Northwest Outdoor Report

March 16, 2013

I-5 Stretch Producing Springers on the Columbia Eric Linde from Linde’s Sportfishing in Vancouver, Washington says that about a third of the boats are catching springers on any given day on the Columbia and traffic has been light so far. Linde says he’s been getting a few bites a day fishing just above Interstate 5 […]

Gearing Up for an Alaska Charter Season

March 14, 2013

It’s March 13th and while I should be thinking about steelhead fishing or something “current” my mind is already preoccupied with all the little things that could make my life easier on the boat this summer in Southeast Alaska. If you didn’t already know I own and operate Prince of Wales Sportfishing in Craig, Alaska […]

Rockfish Submersion Devices Required for SE Alaska Charters in 2013

March 13, 2013

One of the regulations that’s been looming for a while for sportfishing charters in Southeast Alaska is the requirement to use rockfish descenders for all rockfish caught that aren’t going to be kept. These devices will be required on all charter vessels for the summer of 2013. That’s me…I’m a charter guy in the summer! […]

Northwest Outdoor Report

March 9, 2013

Cowlitz Slow for Steelhead, Columbia Picking Up for Springers Justin Leach at Bob’s Sporting Goods in Longview says the fishing has been really slow on the Cowlitz for steelhead. Leach says the guys that are catching fish on the Cowlitz right now are working extremely hard for them. He says most of the guides are […]

Flyfishing Leaders – The Steelhead Connection

March 7, 2013

By Dennis Dickson I would like to think my success in helping anglers find and catch steelhead has improved over time. I will openly admit, as a biologist I study  “cause and effect”, “stimulus and response”. I don’t mind adhering to tradition as long as my personal experience concludes that it is the most effective […]

Leupold’s VX 3L Rifle Scope

March 1, 2013

While everyone else around here is in fishing mode I’ve been quietly plotting a fall hunting trip to the Missouri breaks in Montana that will likely require some long range bombing. I just ordered a Savage .300 Win Mag (more on that later) that delivers a serious punch down range and I finally settled on […]

River Etiquette 101

February 27, 2013

By Dennis Dickson I was floating a popular run on the Sauk River one spring day. The April morning found the river in prime shape and I knew the flyboys were going to be out in numbers. As we rounded the corner of a long bar, there near the bottom of the half mile run, […]

Northwest Outdoor Report

February 23, 2013

Jerry Thomas Wins Oly Pen Salmon Derby A record catch of 351 hatchery Chinook were weighed in at the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby last weekend setting a new record for the 40 year old derby. 820 anglers fished in the event compared to 650 last year. Mount Vernon native Jerry Thomas took first place and […]

Fishing Pink Rubber Worms for Steelhead

February 20, 2013

The 2012-2013 Steelhead season has, as we’ve discussed on “The Outdoor Line”, shaped up to be a big fish year. Both hatchery fish and natives alike have made more than one fisherman perform a double take because of their eye-poppin’ size. Check out some of the mondo steelhead we’ve taken time to post up in our “Heavy Metal […]

Skagit Steelhead

Dickson’s Flyfishing Report

February 16, 2013

By Dennis Dickson The Bitter Sweet The good news is: A very nice pulse of late winter native steelhead have shown up in the lower Skagit river, just before the season closure. Big brawly steelhead. The kind that when you see them you think, “Must be Sauk fish with their thick caudal peduncles and broad […]