my first steelhead

[buckfever103]

my first steelhead caught in the Cowlitz river 12 to 15 pounder the story behind this one was me and my dad and my cousin were on a boat just trolling and came acrossed this tree so we hit that spot for a few and got nothing so we headed further down and nothin still so we came back up and BAM my dad gets one on under the tree we hit in the first troll he had it on for a good 10 to 15 minutes and the line snaps. so we go along the clay banks and again my cousin hits his first river fish gets it in and its a good 10 pounder we keep it and went back under the tree my dad gets his on. as soon as we get under the tree my rod is going crazy i pick it up and set the hook. i get it to the boat and the fish takes off again i finally got it in after 20 minutes. well before i caught the fish at the boat launch me and my dad make a bet whoever catches the biggest fish wins 10 bucks. well i guess i won ten dollars

[huntnphool]

Nice fish Fever, looks like the Hinkley drift

[ELKBURGER]

awesome fish! You'll never forget your first.

[JoshT]

Nice fish!

I once heard Bill Herzog say: "You catch two steelhead in your life... your first, and your last."

Keep up the good work man.

[fishcrazy]

Congrats!!

12-15? what the heck it's yer first size don't matter.

Now yer hooked. welcome to my world.


Kris

[M_ray]

Nice job there  ... when did you catch it?

[boneaddict]

I've caught hundreds but can still take you to the exact spot I hooked number one.  Congrats.

[Skyvalhunter]

your only allowed 2 a day not hundreds!!

[M_ray]

I've caught hundreds but can still take you to the exact spot I hooked number one.  Congrats.

Me too Bone it never gets any less exciting and I caught my first at 11. Tmike and I allways wish we would have kept track I've got to be in the 500 or maybe more range!!! I remember back in the day when the system was not so sophisticated me and a friend went a few of years filling three different cards that would be 90 fish a year 

[MuleySniper]

You'll be hooked now for sure.... Now remember, when it comes time for girls you let them know what comes first!!
MS

[huntnphool]

 I can still remember my first, Green River about 1974. Back in those days it was nothing for kids to leave their parents sight, just be home when the street lights come on. My mom dropped my friend and I off at the Soos Creek mouth and said she would be back before dark. We were 10 and 11, had our trout rods, a jar each of Pautzke Balls O' Fire green label and 90* summer weather. Two young boys couldn't be more in heaven.

 We caught trout after trout, even back then practicing catch and release, even though we had no idea there was such a thing, we just didn't want to pack them around all day. We worked our way up river casting into every little ripple, having a blast when we got to a deep hole with about 10 "serious" fisherman, all decked out with all the gear, you know the type Anyway, there was no room for a couple punk kids trout fishing so we walked by them and up a little further.

 Towards the end of the day, and way low on Balls O' Fire, we headed back to the parking lot but came to the head of that deep hole first. We made a cast and started walking down river, todays side drifting except we were walking, not in a boat All of a sudden my rod jerked and I thought I was hung up. I pulled back but got that wonderful side to side head shake only a steelheader knows. The "serious" guys said "oh the kids got a sucker" but then they saw it roll. All of a sudden all hell broke lose, I was getting coached from all directions, "keep the rod tip up, don't pull too hard, let him run" all the usual. A guy grabbed a net and with my little closed face reel, 5 foot trout rod with 4# test line and one of those old school single egg hooks, I landed that mid teens ironhead. The hook was right on the end of the upper lip and the guys couldn't believe it. My friend and I took that fish down river to the parking lot to meet mom, who asked where we planned on putting "that thing" because it wasnt going in the car I rolled it up in my t-shirt and put it in the trunk. Of course dad was all excited, chest all puffed up, his little boy had caught a steelhead. Pretty funny thinking back now.

 So yes I agree with you guys, I have caught hundreds myself, and even bought a big boat that was mainly purchased for steelheading, but I still remember that first one like it was yesterday