I've been lurking a bit, but finally will post a report now that I think I've got enough fish under my belt to post a report.
Went fishing a couple days ago with my friend and helped him catch his first Salmon. I've got a tendency to spend the whole day on the water, so today I thought I'd see what I could do in a shorter time window.
Got to the Thomas' Eddy at about 1pm and realized I didn't have my Discover pass (later figured out that since it is a county park I might not need it) so I parked on the road even though there were spots in the lot. There's sort of a lull in fish/human activity in the middle of the day, and I felt like enjoying a modicum of elbow room.
Tried casting a few lures with bright colors instead of metal, figuring that since the sun wasn't out that a metallic/flashy lure wouldn't work. After snagging and losing a pink and white spoon, I switched to a Dick Nite 50/50 and managed to get my fish of the day. A small hen full of eggs, but not one of the sloppy monster males I've been seeing people bring in and usually set loose, so I was happy. A smaller, bright female actually makes a really nice meal. Probably should have called it good, because things seemed slooooow, but I kept at it. The fish were being pretty fickle, and I felt like thinking outside the box was the way to get them to pay attention.
Tried a Dick Nite with Yellow on the tip and ended up getting a very heavy (seeming) fish on, However, I'd hooked it all the way out in the middle of the river and by the time I got it up to 1/4 way across, it managed to slip loose. I give myself some credit for actually playing it properly, letting it run as needed, rather than snapping my line, because it felt like a ton of bricks. Left at 4pm, and saw lots of people walking in. A nice couple of hours on the river without a big crowd and not getting sun=baked or soaked, so it was time well spent.
I have a Japanese friend that claims she knows how to prepare the eggs with Sake for Sushi, so I'll let you know how that experiment goes.

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