Okay, so it's not steelhead fishing, but I think I finally O.D.'d on my local rivers (at least temporarily) and needed a break. A buddy invited me to go out into Big Blue off Westport, and even though I'm a land-lubbing river addict, I agreed with 8-weight in hand and a stomach full of dramamine. We ended up having to go 27 miles offshore to find fish, but jeez, once we found 'em, it was nuts. Started with gear, but after awhile, the fish were so thick I broke out the fly rod. And what do you know--the silvers love chartreuse clousers. I just cast upwind, let it sink, then stripped it in as fast as possible. Pretty cool--you could actually watch 'em chase it in. I can see this could be addictive, too. Anyway, on one cast, I was retrieving the fly and an enormous shadow appeared behind it. At a distance, I thought "Big King," but then it kept getting bigger and I started to get worried. As the fly drew closer to the boat, I could see dorsal and tail above water, and finally got a good look at a six foot blue shark, homing in on the little clouser. I paused the retrieve, and in clear view, the shark rolled on his side and sucked it in. I set the hook, and he continued to swim at a very leisurely pace, so I reeled up my extra line, and put a little heat on him. What a joke. The instant he felt the pressure, there was a giant explosion and he took off, half out of the water, for the horizon. What a run--when I could see the spool, all I could do was grab the spool, point the rod and say goodbye. Great take though, and a pretty cool experience. Well, that's this steelheader's report from way out there in the big water. I'm ready to do it again as soon as my knees recover--it was a pretty rough ride in over the bar. Lots of fun.