C.

First time I fished the pink worm I could not wait for those winter nates to roll in. It was summer on the Sky, river was gin clear. Tossed everything but the kitchen sink into this hole.

I was ready to leave and hike up river but thought "Oh what the hell i will see how these things work." Well they worked all right, within three cast it was Fish on

Wasn't the first time I fished a pink worm but it sure was the same season. First a little history, I had picked up a few PW's at Fred's Custom Tackle in Vedder Crossing after spending my first two days on the Vedder in the fall of 2000. During that first Vedder adventure I didn't catch any chinook but I was new to the river and wanted to learn as much about this new river as I could. After driving a up and down the river a few times I saw a nice stretch that had allot of access but not many people. I began to fish by working the bottom with my standard drift rig. I was seeing a ton of chum but couldn't get any of them to hook up. My gear was just not being presented correctly. While I was struggling to fish effectivly in that fast water, I was watching two locals hooking very large chum just about every other cast. They were using floats and "wool" ("yarn" in American...). I finally figured I would go up to them and ask them to show me how they rigged their dink float and terminal end. They were real friendly and basically rigged me up using one of my dink floats I had bought at Fred's (Fred actually told me to purchase a few when I bought my liscence). I ended up learning to float fish that day. Having huge biting chum was a great way to "go to schoool" and learn the small difference between natural movement and a strike. Just a light unnatural turn of the float means a fish has picked up my offering. I had a sore arm at the end of that day but had great confidence using the float.

Now, a month or so later I am on the Nooksack. I have rigged up a float and pink plastic worm (also bought at Fred's). I had fished the PW only a little on a previous trip but hadn't really given it a good chance. This time I would give it a fair opportunity. It was one I would never forget.
First cast, my worm is working a tail out and when the float disappears. I set the line thinking I was hung up. No snag but a steelhead. After releasing it I made the exact same cast in the same spot. My float goes under again but this time it was a nice dolly. Released and on the third cast of the morning....yes....another float submersion and another steelhead. Three casts, three fish. All alone and no one to hear my screams of joy. My first real PW experience. Thanks to a day a month earlier on the Vedder learning to use the float technique in preperation for a great day Steelhead fishing on the Nooksack. I have been a float and PW man ever since.

Sign me up Kid for a day at the Ranch.Snoopy Snoopy Snoopy

Still worm free.....but weakening.

First time was 6-7 years ago on a small stream for hatchery fish. I had fished for an hour and lost a couple, so I thought I would give it a try. Boom, first cast with a pink worm and landed a nice little hen. Since then I mainly fish them for Natives and have had really good success. I always have drifted the PW.

Used to fish with worms when I was a kid bass fishing,cought my biggest bass on a brown plastic worm.8plus pounds.
Never tried them on metal heads,but I have seen alot of them hanging from the trees along the rivers around here.
I guess that I will have to pull a few out of the trees an give them a try.
We'll see how it goes.

First time I fished the pink worm I put in at Dowins Creek on the Bogey and floated all the way to the hatchery, had one takedown for the whole day in the Car Body Hole and landed it.



What a goat screw. You ever row, fish, play a fish, land a fish and take a picture, ALONE?

Was going to fish one for the first time after reading all the pw posts and seeing the pics, looks convincing to me. Thanks. Went to 3 stores last night looking for them and all of a sudden they're all out. Seems the local demand increased recently.

I saw a bunch at Three Rivers in Woodinville.