First Steelie on the Flyrod

OK, I wasn't on the yak, but I've been trying for 6 years to catch a "real" steelhead on the fly rod. (I've caught others that the regs would dictate were steelhead but I still considered trout) Water was low and clear and i had a 12+ ft leader for these wary fish. "Chuck and duck" as the leader was too long and fly too heavy for a respectable cast with my 9 ft 6 wt.

nice!  is that the stick you beat it to death with and its blood in the background?   great fish! well done!

The fish of a thousand casts! Awesome.

I'm still laughing at the first comment and the stick used to bonk him.  Awesome.  Congrats

nice!  is that the stick you beat it to death with and its blood in the background?   great fish! well done!

um... no.... this fish died um... peacefully in its sleep due to pre-mature spawning anxiety. The blood is... uh... mine. 
For reals, ya, some nice guys came over ready to whack it the second I got it beached. They had already found the perfect weapon, I just am not good at covering my tracks.

Nice steel! What fly were you fishing?

Nice steel! What fly were you fishing?

More like which fly didn't I use. These guys were in crystal clear water and were extremely spooked. They were also suspended about 10 feet down. This guy fell to a dark red egg pattern. Bobber and micro jig would have been the best for this scenario, but I didn't have that.
I honestly think he only grabbed it out of reflex because another fish was eyeballin it. Doesn't matter to me.

You can see how clear the water is behind you.  Nice fish.

Excellent fish on a 6 wt. -- I'm sitting here grinning and now you've got me remembering my first steelie. Some things stick with you for a long, long time. Good for you. Congratulations!