I decided to hit the Sky on Monday because the levels were dropping and I expected lighter crowds than weekend fishing. Arrived at the river around 5:15 with 1 other car in the lot. Perfect. I passed the other fisherman on my way to a likely spot so I thought I would have it to myself. Almost, as there was a local fisherman there that was working the area but no problem because he seemed to know what he was doing and there was plenty of room. Clarity was perfect and things looked fishy but as I started float fishing some wind came up that made jig fishing harder than it needed to be. Since nothing had happened for me or the other fisherman I decided to switch to my drift setup. I started throwing a small cheater and yarn tipped with cured prawns. The other dude moved below me and started drift fishing also. 15 minutes in I get a hit, set the hook and a chrome beast jumps twice and starts heading for the town of Monroe. Wowwww, big fish!! I stood my ground but when I looked down at my reel I saw I was around 25 yards short of being spooled. Yikes. I tightened up my drag a little and starting inching my way downstream. After around 10 minutes of intense work I had gained back 75% of my line and the local grabbed his net and got ready to help. He was maybe 30 yards below me so I thought the fish was within 10 yards of him and starting to tire....hey, things are looking up. Just about then I started to feel an ominous vibration in my line that could only mean one thing.....Mr Steelhead was sawing me off on a rock. Darn!!! After a minute of that, boinngg, fish gone. Are you kidding me?? I sat down and tried to catch my breath. I haven't smoked in 35 years but I probably would have taken a cigarette if one was offered. I was buzzing and had to wait 10 - 15 minutes before I could retie and start fishing again. Amazingly, the local put down his net and caught a chrome cookie cutter on his next cast. Good for him because he had completely stopped to help me out. Karma does work sometimes. In never touched a thing the rest of the day but I will never forget that fish and fight. It alternately haunts me and reminds me why I love this sport so much and why I will never give it up. Tight lines and may you all face a foe like the one I faced Monday.

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