Life on the Water
by Tim Higley
Newport, OR
I cast my pink worm out into the river at the twin bridges boat ramp and let it drift downstream. For a few seconds, nothing in the world is more important than the path the worm takes. The plastic wonder might possibly make my entire month worthwhile, so I don’t want anything else to take my focus off of the worm. Nothing on that cast…
As usual, I hadn’t gotten any bites, not even a small guy, all day, and I’d been on the river since about 4:30 am. It was nearly 11 now…
About to pack up my stuff, and head back into town for some lunch, I decided to switch up my gear, and I put a tiny spoon onto my line and cast it out. I pulled it in along the bottom, and I felt something tug! I tried to set the hook, but he was too fast for me. My hope rekindled, I cast out my spoon for a second time. Nothing. I tried again, casting a few feet downstream from the first hit, and then I felt it. This time I set the hook, and the battle commenced. I only fought him for about thirty seconds but when I brought him to the bank, I noticed that I’d caught what I came for. At nineteen inches long, it was a beautiful Siletz river steelhead.
