Fish Report for 3-2-10:

A great day on the river, especially for me because I actually got to go on the river!  I’ll of course, have to save my story for last!!

Tony and Jeff had the Rachelle Hubler crew down at Spring Bar today!  I loved their pink G-Loomis skeleton fish hats!  Ladies…those rocked!  These ladies and I had a great conversation at the River Rock cafe last night and I got to know them a little better!  There are three sisters in this group and they have all been coming for quite a few years!!  Another lady in their crew said this was the best time for the 6 of them to get together as they are so busy any other time of year!  What a fun group of gals!  I was glad to talk to them and hope to see them again next year!  Caralea Hinkle-Daniel landed a 22″W fish while Karlan Richards and Caprice Watson both caught a 23″H!!

Upriver, Sam and DUB had day #1 of the Wendy Hafer/Sam Logan tribe!!  Amy Cardenas had her tournament day and caught a 23″H while Kristi Cox was just fishing for the fun of it and caught a 31 1/2″W!  Wendy Hafer was also fishing just for fun today and caught a 30″W!!  But Sam Logan was going for broke as it was her tournament day and caught 4 fish! 24″H, 27″H, 25″H, 27″H!!  Way to go ladies!!  It was fun to have these ladies today and we look forward to seeing what their boat does tomorrow!

Also upriver, Mike Wallace and Mike Estrada had the Pat Wilder crew!  Pat and Cathy Jerrems already came up for “practice” earlier in the tournament, and today they made it their official tournament day to see if they could make perfect!!  Both ladies certainly gave it their best shot with Cathy catching two fish–both 26″ keepers and Pat catching three fish–23″H, 24″H and 23 1/2″H!  Linda McGraw caught a 23″H while Judy Troyer caught a 28 1/2″H and Marilyn Roan caught a nice 30″H!  Our boat saw quite a bit of these ladies today and it was alot of fun bantering back and forth with them!!  But ladies, don’t forget to remind your guide and bait boy…never bring peanuts to a meatball fight!!  😉

And last but certainly not least, I was able to take some of my friends on their WWB day today!!  It was so nice to get out of the office and into the open air!!  I love my husband’s “office” and wish there were more “take your wife to work” days…this was definitely one I’ll remember for a long time!!  First off, everyone on board caught fish–which to me is the best!  But then, we really got in ’em and even had 3 double-hook ups!  I only fished for maybe 2 hours tops, but still caught a 23 1/2″ keeper!  Meanwhile, my goal was just relaxing and visiting with all my friends while rooting them on as they kept reeling them in!!  My childhood friend’s wonderful mom, Caroline Pottenger, has been going with us for two years and today she caught two fish–a 27″ and a 27 1/2″–both keepers!!  Meanwhile, her daughter-in-law and my great friend Tracie Pottenger caught 4 fish!! 23″H, 28″H, 23 1/2″H, 24″H!!  Tracie and I did our very first WWB together 10 years ago and we both agreed, this was definitely the very best day we ever had on WWB!!

Then, another wonderful friend, Kyla Sawyer, who writes great articles for the Star News in McCall, went on her first WWB today and also caught 4 fish (24″H, 26″H, 26″H, 23 1/2″H)!! Her husband Brad served as our “bait boy” today and he definitely had his work cut out for him on this boat!!  He did a great job and we’ve got him down as requested for next year!  My sweet and dear friend, Wendy Hook, who is a totally talented artist (ladies, check out your ‘goody bags’ for a coupon from Unique Antler Design Gallery here in Riggins…so you can see/buy Wendy and her sister Shari’s beautiful work!) caught 3 fish (24 1/2″H, 28 1/2″W, 25″H)!  I’m just so glad Wendy got a day off of work!!  She’s one busy lady!

And finally, my good friend, and also Salmon River Native, Laurie Swift-Anglen came to town to join up in WWB for the first time!  It’s funny how many locals I know are finally trying out Steelhead fishing for the first time!  Laurie and her family live in the Boise Valley but are often coming through their hometown of Riggins and love to see “home”!  So Laurie not only caught her very first steelhead ever, but then proceeded to turn right around and catch 4 more in a row (24″H, 24 1/2″W, 26 1/2″H, 24″W, 24 1/2″H)!!!  It was so great!  We truly had a sensational day and are still on a high after boating 19 fish!  That is the best day for me…to see not only my friends getting a well-deserved day off, but to see another dear friend reconnect with home and catch her very first Steelie!  What an adventure!!