I've got to say that
the most memorable fishing moment of 2003 for me was catching & releasing my
first Dolly Varden in the Quinault river. I like to get out when I can and fish
the local creeks and rivers but for some reason the Quinault was one that just
never occurred to me. I remember fishing it when I was a kid but nothing sticks
out as special in my mind. So I tried it one weekend for rainbows and had a
blast. You can see pictures of the trip here: http://www.graysharborcomputer.com/flyfish/qriver.htm and
the next weekend was even better: http://www.graysharborcomputer.com/flyfish/salmonriver.htm but
I kept on hearing about how much fun and how much more the dollies in the river
fought. Wow I always thought I would have to go to Canada or Alaska to catch
these elusive char. So my wife and I were on the river one day and wham! A hard
hit on my 5 wt. while I was fishing a muddler. I noticed right away that the
pull was strong and not a jumping fish like most of the rainbows and steelhead
smolts that I have been catching but a hard and deep run. I was delighted when I
pulled in my first dolly. Wow what a beautiful fish. While you are not supposed
to target these protected fish an incidental catch and release is a heck of a
lot of fun. Here are the photo's: http://www.graysharborcomputer.com/flyfish/quinaultr2.htm I
came running over the gravel bar to the other part of the river where my wife
was and I was babbling like a little kid with a grin from ear to ear
and a digital camera in my hand waving it like crazy... she must have thought I
flipped. Anyway it was quite a big deal to me... now lets see what happens in
2004.
Bill P.
Work - www.graysharborcompuer.com
More Play - www.graysharborcomputer.com/flyfish
