Today I was "that guy"!first nook!

After 3 years of trying and lots of hours of wondering what its going to take,my number got pulled today at drano lake for a nice bright Chinook..i dropped in about 730.this was my 3rd outing in my anniversary present,a 2015 revo 13.I trolled across to the north side then headed to the bridge.had a tiny bump followed by a rebait.went around the toilet bowl a few times with no luck.tolled to the mouth of the little white salmon where the bobber boats anchor up and had a solid take but didn't stick.rebaited and trolled on down past the metal ball buoys, turned around and went back west got stripped again.rebaited and trolled to the netting platform turned around and went back east.the area was loaded with fish on the humminbird. Was seeing a few caught all morning but by no means a hot bite. As I made it to the first ball buoy my rod tip skipped then disappeared.well the top 4 guides on my rod disappeared underwater.took a few hard pedels the grabbed the rod.all i could think was dont loose it.during the first thumb burning run I grabbed the net and got it ready.I got to see my flasher once before it shot into the green depths again and again.got the flasher up again then off again in a short blistering run.now I thought it was willing to give a little as it started to come up.wrong!shot down again.all I'm thinking is stay hooked stay hooked.now bringing it up one last time I can see it's wrapped but still mouth hooked.sliding the net down I sees it and wallows around and pulled a few feet off the reel.I lifted one last time slid the big chunk of chrome into the net.I just sat there for a minute shaking and breathing hard taking it all in.all the time and effort paid off.I had a nice fellow in a boat take a few pic on shore for me. I have to thank my wife for the kayak and for putting up with my obsession. I'm writing this in McDonalds in hood river so I have yet to measure or get a weight yet.I will when I get home and update here later.here are some pics.

Nice work cowboy now catch some more!

Nice, still waiting for my first.

Congrats

Good call on the Revo and great report!

You got a nice one too. Welcome to the addiction

Nice one.  Hardest one is the first.  You'll be a Drano master in no time.  Some days it's all strips and nibbles.  It's the days when everything results in a solid hook up that make Drano a spot to rack up serious numbers.

If the weather and dam numbers continue like this Drano could be in classic form by Friday.

Good job!  Beauty.

Great report & it's always nice to see hard work pay off. Good start to the fall run & keep 'em coming Austin.
H

I weighed and measured when I got home. 35˝" and 18˝ lbs. Thanks everyone. It put my mind at ease knowing I did it right with a result to show.the first is the best even if its the hardest. I will remember the takedown and battle forever.after figuring the coho out last year I knew I was one step closer.

It will be King Fever from now on. Those dreams that wake you up in a cold sweat, the obsession with watching weather and river flows. Sorry about that buddy but this is just how it is.

One day you'll ask - why didn't I take the blue pill?

Nice report!  Yup, you're in trouble now.

Your wife loves you, Man!  The salmon gods love you too!  Woot Woot.  The adrenaline is sooooo addicting.

Beautiful fish! Congrats!

Thanks for sharing your story - that's a great looking fish!

-Sam

Great story and an awesome first chinook! Congrats.
Sounds like you are in a pretty nice relationship. Hope your wife can get used to eating fat-oozing chrome-bright chinook fresh from the water because that Revo is a deadly salmon killing machine.