Whew! A break in the rainy, windy weather! Two wonderful people! What more could a guide want? Just a most enjoyable day today with Jim and his wife, Mary, for whom he bought a RiverQuest gift certificate as a Christmas present. Mary is simply geeked about fishing, and while I remembered her enthusiasm from having guided her and Jim last fall, I was taken aback with her zest for catching fish—any fish.
Once were set up on salmon, Jim hooked up first, only to put the old clamperoo on the Ross reel. Bye, bye, King! Oops! Mary quickly followed with a King of her own, which she lost, only to have the rainbow she is holding smack the Antron Hex while she was fighting the King. As you can see from Mary’s expression, she was pumped with her little bow! We continued to hook Kings and lose them for various reasons, but Mary finally prevailed in bringing the 16 lb. buck she hooked on a Green Caddis to the net. Later, she hooked and lost a steelhead but redeemed herself by boating the skipper steelhead she is holding. Jim for his part, had his shots, but it wasn’t meant to be as he sought to close the deal. No problem, Jim was the model husband and fishing partner. He repeatedly praised Mary and was genuinely happy for her success.
Thanks Mary and Jim! Can’t wait to host you again next Fall for Kings (if not next Spring for those steelhead we talked about) for what you now regard as a family tradition.
Captain Tom Kuieck
