My First Spriner!!!!  Yes, it finaly happend! My neighbor...who has been saying for 3 years now...I'll take you fishin' sometime..called me last week and asked if I wanted to go fishin' Saturday...Heck yeah! 

Most of the day was a blur...as I at the station until 1am...got home...tied things up...packed a lunch and went to be at 2...woke up at 4:15 and met him at 4:30...Sleepy to say the least..luckily the wind and rain kept me cold enough to not sleep.

We started out trolling above I-5 with many a pass with nada...not many fish being caught..maybe 4 in the several hours we were there. Every other pass I would switch it up..we started out all running whole green label...3 rods. Then I would switch to a spinner..then back to whole herring...then back to a different spinner. They stuck with the whole herring. Dave-neighbors nephew gets a call from a friend that there were 25+ fish caught around Steamboat landing...so we pull up and head up there...as we arrive we see 3 nets...this is looking good... 

I decided at that time to try a cut plug...the cutter box had never been used..in fact neither my neighbor or his nephew had ever tried or learned how to cut plug...even though the had the box thingy....so I gave it a try. It wasn't wet 5 minutes and my neighbors eyes get big and he's like "Jeff...you've got a fish on" I reply...no line peel...no touchy....I'm watching my rod pound..but still don't touch it......it felt like 2 minutes...maybe 15 seconds..and I just barely loosen the drag...and ZIP, ZIP..I grab the rod and go to work on my first ever springer. I didn't know what to expect as the week before a friend hooked a nice one...that came right to the boat (only to loose it due to poor line management). I saw the fish...no fin..oh boy..this is it...gotta be patient....it takes 5 runs and finally ready to be netted...HECK YEAH!! High 5's and one knee shakin' dude standing there...I felt like it was the first fish I had ever caught.....

Thanks for reading my excitement!  I can’t wait to try again…Maybe Thursday!

Oh, and the reason the “snout” of the fish is missing is because the fish checker needed it…some fish have a microscopic piece of metal planted in the snout..so they can track where the fish came from!  I should know in a few months where my fish was headed!