I hung up the phone and opened my mouth to tell my wife what was going on… She knew without me uttering a single word. "You're nuts!!!" Kathy had just weighed in with her opinion on my tenuous grip on sanity. "You're going out duck hunting in this weather???" "Honey, this weather is exactly why…
The first place I ever used a downrigger was here in Possession Sound. Having grown up in this area, I've spent more than my fair share of time fishing these waters. Although portions of 8-2 are open during the summer, most notably the Tulalip "bubble" fishery outside of Tulalip Bay, the longest opportunity we have…
Throughout all this talk of budget cuts, ocean survival and La Nina the fact remains that the hatchery steelhead are on their way! Here's why I'm looking at this year's hatchery runs more positively that the last couple years: This fall there were less coho salmon "in front" of the returning hatchery steelies leaving the possibility…
The calendar still says "2010" but the 2011 Northwest Salmon Derby Series is now officially underway! The Bayside Marine Salmon Derby served as the lid lifter for the 2011 edition of the 16-stop Derby Series. A event-record 276 anglers came out, answered the challenge and responded by taking the largest chinook in the 19-year history of…
Way back when I was a young fisherman, the waters of Puget Sound to the east of Whidbey Island were referred to by my saltwater mentors as the “inside”. Once one ventured to the west of the largest island in the continental United States you were said to be “outside”. These days in my way…
Short and sweet. Brief, quick, don't blink or you'll miss it…. Eight. Count 'em, eight days are what you get for the modern firearm mule deer season. No wonder hunters plot, scheme, schedule vacation and plan their lives around deer season. The memories of deer camp, bucks hanging from the meat pole and clear mountain…
Contender for the Toughest Buck Award….. This deer had some very uncomfortable days until he was harvested by this hunter. It is obvious that there was a fight during the rut and this deer ended up with an extra antler (embedded below the eye). You can see that the antler from the attacking deer was…
The following satellite photograph could have been utilized by Sebastian Junger in his best seller "The Perfect Storm" What looks like a swift boot to the balls of the Pacific Northwest is the very strong rotation of a dandy low pressure system that is pretty well organized and poised to do a dump run on our rivers….
The following letter, signed by ten Legislators of the State of Washington expressed what we sportfishers have known for a long, long time. We are getting the short end of the stick and have been for years upon years… The difference now is that we have some political support to aid our cause: The commercial…
That's right folks, it's almost duck hunting season and if you haven't had your scattergun or your calls out of the closet since last year… you need some help! Luckily, Professor Robert Strong of Duck Calling University and RuckusOutfitters.com is on the case! Join the "Dean of the Duck Call" Robert Strong at Duck Calling…