OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Before we left Washington for the Idaho Fish-In I asked my darling wife, Vickie, what she wanted for our wedding anniversary on the 7th of October. She quickly replied, “A guided Sea Run Cutthroat trip on the Cowlitz River with Steve Buckner”. It was a good thing she said that, because I’d already booked the trip.
We were almost done unpacking from the Idaho trip when the 7th rolled around. When the alarm went off at 4:00 AM I did not want to get out of bed, but I forced myself, as did Vickie. After all, we were to meet our guide at 7:00 AM and it was about 1½ hours away. A morning double espresso is the most important meal of the day.
We had floated the river with Steve a couple years ago, using his drift boat. He is a very personable guy who can not only keep you on fish all day, but can carry on an intelligent conversation on most any subject during those times when the fishing is slow.
We arrived a bit early, got our waders on, rods lined up, and licenses
into our vests, when Steve pulled into the boat launch parking lot, a bit
early himself. Instead of the drift boat, he was towing his sled. Sea Run
Cutthroat tend to move about in the river system and having a motorized
boat helps to find them.
Cowlitz River
Steve launched the boat and at 7:01 AM we were roaring up river to a hole he had found fish in the day before. We found the fish and Steve laid out tasty cinnamon rolls and coffee, cause we have to keep our strength up.
I might mention that Steve lives along the Cowlitz River and fishes or guides on it almost every day. He guides for Sea Run Cutthroat, Salmon and Steelhead. To say he knows the river would be an understatement.
Almost everywhere Steve stopped the boat, we found fish. Most were very fresh from the saltwater and bright silver with a pale orange slash under their chins. A few had been in the river system for a few days and were taking on the color of their resident cousins. These are some hard fighting fish, strong and aggressive as well. There is no doubt about a Sea Run Cutthroat take as they don’t just bite the fly, they attack it with abandon. They are also plentiful at this time of year as they run into the freshwater to spawn.
Unfortunately, a lot of guides who take steelheaders out would like to see the Sea Run Cutthroat gone from the river systems. They aggressively attack flies and steal eggs and other bait from gear fishermen, making them very disliked by those guides.
Steve Buckner likes to see the Sea Run Cutts in the river as they provide some action while searching for steelhead. Of course they are worthy fish all on their own.
True to form, Steve kept us in fish all morning. At one
point, about noon, he asked if we were getting hungry yet. With our affirmative
answer, he put us in at a good hole and started our shore lunch. By this
point Vickie and I were sharing a rod because we were so tuckered out from
catching so many fish. 
Lunch Is Cooking
Some smells just should not be allowed on the river when you’re tired and
hungry. Burgers cooking over charcoal is one of them. Smelling our lunch
being cooked caused me to look down river to the boat and it looked like
the boat was afire. Not to worry though, just the grill smoking a bit.
Steve called out “One more cast, and then we eat”. For once in her life,
Vickie did just that, one more cast and she headed for the boat.
The burgers were thick and juicy with all the fixins, fresh and crisp.
Chips and a soft drink and/or coffee rounded out the meal. Oh, did I forget
to mention the chocolate chip cookies. My bad.
We fished through the afternoon till the sun was starting to dip well toward
the horizon. I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked over to Steve and asked
if he wanted his fly back. He asked if I was done and when I said yes,
he double checked just to be sure. Right behind me was Vickie, looking
completely worn out.
Ron’s Catch of the Day
A nice ride in Steve’s sled back to the launch finished up our day. On
the way back, Vickie and I started planning a trip with Steve for winter
steelhead sometime in November.
Vickie and I have a tough time remembering how long we’ve been married
when someone asks. Our usual reply is “Not long enough”. We know there
are paper, gold and silver anniversaries. We want to know what anniversaries
are fishing trip anniversaries. Whatever they are, we’ve had two of them,
and we plan on many more.
Happy Wife – Happy Life
For those that would like to book a trip with Steve Buckner, he can be contacted at https://www.northwestflyfisherman.com or by phone at (503) 939-5819. Steve is a certified casting instructor in single and two handed rods.