Well, I made my first trip down the Icicle River this season, in search of a fresh spring salmon—and I scored! I met my fishing buddy Plumber Jim at the launch at 2:30 a.m. sharp and away we went to the launch. It was pitch dark and quiet and his first choice of holes to fish was pretty quiet, too. So quiet that we gave up on it after about an hour of just watching our rods bounce to the tune of the jet planers that were keeping our roe near the bottom. We drifted by a bunch of familiar faces down and around the corner, faces wearing disappointed looks. No fish at all so far. Daylight had broken by now and the birds were chirping at such a level that I almost wanted to turn down the volume. A few deer watched us pass, and at the next corner or day changed for the better. A bright 10-pounder grabbed one of our baits and I managed to pull the rod out of the holder with one hand, the other was holding another rod I had picked up to make an adjustment. The fish was a real scrapper, but Jim did a great job getting the net under it. It turned out to be our only fish, but it made for a really terrific first day on the Icicle River.