MONTHLY MEETING
Wednesday - November 19, 2025
LAEL JOHNSON
RISK VS REWARD
PRESENTATION
Risk vs Reward – Hunting the Greatest Fish on Earth
Steelheading is not for the faint of heart. It's for the angler willing to stand waist-deep in glacial water, casting flies over violent currents to have it land above or below structure, risking it all for one undeniable pull from a steelhead so big, you almost believe it doesn't exist.
In this program, Capt. Lael Johnson takes you inside the mindset and methods of an elite steelheader. Drawing from years of guiding on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, North Cascades – Skagit & Sauk, Southeast Alaska, and personal quests in Northern British Columbia, Lael breaks down the balance between technical precision and raw instinct that it takes to hook the fish of a lifetime.
He'll show how gear, fly choice, river position, and presentation come together, but more importantly, he'll reveal the mentality required to thrive in water where most anglers give up. Lael doesn't just teach tactics; he embodies the hunt.
Each story, each image, and each lesson is woven with the electricity of steelhead themselves—fish born in rivers, hardened by the ocean, and returning as brutes that test every ounce of strength you have.
Audiences will leave not only with a framework for success on the water, but with a visceral sense of what it means to chase the greatest fish on earth.
This isn't just fishing. This is RISK vs REWARD, jumping in the cage to see if a steelhead decides you're worthy.
Featured Rivers
- Skagit River – Big bars, lots of unproductive water, heaven in the right spots, and BIG fish
- Hoh River – Legendary, classic Olympic Peninsula steelhead water, steelhead dreams by the roadside
- Sol Duc River – Technical water that demands precision and timing, the boulder party
- Bogachiel River – Versatile, challenging, off-color, unlimited options
- Quillayute River System – Confluence-driven migration routes that feed the Bogey, Calawah, & Sol Duc, which also give the town of Forks, WA, its name
- Queets River – Remote, WILD, big-water old growth structure & challenges, no cell service, BIG fish
- Clearwater – Tailout after tailout, ledge rock, forest over your head as you float through, prettiest fish on the peninsula, highwater safe haven
- Quinault – Strongest fish on the peninsula, state record steelhead, ultra-fast water, the grab from a steelhead that might pull you in to swim with it
Your Presenter
Capt. Lael Johnson is one of the most respected voices in modern Spey fishing—a U.S. Coast Guard–licensed captain, professional guide, photographer, and owner of Fly Gyde, a full-spectrum fly fishing adventure brand and global travel outfitter.
Known as an elite steelheader, Lael doesn't just chase fish; he hunts them. His philosophy is rooted in obsession: "One cast can change your life." To him, the pursuit of steelhead is more than sport. It's survival, grit, and an unflinching test against the GREATEST fish on earth.
When Lael speaks, audiences hear not just a guide's insight, but a hunter's conviction, forged on the cobbled rocks that line the banks and bottoms of the most iconic rivers of the Pacific Northwest—in British Columbia, Washington, and Alaska—where steelhead are born, hardened in the ocean, and return to do battle against anglers who dare step into their world.
Out of this pursuit, Lael found purpose. He founded the FYSH Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting well-being and healing among underserved individuals through outdoor experiences on and off the water.
His work blends technical mastery, storytelling, and service, making him not just an angler but a voice for what it means to live with passion and chase something bigger than yourself.