This report has been a long time coming, but I finally managed to exorcise another demon of mine today. This particular demon just happened to be chrome plated, complete with a set of fins and an insatiable desire for my hand tied light blue/dark blue maribou twitching jig. I should also specifically mention that this aquatic adversary lived in the Stillaguamish River. Two years ago I hit the Stilly hard during October, primarily fishing dick nites. No fish. Last year I fished it less, but still made a few trips, mostly twitching jigs and tossing spinners. No fish. I had not yet caught a Stilly Coho. As it so happened, I got off of work this morning and found myself with a nice chunk of time. Deciding to take advantage of this opportunity, and wanting to give the Sno a rest, I headed out to my old Stilly haunts down near Blue Stilly Park. Twitching my way through the run with a black/purple jig produced nothing. Heading back to the top I tied on a black/pink rabbit fur and got back to work. Part way through the drift I had an old pink show interest. At least it was something. Landed and released, I continued on until I snagged and lost that jig. During last year's season I remember receiving a tip that blue can be good on the Stilly, so on went a two toned blue maribou twitcher. Still no love. Moving on, I crossed the river and headed down to Agua Incognito, still in search of that first Coho. Finding a nice seam next to some good looking frog water, my steady twitch was abruptly stopped by the very welcome interruption of a Coho inhaling the jig. Battle ensued, with the stakes as high as two years worth of expectation can afford. Giving the fish room to run, I slowly started easing it up into the shallow water of the gravel bar I was on. Despite some final theatrics and aerobatic death rolls, my hook set held true and I quickly dispatched my worthy adversary. The curse of the Stilly Coho is gone at last.

Tight lines!