Slowest day I've had in a while today. And the most crowded. Got to the hatchery at 730 to find 5 cars there ahead of me. The Sherman, May, and cedar holes all had people working them so my buddies and I hiked up a ways and fished some slots for a couple of hours with no luck. Not a lot of deep holes or eddies in the stretch we fished so I voted for a location change. On our way back down we saw the pipe hole was empty so decided to kill another hour. We got down to the beach to leave our gear and pick our water. Steve worked the bank opposite the beach, Travis hit the the tail out down below and I waded up river to the pipe. Threw a pink jig in various shades and sizes for a lot more nothing. Decided to give white a shot before I called it a day and wished I'd done it sooner. First cast and a 7lb hen decided to answer my prayers. Finally caught a hatchery fish. I've cnr'd 7 wild ones this season and really wanted one for the grill. Put up a great fight and tremendous acrobatics. Problem came when I got back to the hole. Seems Steve didn't want to wade 50 yards up river to help in the landing process, can't imagine why, so I walked the fish down to the beach for a picture and a card punch. Then, after checking my leader, waded back up to the hole. 5 people fishing it. Not always great to have an audience. Ended up being the only bite of the day. Left around noon lamenting the difference a couple of weeks has on fishing this time of the year. We won't stop fishing but we'll miss the coho and chum that kept things busy between steelhead. Tight lines all.

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