Would you believe that this 25.9-pound, 40 1/4x 26-inch steelhead was the first one ever for Mick here? He caught the jumbo hatchery beast while side-drifting Pautzke’s cured eggs in Northwestern Washington with our pal guide Bill “Swanny” Swann.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is it’s probably time for Mick to take up golf…table tennis…antiquing…cubist painting…French cooking…whatever. Because, when you start your steelhead fishing career off with a fish like that, there’s really nowhere to go but down…