The stars aligned, but no one could see them through the clouds and heavy rain. I knew however that this would be a special day, and the continuous rain just meant that salmon would be heading up local streams. Oct 21st, well let’s see… It’s my birthday! I told my grumpy, slave driving boss (me) that today was going to be a vacation day. What could be better than starting my birthday fishing at the river? As usual, my departure was not as early as desired, but at least the birds were still chirping. I arrived at the river at 7:30am. The sound of gunfire at the nearby range was music to my ears. I gazed out on the river and asked where would be the best place to fish. To my delight, a nice salmon rolled five feet to my left and out on the river. That will do. Thank you. During the next 2+ hours, I saw several salmon roll (some pre-fire truck, some chrome) and several trout jump in my vicinity. I floated a jig for a while, changed it out for a couple other jigs, added shrimp, snagged a few times, lost a few jigs. Then I shifted to my other rod and cast a 50/50 Dick nite, added shrimp, lost my shrimp, then BAM! Fish On! It had been a while, but I was calm and secure with my skills, thanks to Summer Steelhead training with Guru Ryan Hung. I set the hook, twice to be sure, then loosened my drag to allow my hopeful chrome to run and tire out. Twice it caught air and several times it came within view, then bolted out into the seam. Guru Ryan drilled into me to always keep my rod in the air and with bend in it. I remembered and obeyed. Reeling became way too easy and I glanced at my net… But I knew there was at least one more run left. Yep, one last run with fire in the belly, screaming my line off the spool!! That was it. The fight was over. She was mine. Checking the gums -white. A nice 7# Chrome Hen. Tasted fabulous with my favorite rosemary, garlic, olive oil recipe. Happy fishing!

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