On October 11, 2014, I caught my first coastal cutthroat in the beautiful Smith River. I can’t stress enough how much fight this fish had in it as it jumped out of my net twice. Considering it took a day’s worth of fishing various spots along the river and in a few different creeks to catch just one cutthroat I would have been quite disappointed if I lost it! Thankfully, it was well-hooked (on a barbless Copper John nymph) so I was able to grab a quick picture before setting it free.

Also caught a bunch of other trout including a coastal rainbow and another smaller trout I couldn’t easily identify. All in all, a fun day spent wading in the clear water of the Smith River!