Don’t Get Discouraged ... but it takes an average of 32 hours to catch a steelhead on the Smith River. Add in a 12-hour drive (round trip), snow, hail, rain and cold and you might never go fishing.

But, it’s that rarity in all appealing activities that keeps us coming back. Think how rare a hole-in-one is. Rare goals keep soccer at the top of sports.

But sometimes you get lucky and beat the odds. Stan Press and I did in late January. I caught a bright, silver 9-pound wild female steelhead.

Stan trumped me with a magnificent 12-pound wild male steelie.

Both were released unharmed to fight again.

Our pro guide, Kevin Brock (800-995-5543), showed us the way — just hold the fish upright in the water by the tail. It will decide when it’s ready to go, and splash water in your face to boot.

We hooked six fish and landed two.

But it only took us 16 man-hours to catch a fish — twice as good as the average.

Take a look at these two worthy prey.

That’s pro guide Kevin Brock helping out. Stan fooled his at a rocky bend in the river, previously called “Boulder Patch.”

Not anymore. From now on it’s “Stan’s Stones.”

The Smith River is the only one in California with a privately funded and operated steelhead hatchery — Rowdy Creek.

Mark Mondavi has led a team of St. Helena’s best anglers to victory in some of their Rowdy Creek fund-raiser Steelhead Derbies over the years.

Contrast Illuminates ... the sport of fishing. Look no further for proof than the colorful 25-pound red tail catfish held by Napa angler Steve Orndorf.

He caught it on the wilderness river in Suriname on the northeast coast of South America. His personal best was 75 pounds.

What could be further from or more different than California’s Smith River?

Thirty-three degrees on the Smith — ninety-five in Suriname.

Check out Steve’s other exotic fish, the Suriname wolf fish — an angry 25-pound killer — and look at the size of the popper plug in its mouth.

A real contrast to the dime-sized little ball of roe on skinny 8-pound leader used for steelhead.

Suriname had a long run of colonial masters before becoming independent in 1975. Originally inhabited by native Indians, then South American Indians, replaced by Spain, the Dutch and then the English.

But in 1667, England traded Suriname back to the Dutch for Nieuw Amsterdam (New York City).

Orndorf said the river they fished was absolutely remote — no signs of civilization anywhere. His guide said that they were only the 12th and 13th Americans ever to fish there.

Want more? Go to www.lonelyplanet.com/theguianas/suriname.

Clear Lake. I just read that the average bass caught in official Clear Lake tournaments and derbies is over 5 pounds — tops in the U.S.

How nice to have one of the 25 best bass lakes right close by.

Look for this major rain event to improve fishing there big-time for all species.

It will cover important bass spawning areas and hidey holes. Crappie love the deeper water. Catfish go on the prod in muddy water around creek inlets.

Warming water provides an overall beneficial effect.

Update — the lake level still rising. Bass schooled up in the south end in 10 and 20 feet of water and are taking live minnows with abandon. Find a fish and you’ll be on a pod of them.

Wear that hole — and go to another. There is clear water above Monitor and in Jago Bay.

Correction in my last column. I identified the angler with the dandy dorado as Bill Mink’s son, David.

Wrong — it was his son-in law, Mark. Sorry, Mark.

Wait, it gets worse. I also misidentified the fish — it is not a dorado but a beauty anyway.

I’m chagrined to be a screw-up, but happy to learn that readers are checking on me and setting me straight.

E-mails have flooded in.

I was “corrected” by a friend over by the asparagus in the market just this afternoon.

For all of the rest of you, have at it.

I’ll always be yours at acorn_3@comcast.net.

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