Big Steel!

Hello all you glamorise followers of the H7HT blog. With hunting season only 4 months away and a day off, I woke up and felt the need to slay. With the 'accident' behind me and a new spey rod, I woke up at 0' dark thirty and headed out to my stomping grounds....the Clack. I love the Clack, I really love the Clack. Today was epic for me. While floating down in 'Old Cracka' (I can call her Old now), I saw two things I've never seen before on the river. First was a river otter, ya, a river otter. I've seen them before on other rivers, but I float the Clack more than anything else and I've never seen one there before. Second, a turkey vulture, ya, a turkey vulture. Bright red head, looks like a turkey vulture. Must have been one, right? Anyways, on to the good stuff. Brand new Echo DH 13 ft. spey rod, ross reel and scandi shooting head. It's cloudy and drizzly, perfect day for summer steelheading. I'm on my usual float, feeling out the new rod, and it's great. I mean it was turning the fly over with the ease of my old Anderson rod (tears, I miss you). Swinging flies all morning and picking up little native rainbows that are feisty and well fit. Already having a great day, I decide to switch to a bigger fly. A big ole nasty Freight Train, a Deschutes classic. As I'm starting my retrieve on my fifth cast, to start the sixth, the tug happened. It was like a hammer out of nowhere. At first, I was worried. I left my steelhead leaders at home and had to make one on the fly with 4x tippet (trout line). Ya man, here I got this 13-14 lb. fish on with 5 lb. test. After the fish made its first run and I got her in close enough to see if it was adipose clipped, I noticed it was a hatchery. SWEET, I decided to tire this fish out and net her to increase the odds of a native fish surviving. After a 25 min. battle, she was in the boat and had a rock taken to her head. Can you say Almondine!!!