WOW, you couldn’t make up this shit. What a soap opera … “ Speys of our lives� any one??
Gear guys love hatchery fish, fly guys hate hatchery fish but love wild fish, though fly guys hate hatchery
fish. Some kill hatchery fish with the conviction of a serial killer because they compete with wild fish for
habitat … Some see all of them, clipped or no, as true gifts from God, regardless of whether or not they
possess a small fleshy lobe on their backs and were reared as fingerlings in a concrete tank … The next
time you who despise hatchery fish decide take the life of one, I pose to you this point …
Not to mention getting to the ocean in the first place, but that fish may have swam upwards of 600 miles
crossing 6-7 dams. It has survived in the most dangerous frontier on planet earth, the ocean, for up to 3-4
years. It went to and through hell and came back to let you stand at the breadth of one of the wilds
greatest creatures. Did your knees shake any less before you saw the missing adipose? Were you any less
euphoric at the moment of the grab, or after any of the flights? Treat it with respect, whether you kill it of
not, take the pictures as such- After all, what have you accomplished lately? Walked 600 miles recently?
Ever avoid a shark while swimming in the surf? Its impact on wild fish has nothing to do with the way you
should treat them. A lack of respect for all steelhead is a slap in the face to the gift that they are. You want
to kill them and it’s legal, no problem, but do it with respect- Your pictures will tell the tale …
Get my drift?
So the next time you see another fellow on the water, pretend you know not what tackle he is packing,
and ask him how he’s doing. Ask him if he’s having a good day on the river. Give him a fly, even
if he’s packing a spinning rod. Point out a good run that produces fish with gear. Plant a seed. Give a
fly to his son, the future of steelhead. Tell him about a conservation group founded on the survival of wild
fishes and why it is important to support them . Before you bust some guy for low hoeing you, you might
first see if the term even exists to him. In his world you walk to where you want to fish and fish. Sounds
logical. He doesn’t start two hundred yards away from where he wants to fish when he can just start
where the good spot is… I don’t like it either when it happens but I get it … let it roll … Go to the
next run, maybe that 20 lb buck you are after is there instead of where you were . If you are a gear guy,
give a fly guy a chance. Ask him about fly fishing. If he turns his nose up at you, his loss, find another fly
guy, some of us would love to share our passion with you. The grab of a steel head from a swung fly is
electric, like nothing words can quite describe. Not better or worse, not right nor wrong, just very special.
Those who choose to fish this way are not better, or worse, right nor wrong, just very privileged. Tell an
indicator guy about it, a gear guy too. If you are fortunate enough to fish a swung fly for steelhead with
success, I ask you, remember how you got there , remember your roots…
If you are swinging a double hander at the pinnacle of proficiency, and come across the mill worker with a
spinning rod I encourage you to remember your roots, give him a fly and say hey. If you are not too busy
to listen, he may teach you something … We’re all in this together- If you take a second to look
close, you may see the same gleam in his eye that you have, regardless of the tackle he’s carrying.
To those who say they are over rated, not special, I say this. Steelheading for some is a way of life, a
religion of sorts. It’s all consuming. It gets a fellow through long arduous days at work. Puts things into
perspective, so to speak. Some travel far to experience it, some move to far away states to live it.
Steelhead makes many people a living. The fish bonds friendships, and brings mutual happiness and
kinship to folks who may otherwise have never met. In a day when true friendships are rare, steelhead
create them for people. Don’t tell me these fish aren’t special. If I have to explain, you won’t
understand.
It’s not about us, folks, It’s about them. It’s not about what type of rod you fish, it’s
about them. It’s not about long bellies, Skagit lines, indicators or sink tips, nor wet flies dry flies, plugs
or eggs … I’ve not caught a single steelhead that trembled like a little kid and lost its speech… I canâ
€™t say the same for myself. It takes something magical for me to be speechless! They are not over
rated. They are one of the ultimate game fish on the planet, treat them as such, and consider yourself
blessed when you are fortunate enough to touch one-
If we don’t put our differences aside once and for all who loses?
You guessed it…
The answers to their survival is in our hands, we must band together to help them , and put our differences
aside. The mistakes we have all made in the past is done, what we do going forward now for these fish is
what matters.
Might you join a conservation group to help the survival of wild anadromous fishes? You can help for less
than the price of a tank of fuel for your vehicle.
The price is minute, the reward is paramount…
It’s truly our choice, our responsibility -
Long live the “Prince of fishes “.