by Jason Brooks With a dry summer and now a fall that is extending the dry season our rivers are extremely low. But even with the skinny water the salmon need to get to the spawning grounds and are entering with each new tide. What might seem like lock-jawed fish it can be very frustrating […]
An interesting question came up on my Facebook page the other day that’s often talked about amongst us steelhead fanatics. What’s the most important factor in getting a winter steelhead to strike…sight or smell? I would say without a doubt that sight, and more importantly presentation, is the biggest factor in getting a winter steelhead […]
I have been a big fan of Beau Mac Floats for years. For me, I’m sold on the quality and the variety of floats now offered by Beau Mac. I look for several things when I am looking for a quality float. First and foremost is durability. I don’t like fishing floats that can’t take a little […]
Squid Showing Up in the Sound Already Tim Bush at Outdoor Emporium (206-624-6550) says the squid fishing in Puget Sound has been excellent since late August. Bush says Pier 86 is the best place to target squid because they have power plug-ins built right into the dock for lights. He also recommends Seacrest Pier, Des […]
We're in the middle of our second La Nina winter in a row here in Washington and the weather maelstrom that many of the meteorologists predicted, well, it hasn't materialized yet. Knock on wood! This has been the driest December on record and that's dropped many of the cricks in Western Washington to near summer […]
I was talking to guide Phil Stephens of Mystical Legends Guide Service last week about how the fishing had been recently on the Humptulips River and he exclaimed, "There's plenty of kings and silvers in there but you can't get past the infestation of chums to get to them!" Eeek…tough duty Phil! I'm still chuckling […]
Steve Maris and I with limits of chrome coastal silver salmon from last fall When I opened the door to the house this morning to hustle the garbage out to the street corner I was greeted by rain. Lots of rain! Dragging the can out to the street in my usual morning coffee outfit […]
Forks, Washington Guide Mike Zavadlov with a chrome Bogachiel River winter steelhead I've been watching all the coastal steelhead reports lately like a cat staring at a bird. Reports of hammer-time steelhead action were pouring in with regularity. By last weekend my tail was switching back and forth in anticipation of batting some steelhead […]
Fishing buddy Steve Maris and I hit the Olympic Peninsula bright and squirrely on Tuesday morning in search of an elk. We drove for three hours in the dark, launched the driftboat on river "X" at sunup in a what-the-hell-are-we-doing-here rain storm and then floated downstream, poking our way into alder bottoms and potential elk […]
Guide Bill Meyer with a dime brite silver salmon caught on a twitched jig. Twitching marabou, zonker strip, and hoochie-skirted jigs for fall coho has proven to be a deadly technique on the rivers of Western Washington for fickle, lock-jawed silvers. 1/8 to as large as 1/2 ounce jigs in sizes 1/0 and 2/0 are […]
