A head lamp tracks the movement of a fellow angler. There's about 6 other guys as crazy as me this morning, but nobody's had any luck so far. My rod is already rigged and I briefly "charge" the glow in the dark corkie with my head lamp. About a dozen casts later and the rythmic "tap, tap, tap" of the pencil lead sinker is replaced by a sharp TUG, then another. I set the hook hard and can hear a fish jump in front of me. I let the fish run and jump in the dark as I shuffle down river away from the other anglers. At this point I really don't know how big the fish is. I assume it's a summer run (but it could be an early silver salmon) and after a few good runs, I click on my headlamp and confirm it is. Five minutes later, the 6lb. hatchery hen steelhead is on the beach, and I've got her tagged. The time... 5:00 a.m. I fish as the beautiful full moon sets, and the first glimpse of daylight breaks. No other fish come to hand, and it is soon time to switch over to the spey rod. I change out rods, and get into the regular cast, swing, step routine, but no takers. By 7:30 the sun starts to shine directly on the water and it's time to go. I"ve got to be at the Equipment rental shop by 10:00 am to pick up a pressure washer.
I usually wouldn't be in this much of a hurry. But a deal is a deal. My wife asked me to paint our house this year, and I foolishly agreed. Being a natural born procrastinator, I obviously put it off. This weekend may be one of the nicest weekends left of the summer, and I really needed to attack the project. But, I needed to fish too........ So I had no other alternative than to get an early start. My reward for todays hard work, will be crusted in lemon pepper and cooked on the barbeque. There is no better way to end a long summers day than natures bounty wrapped in aluminum foil!