After staying the night in Beaver, just a few miles north of Forks, we were up at 6:00 a.m. and headed for the Forks Hole on the Bogachiel River to fish for the elusive steelhead. This was a crisp overcast January morning of 25 degrees. The long, bumpy, often muddy road to the river was frozen solid. My companion George and I were on the river bank with our lines in the water by 7:10 a.m. It was just getting light, and we were in the company of 3 or 4 other fisherman all getting into position on what is usually a very busy fishing hole. I was trying out a new rod and reel setup for the first time and had been eagerly anticipating this moment since Christmas. I was rigged up with my favorite drift gear. The water was receding and clear with some greenish color to it. 
The visibility was about 3 feet. I was running 12 lb. main line with 10 lb. leader weighted with a 4" slinky. With a 1-o hook I was using a small chartreuse green spin and glow with a wisp of pink yarn. I carefully placed a small cluster of salmon eggs around the hook and added some artificial scent to the mix. I made a few casts upstream and enjoyed the wonderful feel of my weight bouncing effortlessly down stream in a very slow pattern. On the eighth cast my rod felt a light bump, and my line went slack. I thought I was snagged and gave it a jerk. My rod tip was bent and my line was being stripped. This hard fighting steelhead jumped a few times and ran out at least five times. After a 10 minute fight I was able to run this fish onto the beach with the help of the guy one spot down from me. This was incredible, a chrome bright 10 lb. steelhead in the first 20 minute of fishing. The fish fought hard and the gear performed perfectly. This hatchery raised beauty measured 30 inches in length, 16 inches in girth, and weighed in at over 10 lbs. This was a totally exhilarating experience. These Olympic Peninsula rivers have produced very well for me in the past with a catch rate of at least one fish per every two days of fishing.
Nick
Edmonds, Washington
