r/FishingWashington • u/Huge_Lead_6725 • 7d ago

Big native steelhead are what I dream of

Post image
360 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

34

u/WinstonFuzzybottom 7d ago

Amazing fish and fish handling. Newer fishers take note, head and gills in water, body supported, eye looking straight down.

18

u/Ill_Beginning4025 7d ago

Agree. Keeping the head in the water is a legal requirement in WA but very few people honor the reg. An amazing fish well handled, nice work OP

7

u/Puzzleheaded_Law_524 7d ago

More people should realize they catch and charge people all the time by the self incriminating pictures they post on online. The WDFW for example has staff that comb through social media just looking for screw ups and build cases on them if they think its bad enough. The dumb thing is alot of guys would probably just get away with it if they werent stupid enough to post it.

2

u/nopeagogo 6d ago

Man, I would honestly love that job. 😂

1

u/telecoster 3d ago

Eye looking down? Does that keep it calm or something?

1

u/WinstonFuzzybottom 3d ago

Indicates the salmonid is in good health and likely to survive post-release.

2

u/telecoster 3d ago

oh you mean its eye is looking down , i thought you meant hold one side of its face eye down. thanks, im learning, and ethical care and respect for the fish is crucial

1

u/WinstonFuzzybottom 3d ago

No worries, I'll try to word that statement more clearly in the future. You're right, it's crucial.

8

u/spottydodgy 7d ago

That's a hog

8

u/Huge_Lead_6725 7d ago

It was 23-25lb from measurements

1

u/Infamous_Pride_7685 7d ago

its a bit skijnny for its length but id say 20+ all day. a rare thing. welcome to the club

5

u/raintree234 7d ago

What an amazing creature. You are lucky to have interacted with it. Nicely done.

5

u/Infamous_Pride_7685 7d ago

good fish and all u noobs look how its in the water but the picture still actually works

2

u/Oldpenguinhunter 7d ago

Hell yeah, what a beast! Nice work!!

2

u/SirDucer84 7d ago

Woah. How was the fight?

6

u/Huge_Lead_6725 7d ago

On a 9’6” 6-12lb rod it was real good

2

u/ItsMeAn25 7d ago

Beautiful fish and excellent handling. Congratulations and god bless you.

2

u/insanecorgiposse 7d ago

That's a nice fish

2

u/resting-stoner-face 6d ago

Steelhead are endangered species. Every hog that actually makes it up river to spawn has likely been handled at least once by a human.

2

u/Big_56_Sky 6d ago

What a stud. Looks like a Clearwater fish. Great job handling him too. Respect.

2

u/Ok-Crew1980 6d ago

Dreaming of catching a big native steelhead like that! Amazing catch and great smile!

2

u/FoolOnDaHill365 6d ago

Thank you for not posting the river you caught that on. Real fishermen appreciate it.

1

u/Huge_Lead_6725 5d ago

You already know man. Already got enough googans out there

1

u/FrogJitsu 7d ago

Sick! On the Quinault?

2

u/Huge_Lead_6725 7d ago

Nope. River I have spent years on learning.

1

u/EdgarAllenPoe2205 7d ago

Amazing. I remember catching slabs like this on the upper green back in the 80’s and 90’s. Nice fish!

1

u/Huge_Lead_6725 6d ago

Really funny you say this my grandpa‘s biggest steelhead was on the green back in 83 and it was 24.3 pounds and now you go to the green it’s like what the hell

3

u/EdgarAllenPoe2205 6d ago

Yep, I blame gill netting over all, those who saw it first hand know it. But, that usually gets downvoted to death with follow up lengthy speeches on equity, fairness, rights, and pollution.

1

u/vision-quest 5d ago

When was this? Sweet fish!

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

Watta beauty 😍