Like clockwork, every February, saltwater salmon fishing for winter blackmouth gets better and better in the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Sekiu east to Smith Island. As the microscopic tag, inserted in tip of the snout of about 10% of Washington’s hatchery produced chinook salmon indicates, these winter fish that gather in the Strait […]
When you get right down to it, there are only a couple things you can absolutely control on your boat: One, the amount of fuel you have on board and two, the health of your batteries. For the former, I’m a habitual tank “topper”…for the latter, I’ve always been a big proponent of on-board battery […]
I sincerely look forward to “show season”. I get to meet a whole bunch of new people and talk fishing and boating. The boating conversations often lead to answering questions regarding design and layout of various fishing hulls. During these discussions, one of my recurring challenges is trying to effectively explain the importance -and effect- […]
I’ve always been chided by, well, everybody for my lack of fly fishing expertise. The sad fact is, I really have no defense to the criticism. Most anglers careers follow some type of meaningful progression. You know, dunking worms as a kid in the local pond to fly fishing in some exotic destination. Unfortunately, my […]
Two decades is a long time. To create and host a fishing event that lasts for two decades and seems to grow every year is a huge accomplishment. To build the largest salmon derby on the west coast, raise money for local fisheries enhancement and enjoy unquestioned public support is a wonderful accomplishment! In the […]
The word “awesome” has become a bit overused these days but I’m having a tough time coming up with words to describe a month that included the Pacific Ocean, Columbia River, Puget Sound,the San Juan Islands and a couple of days fishing with our heroic wounded servicemen. The first major local offshore event of August […]
It’s not often you get to participate in an event “first” in the fishing world… Add the fact that the “first” in question is the newest stop on the prestigious Northwest Salmon Derby Series with a new tournament format and it’s no wonder why over 100 anglers and ten teams stepped up to compete in […]
It’s hard to find the words to describe what awaited anglers at Midchannel Bank on the 2013 Marine Area 9 & 10 selective chinook opener… With reports from the earlier opening areas -namely Sekiu, Port Angeles and the San Juans ranging from solid to white hot, I know I wasn’t the only eager angler tossing […]
Our annual Sitka “sojourn” took on a decidedly competitive theme this year. Why?…Well, when you have a Husky and a Cougar on the boat, despite the fact they were Seattle Seahawk teammates… you’re going to have issues but, ..we’ll get back to that later. Fortunately, catching fish would not be an issue this time. After […]
With a damp, dreary Memorial Day weekend in the rear view window, it’s time to look north for the first indications of our actual chinook returns. So why do we look north and what are we looking for? GREAT QUESTION!!! To answer that question, let’s have a quick review of what the University of Washington […]
