Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor receive top billing for autumn salmon fishing

September 4, 2017

By Mark Yuasa Now that ocean salmon fisheries have concluded, it’s time for anglers to shift attention to estuaries and lower tributaries as fish migrate upstream heading into autumn. One area garnering plenty of notice lately is Willapa Bay where a king forecast of 36,805 (32,674 are of hatchery origin) have started to appear in […]

Columbia River Catch and Release Sturgeon

July 21, 2017

by Jason Brooks The lower Columbia river that separates Oregon and Washington is a super-highway for salmon and steelhead. As fall runs approach most anglers set up and wait to intercept fish. A single take-down makes everyone on board excited but what if there was another fishery where you can catch over a dozen or […]

Look to the Upper Columbia For Summer Salmon Action

June 7, 2017

By Dave Graybill No other season attracts more anglers to the upper Columbia River than when the summer-run and sockeye salmon seasons open on July 1st every year. While most salmon seasons are announced by Emergency Regulations on the upper Columbia, the summer-run salmon earned a permanent listing in the Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet […]

Catch More Springers in High Water!

April 8, 2017

by Jason Brooks With record high water and water clarity the color of mud it’s been hard to get excited about spring Chinook fishing. That is until you realize that it’s already mid-April and the fish are in the river. Regardless of the water conditions this is our chance to catch the worlds best eating […]

Catch More Kokanee with these Useful Tips

February 23, 2017

by Jason Brooks With temperatures finally starting to warm up it’s time to pull the boat out of winter storage and rig the rods for kokanee! These tasty landlocked Sockeye are already starting to fill stringers on many Eastern Washington lakes and Southwest Washington reservoirs. Here are a few tips that have put a lot […]

Fish Blades for Early Potholes Walleye

January 16, 2017

Potholes Reservoir is currently locked up with more ice than the lakes seen in quite a few years. It’s been awful chilly in Eastern Washington since early December and that bout of cold weather continues to this day. So why are we talking about walleye then? The second the ice comes off Washington’s Potholes Reservoir and the […]

Let’s Go Ice Fishing!

January 9, 2017

Let’s Go Ice Fishing! by Jason Brooks The recent cold temperatures have thickened the ice and a winter pastime is creating memories once again. Ice fishing is going strong in Eastern Washington with the trout bite being consistent on Roses Lake near the tiny town of Manson. Those that prefer to catch a mess of […]

Using a Side Planer with Plugs

December 8, 2016

It’s December 8th and we’re getting a steady stream of hatchery steelhead reports pouring in from around Western Washington. A handful of the big name rivers that routinely pump out hatchery brats this time of year are doing just that. When it comes to hatchery brats we typically talk about jigs, jigs, and more jigs. Hatchery […]

Luhr Jensen Tech Tip – Using the Jet Diver

October 19, 2016

Our good friend Carmen Macdonald at Luhr Jensen just produced a great video describing how to properly rig and use a Jet Diver. These divers are widely used in salmon and steelhead fisheries throughout the northwest, the Kenai River, and Alaska’s Nushagak River. If you’re serious about salmon and steelhead fishing you’ll at some point need […]

The Washington Tuna Classic 2016

August 30, 2016

Tuna fishing is a little like getting bit by a tick: It gets under your skin and you hope you don’t get the “disease”… If it weren’t for my former on-air partner, Seattle Seahawk Pro-Bowler Robbie Tobeck and SaltPatrol.com’s John Keizer, my tuna condition would likely have not progressed from acute through chronic to terminal. […]