Sorry you lost your fish, but cool you got some excitement. Didn't appear to be much going on when I stopped by at noon.

I was there the same day on Saturday and I think I saw you. I'm not sure if it was the same person but I saw a guy hook into a steelhead near the eddy island. He brought the steelie onto the shore but before he could get it the hook popped out and his buddy went to try grab the fish but he was already long gone. I didn't get a single bite that day but I came back the next day which was today. I fished for a couple of hours with a bobber and jig. When the drift was done I started reeling in and my bobber went down. I set the hook and had my first winter run steelhead and my second steelhead ever. I almost had him. I started bringing him right into the shore when the jig popped off. I am still a beginner steelheader and have a lot to learn but now I know that I am atleast doing something right. I am still really young and still am on my journey to land my first steelhead but I know if I put enough time and hard work I'll eventually get one. After I get that first steelhead, after I go over that first hurdle, I will start to get even better. I am definitely on my way and will never give up. Never give up. Just keep on fishing. Good luck and tight lines.

Hey man I'm in the same boat! That was only my second steelhead and it really hurt to lose it. However, after catching my first I now fish with confidence whenever I go out knowing that what I'm using actually works. As long as you put yourself in the right position to catch fish, you more than likely will do just that.

denham, thank you for sharing your report. Glad to hear you hooked one, and were able to battle the crowds up by the hatchery. I would leave the net at home, wear a nitrile or wool glove and practice tailing fish in the water; this skill is invaluable and consequently will help you release Native (or hatchery) fish unharmed as you progress in your skill with Steelhead. Keep up the good work, my friend.

You two have a good attitude. I was much the same and will confirm that it does get better!

Real hard to be patient when they are close, if you kept the heat on it the whole time not much else you can do, but the best advice I ever got was "let em swim around a bit" if you set the hook right and have your drag set right most times you get them. I have lost a couple on the bank over the years, but that advice a few years ago really helped.

Haha makes perfect sense but the line "hard to be patient when they're close" says it all. Definitely gonna go about it different next time tho

Same here. And as the years go by you become more experienced and your chances of catching a steelhead go up. For steelheading there is a saying that 90% of the fish are caught by 10% of fisherman. Once you start improving those steelheading techniques, like bank drifter said, having your drag set right, setting the hook right and also having the right presentation to get them to bite. You have to experiment. Try different lure colors, leader lengths. Once you starting honing in on those things you will definitely start catching more steelhead as you become more experienced.