Testimonials
What Have You Caught For Me Lately?
Please go to "Fish Talk" and make a new post about your "Big Fish" story. Create a 'New Topic" under the appropriate category, title it "Testimonial" and enter you story.
I will rotate testimonials from the "Fish Talk" page into this page of the site.
Now let's hear your unbelievable tails here! This page is loaded and as we head into some serious river fishing seasons coming up soon......that's right buddies, more and more content she'll be pouring in.
Update: Sal Monid fishing in Russia for Masu Salmon
Report to come soon
July 5th, 2006
By Nookslayer
It's long overdue, but here it is! 
On Father's day I was able to get out and fish the forbidden side of the Deschutes. The day began at the Deschutes Crossing around 1pm. We met our guide Jakob from Country Sport and then waited for the elusive "Toots", our Tribal guide. Toots rolled in to the parking lot about 1:45 with a heater hanging off of his upper lip in a 1978 Chevy 4x4. He rallied the gang and off we went. What Jakob forgot to tell us is that we were about to do the Drakkar Rally to the hole. At speeds approaching 70 mph down roads that looked like they hadn't been used in 20 years we went. My amigos were crapping in their pants as I laughed.
When we finally got to the "parking lot" about 30 minutes later we then hiked down a steep revene to the spot. I have to say I never would have fished this water had I not been told to. We were right below Pelton dam on what looked more like a lake than a river. The water fluxed about 6 feet while we were there due to timed releases from the dam.
We tied up our rigs running double mac salmons and hit the water. I walked down river past the other two guys and went in. 10 minutes later I heard fish on and went to help land. The first fish went to Mike at a whopping 21 inches! Nice piggy. The next went to Plem at 19 inches, but I hadn't got anything yet. 
Toots rolled over and grabbed me to walk all the way up to the dam pointing out spots to hit all the way back down. He was tossing salmon flies in the water to spot fish rising and then I would get after them. I landed about 15 fish total and missed 20 more. The biggest I landed was 18 and had 2 to my feet over 20 but lost them. The worst was when I was asleep at the wheel and missed what could have been the fish of the day in front of the entire party! 
We hiked out and went down river to the water at the mill and fished until dark after that. Each of us continued to catch fish on nothing but size 4 mac salmon and 2x line. Phenominal day. 
June 25th, 2006
By Sal Monid
Sal Monid with a 32lb Chromer! 30lber
Hellcat, here is a few pics of the recent trip to Prince rupert. We were fishing with downriggers and a variety of baits--anchovies, herring, hoochies and spoons. We were using long (10' 6") mooching rods and reels. Most of the fish were in the 30-35 pound range and were definitely hot fighters. We ended up having two doubles on the trip and that was comedy since we only had one guy extra to raise the down riggers, reel in the other tods and do the job of netting. The mooching reels are much like a big fly reel and requite palming when the fish runs. These were great fish in beautiful country. We also picked up some rock fish and halibut with the biggest going about 40 pounds, small for a halibut but good eating. The boat was a 22 footer and made in Rupert. The captian and my friend was Mark Potyrala. We did have one day of very snotty weather (the day after the shot with the rod at sunset) where we had to cross about 20 miles of open water and the wind was hitting about 30 knots and rising and the swell was about 3 feet with a chop of 3-5 feet. We definitely got pounded. It was a fine trip and it was nice to come home with a box of nice, fresh salmon and halibut filets.
Captain Mark Potyrala, Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Brewing Storm, Day 2, Chinook Hunt
June 22nd, 2006
By Ghostface Killah
Team Salmon made an assault to our box on the Willamette yesterday. My stick has been ice cold for the most part and I have seen some fools stick HIM once or twice. Right after I dunked my doughnuts crossing the channel to get to the box I new something was special about this day.
DC and Ron Pierre were posted up in the slot with a couple landed to the bank already. I put together my junk which had a piece of cod/shrimp(with pinchers you fooks)/MandatoryCrawler; the Scooby snack was ready. We were on a new 15 minute rotation schedule brought on by DC. Long soaks were not gonna happen.
Let's get to it. Looking out we were feeling a triple take down in effect. Ron Pierre went to analyze his swinging rod tip when mine went down and about hit him in his head. As always, I thought he was fooking with my line but the thing was swinging like FishTatt's flesh propeller at a bachelorette party. After setting the hook it was game on. He moved around the hole like he owned it; which he did. After playing this beast for 15 minutes we saw HIM rise to the top. I shat my dress. He was a mega-toad looking at a strong 7 feet long. After multiple runs we finally got him to shore. SIDENOTE: I have neglected to say that this was a crowd pleaser with two river kayakers. One of them being a hottie with two long braided blonde pig tails (you know what I'm talking about;justice). I jump in the water to release HIM and his thrashing made me a wee bit nervous. He was tuckered at the end of it and finally swam off. By far the largest fish I have ever landed...Bar None
After getting the kudo's from the homies we fished on. It was at another rotation that I cast out into the super-highway hole and let it soak for a minute...one minute I say before ANOTHER mega toad took me down; unreal scenario. This one was of equal size, took as long as the first to land, and left me with a chubby in my pants.
After about twenty feet of fish landed to the bank I will tell you this. My arms were sore, my back was worked, and I was king for the day...Thanks boys.
Oh yeah. Ron Pierre won the count with 5 or 6 landed, DC and I were right behind him; I believe we had 12 or 13 to the shore...
Introduction for Nook Virgin. June 11th, 2006
First time Coho fishing (2001), guy had the hot stick, I was hooking up every other cast at Cedar Creek and I limited. I've probably logged4-5 Coho trips with no hookups since. First time Sturgeon fishing, a guy landed 2 shakers, not legal, but success nonetheless. In 7-8 sturgeon trips, guy's landed maybe 2-3 more shakers. My beginner's luck did not apply to Chinook or Steelhead, as I've hooked only 2 and 1 of those fish, respectively, in probably a combined 15 trips.
But a guy's beginner's luck was back in effect this weekend! First time Bass Fishing as me, Lobes and Hell dropped in on Massey at Mercer for a 2 day, 1 nighter. All day Saturday, we got little action until about 9:30 or so. A guy hooked about a 4 lber and got him to within 10 feet of the boat until he spat me out. A few minutes later as bats were swooping and visibility was all but gone, I had to start casting more conservatively so I wouldn't hit the trees that I couldn't see. Then...magic. I hooked a fish very similar in size to the one I lost 20 minutes prior, except this time I got that 19-inch, 4 lb large mouth in the boat! Got him on a surface popper thingy. Black with some grey ribbing and a red beak, I think. After that, we got our fish fry on and the "Oh Snap" was bomb. Great trip with or without the beginner's luck, thanks Hell, Lobes and Massey for an awesome weekend!
NookVirgin
June 2006-Rob Hammill, Team Salmon Special Contributor
It was a stormy day in june back several years ago. My brother and stepfather had come to Montana to do some fishing. We decided to explore the angling on the Big Hole river located in the southcentral part of the state. Located about an hour south of Montana's white trash capital of Butte, the Big Hole offers anglers a challenging array of fishing opprotunities from high mountain stream fishing for grayling to wide open meadows where large brown trout willingly rise to giant salmon flies. We arrived a little late for the main frenzy of the salmonfly hatch, but there were still some adults bugs to be found now and again. Not having a boat we decided to try our collective luck fishing a chain of islands just upstream of the town of Wise River. We each headed of in different directions looking for that perfect little honey hole. I found it. I was fishing a silver and black zonker through a deep drop off and hooked into a pig. This brown trout was giving me fits. I couldn't turn him one bit. He rolled once and appeared to be at least 10 lbs. Unfortunately for me, I was on the end of and island and couldn't give chase downstream. Upon reaching the end of my backing the mamafincher broke me off. Slightly dejected, I tried my luck in the next hole upstream. It must have been my lucky day because I hooked and landed a 7-8 lb. hen about five minutes later. That is the fish in the picture. All this in about 30 min. of fishing, the one that got away and the that didn't. Well, she did get away I guess after I put her back in the water. I haven't been back the the Big Hole since. Sometimes I wonder what the flip is wrong with me, it's only an hour and half drive from Bozeman. Which makes it more like four hours from where I live now in Billings. Maybe next years I'll make it back
