Fishing has definitely slowed as far as the kings go. I fished my favorite spot again lower river... Nobody around the whole morning, which is why it's my favorite, but TONS of boats. Fished the upper hole for the whole morning, no action. Moved down I think around 11 or 12 to the lower hole (can't remember the time) and after a few casts I hooked into a beauty. A couple guys in their drift boat got to see the hook up. It bolted straight down river a long ways then finally decided to stop and turn around so I worked it back up. I had to grab my net from 100ft away behind me and then work the fish to an area to land. It finally get's perpendicular to me and I'm checking my drag to make sure things are flowing as they should (it had been acting up lately). The fish takes a dive deep and my drag is not letting out. I spin the star to loosen but nothing. "What the"... POOF! A great 10 minutes of action, but that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach after losing a great fish is punishing (King or steelhead I'm not sure, but I do know it had weight). A couple boats got to watch the fight, but I would have liked to put it in the net. I kick myself for not oiling my reel, and buying a higher quality reel for that matter. The drag finally got the best of me. But in the end, I realize, it's a humbling experience when the fish actually do win... And beyond that, you can never show up with an expectation of what the day will bring. Sometimes losing them is meant to be.

Talked to some boaters at the launch and nobody had brought in anything lower river. I guess a brunt of the king run that I was aiming for has mostly made its way to the hatchery already. I'm sure some guys got fish, but it wasn't easy.

Another highlight of the day was having a sparrow sized moth (and I truly mean it was about 7inches across) land right next to me, watching it feed on some grass for about ten minutes, then when it turned it's back watching a sparrow sized bird come snatch it up 5 feet away from me. Butterflies also filled the air around me that morning... Truly a beautiful day.