A little thing called STEELHEAD FISHING .... continued

So, you just landed your first steelhead, you are trying to figure out a snag, and now ANOTHER fish on! This one is fighting more than the first. It makes a couple runs. Under the boat, away from the boat, straight down. After another great fight, another fish is coming at your face in a net. You look down and the lure is already out of the mouth. You were that close to losing that fish! It's time to put this fish alongside the first on the stringer. As soon as the fish are on the stringer it is time to go back to the snag.

You resume the task of trying to get the lure free of whatever it is snagged on. Dad gets hold of it a couple of times with the SnagMaster and he couldn't pull it up! After 30-45 minutes we finally gave up. The 25 year streak is broken as the line to the snagged lure is broken off. You are about to resume fishing, but you must first retie the line to the rod that the last fish was caught on. You are about to set it up and as we are retying the line snaps?! Once again, you were that close to losing that fish! It is a miracle you landed that second fish!

You continue fishing for a few more hours. One more steelhead hit on the spawn, but the line snapped. You get the weather report via a call home, and it was supposed to rain at 1. Dad decided to leave at noon. Around noon, Dad starts to pack up the gear. The lines are being reeled in and about that time it starts to rain. Early. The anchor is raised and it is time to head in. You are getting comfortable watching the bank, bracing against the wind and rain. You decide to check on the fish, making sure they are doing alright at the higher speeds while you try to get to the launch. You look over and Dad tells you they'll be fine. You thought the stringer looked a little funny and then said, "Um, Dad? Where are our fish?!" He says, "WHAT?!?" Sure enough, you grab the stringer and there is NOTHING on the end! NO FISH! WHERE DID THEY GO!?! The stringer must not have been secured correctly! Two big steelhead are swimming free.

You start to laugh. Baffled and confused, you don't know what to say. How could it have happened, who knows? We have our theories, but they really don't matter. The fact is they are gone. You load up the boat and start to head home. You start to think.

Should you be disappointed? Should you be upset? You remember what you thought this morning. Even if you didn't catch a fish, you would have walked away having a morning to remember and would have been thrilled. You got to catch two steelhead, and have one heck of a story to tell later! There is a picture of your first steelhead on the camera. It was an amazing trip. You are hooked forever and you know it.

The fact is, fishing is so much more than throwing a bait and waiting for something to get pulled in. Fishing is about the stories you get, the time you spend, the memories that you will never forget. Having a fish to fry/smoke/cook afterward is just a bonus. I wish I could truly describe the fishing trip I had this morning. Above is just the highlights and doesn't come close to doing it justice. I couldn't care less that I didn't have two fish in the cooler on the way home. I have a story that I will never forget.

Dad,
Thanks for taking me fishing. I had a blast and loved every minute.