Well today was my last day of fishing for the 2004~05 license year. The weather was great and the fishing was very satisfactory. I was able to land my second largest bull trout to date and as an extra bonus it was on my flyrod.

The final fish of the season was smaller, but a nice bull in my books nonetheless.

This past year was a fun year for me. I was able to land a steelhead on my only outing last year making me 1-1 for 2004, although this year it has been a little bit disappointing as I am doing an 0’fer.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to go fishing for the famed trout of the interior, but got into a few trout locally on both the lakes and rivers, all caught on my own tied flies. The highlight of the summer was that I was able to pull out a legitimate 13” fish from my favourite trout creek (average is around 10~11”).
I haven’t fished for Coho on the fly yet, but was able to land some beautiful specimens using spoons, which was a first for me.
Perhaps the greatest accomplishment for me this year was that I was able to become a wee bit more proficient with the fly rod using sinking tips on larger flows. Utilizing sink tips, I was able to enjoy many bull trout these past few months and also able to land my second and largest cutthroat so far. Hopefully, the experience gained this past season on the fly will soon translate to more Coho on the fly and perhaps if I am lucky a Steelhead or two.
Goals for the upcoming season for me are as follows (in no particular order):
1. Get out to the interior lakes and have battle with an interior rainbow
2. Get out to the Skagit
3. Pinks/Coho on the fly
4. Get the Loop switch rod (or something comparable)
5. Improve my fly tying
So how was your last year and what are your goals for the 2005/06 season?
Shane