Just Once in a Lifetime!!

This last Thursday around 9PM, I got a call from a friend in our ward who said, "The Steelhead are running pretty hot up on the Clearwater river in Orofino.  Can you come?  Everything is paid for and all you have to do is show up"...  WOW...!!  I have never been on a guided fishing trip for the big boy salmon, so six of us went up there on Friday night and fished until dusk out of a 22 foot jet boat.  The guide looked like he led a rough life but was very patient and knew how to catch fish.  All together, we caught 13 fish, got 10 into the boat but were only able to keep 3.  All the others either got away after a long struggle, or were natives and had to be thrown back.  A native has a little adipose fin just behind the dorsal fin and when it has been clipped by the hatchery, then you get to keep the fish.  All we used were an orange bead above a barbless hook with a weight to let it bounce along the bottom as we drifted.  The really tricky part is knowing when you have one on....almost impossible.

You can see the adipose fin on this one...had to throw it back ;-(..

I caught three and kept one.  Dalton caught three, and everyone else was one or none.

I LOVE IDAHO!!