First off.. Happy belated B-day my friend!

As for the steelies.. I'm sorry to say their numbers are so down that the DFW close my local rivers 3 months earlier than what used to be the 'norm'.. no fishing whatsoever... which is a good thing for the steelhead.. This has been I believe 3 yrs in a row now... Very sad their numbers continue to decline... I have not fished steelhead the last 3 yrs.. Same thing happened to the Skagit King Salmon decades ago.. over fishing/netting commercial/private/Native American... DFW closed the river to King fishing for nearly 2 decades... and low & behold their numbers have come back.. So now they allow limited fishing once again... So there is hope for the wild Skagit steelhead.

As most have seen.. I have substitued my fishing with hiking/backpacking/skiing and some combinations of those...

http://photos.imageevent.com/banos/shannonridgehikeskinskimay17182012/giant/P1020971_Panorama.jpg

It's healthier for me, and the fish.. tho I do most certainly miss standing in the river making a deep fly 'fish'... the last steelhead I caught (inadvertantly) and released... a Sauk river (Skagit's main trib) summer run.. a very rare fish in deed... estimates are only about 150 spawning pair return each summer.. the only one I've ever seen..

my appologies for the OT post.. time to go out in the sun...

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone