This spring I decided to take a trip to the Olympic Peninsula and scout around the Forks, WA area (Steelhead Capital of the World) and see if I could swing up a steelhead. After checking out many of the local rivers, I was impressed with the accessibility and the many runs on the Hoh River. Although this is not ground breaking news to anyone, coming from the Midwest it validated everything that I read and researched and was struck by the beauty of the river.
The weather held up during my trip which afforded me 4 days of relentless casting using my Sage Method 7126-4 and my Sage 4210 reel. The equipment is fantastic and drew rave reviews from several of the local anglers that I shared the river with and cannot be blamed for my "work-in-progress" Skagit casting skills.
As many people know this river is not a numbers game but my hopes for a 20 pounder (or over 15 pounds) keep me entertained. On the third day I was fishing a run with an older gentleman when a slight tick at the end of my line turned into 10 minutes of silver fury as the fish at the end of my line literally owned me. I have hooked at lot of large fish (including steelhead) but this was complete different and borderline out of control. When the fish came unbuttoned and I sank to my knees, the older gentleman came up at noted "Yep!, that was your 20 pounder!"
So, successful trip? Yes! Will I be back? Yes!
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