On the the eve before the trip Hannah had a difficult time sleeping due to her excitement! (A typical symptom of steelhead fishing!) So did I but we finally met Tally at 7am in Puyallup and were on the river by 8:45am.
It was a cloudy morning with a bit of drizzle but that didn't keep the fish from biting! At the click of 10am Hannah's reel started making that sound that every fisherman loves, "Zzzzzzzzzzz" and the fight was on! FISH ON! This 6.6 lb. hen hit the bait like a true steelhead and gave a good fight. This silver-bright fish was Hannah's first ever steelhead! Not bad for her first! Her smile gives away her excitement!
We took some pictures, got re-baited then went back to fishing when about 20 min. later I hooked into a strong 10.8 lb. buck steelhead! He put up a good fight and turned out to be the biggest fish that I've ever caught. WOW! What a bright big fish! WOW! WOW! WOW!!!!
However, the best was yet to come. . .
After a few more tries through that spot, Tally took us to some of his favorite spots on the river. Unfortunately, we didn't get any other action. After 4+ hours of patiently waiting for another bite, we headed back upriver close to where we started our adventure that morning. (This is right near the Blue Creek boat ramp!) Tally called out "Last Pass" which meant that this was our last chance to catch a fish for the day.
Halfway through the drift, Hannah's line stopped its usual twitching that comes with "back-drifiting" type of fishing. She lifted up her rod to see what was going on and what do you know. . . there was a steelhead attached! "FISH ON!" I called out as Tally and I scrambled to get prepared to bring in her fish. To see how it went, just click on the "play" of this video. . .
What a strong & bright 8.8 lb. hatchery steelhead she caught! And what a fight! As you can tell from the picture, Hannah was extremely pleased with her 2nd fish of the day!
After everyone settled down again we quickly learned that on Tally's boat, when someone catches a fish on the "Last pass" the boat goes back for another "Last pass!" to see if there are any other takers. Unfortunately, there weren't and we soon called it quits around 6:00pm. What a wonderful day and some wonderful memories for us. Thank you Tally again for graciously taking us out and making this exciting day possible! You're great!
So the results of Hannah's first steelhead trip:
Hannah - 2 steelhead 6.6 lb. + 8.8 lb. = 15.4 lbs.
Hannah - 2 steelhead 6.6 lb. + 8.8 lb. = 15.4 lbs.
Jay - 1 steelhead 10.8 lbs.
The winner: HANNAH!!! ( by 5 lbs.)
Hannah now has bragging rights as she outfished her dad. (I still remember when I first outfished my dad!) We praise God for His incredibly majestic creation and His goodness to provide us with these wonderful memories! We shared our fish with some friends and ate some ourselves. From what we've heard it was some of the best tasting fish ever! Onward to the next adventure. Until then, we keep seeking Him.
Running on His course -
Jay, Vicki, Hannah & Grace
Hannah now has bragging rights as she outfished her dad. (I still remember when I first outfished my dad!) We praise God for His incredibly majestic creation and His goodness to provide us with these wonderful memories! We shared our fish with some friends and ate some ourselves. From what we've heard it was some of the best tasting fish ever! Onward to the next adventure. Until then, we keep seeking Him.
Running on His course -
Jay, Vicki, Hannah & Grace
