That's some funny stuff there Jim!
It's amazing to me that such an elusive fish can keep a person coming back for more abuse.
My first year I hooked three...landed none.
Mrs fysh hooked two and landed both. Her first was a 24" wild hen, her second was a bright chrome 33" natural male that came clean out of the water and tumbled head over tail no less than a dozen times.
Second year I hooked three more fish....landed none. Mrs fysh touched nothing.
This past October I remembered some sage advise that Ard gave me and landed my first Steelhead, a nice 30" natural female. It was an emotional moment for me knowing the journey these fish make and how damn hard I worked for it.
You hear of people needing to take a break after they catch their first, I was no different and sat on the bank sipping a mini bottle of 12 y.o. Glenlivet that had been making the trip with me since I started 3 yrs ago.
I hooked and landed one more smaller fish the next day, Mrs fysh hooked two and lost them both.
We both know the chances of getting skunked can be high but there is truly something about these fish that will keep you coming back for more. Next October cannot get here soon enough.