I know, I've got issues..I await the salmon forecast numbers like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. Hello, my name is Tom and I am a "salmon sicko". After watching the numbers for a number of years (never mind how many…) I've found that you can "call some shots" by digging into the forecast numbers. The […]
On Presidents Day Weekend, we got to see… firsthand… why the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby was nicknamed “The Iron Man”. Personally, until this year, I had never competed in this event, I simply admired the guys who worked the water for those days in February when the winds can whip the Straits of Juan de Fuca into […]
Fishing coon shrimp for salmon and steelhead isn't a new technique. Pacific Northwest Anglers have been employing the procedure for decades. Nonetheless, in the last few years the application has seen an influx in interest, likely a reflection of modern formulas that make brining the shrimp easier and more efficient than in the past. There […]
Football nuts have their NFL Combine and Draft, while us “salmon sickos” have the salmon run projections and the season setting process. If you’re a football fan fisherman…you’ve got a whole lot of “pre-seasoning” to do. So, in an effort to apply some “salmonid salve” to your off-season itch lets take a peek at the process of […]
The first local salmon "opener" of 2012 is slated for January 16 in north Puget Sound's Marine Area 9. This huge piece of water encompassing Admiralty Inlet features some of Washington State's premier salt water salmon locations, namely Possession Bar, Point No Point and Midchannel Bank. On a chart or on the water, "A9" can […]
With memories of last year's San Juan Island (Marine Area 7) smokin' hot blackmouth (winter feeder chinook) opener spinning through my head, I couldn't wait to get up to the Islands for the opener! Add the fact that I'm going to have my pard' Robbo Endsley and Island guru Jay Field on board Big Red […]
For the second year in a row, I've had the opportunity to fish the Marine Area 8 & 9 opener to "scout" or pre-fish the opening event of the Northwest Salmon Derby Series, the Bayside Marine Derby. Usually, there are a few "easy" fish available on opening day and you get a good read on […]
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 […]
Ray's bobber went down for the umpty-umph time that morning and he reeled hard into a chrome king salmon that quickly headed for the tangled mess of lumber immediately downstream of where we were anchored. After some finaggling and coaxing Ray co-erced the chrome king salmon boatside and I slid the basket of my Frabill […]
It's been a while since we've seen a coho season around here with "legs" like this one. What am I talking about? Well, when a spawning run of salmon in these parts provides action and opportunity for three solid months… it has "legs" or the ability to run a long distance. I guess after 2010's "coho […]
