The Cowlitz River smelt dip-net fishery Part II will return on Wednesday (Feb. 26)! “We’re still seeing a pretty strong run of smelt,” said Laura Heironimus, the lead Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Columbia River smelt manager. “The commercial catch on Monday averaged about 250 pounds per delivery so that’s considered good. There…
Coastal razor clam fans are witnessing another spectacular season and ample digging time is still planned for the months ahead. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) set 29 tentative digging days in March and April with opportunities switching over to daylight low tides starting in early April. “It has been a typical winter…
Proper Fish Care by Jason Brooks After years of fishing all over the Northwest, from local ponds to remote fly-in camps, I have learned that you must take care of your fish the proper way to be able to enjoy it for months afterwards. Bleeding the fish by cutting the gills is just the first step…
Predicting salmon returns is a lot like betting your life savings in the lottery, and while the Columbia River coho forecast doesn’t look very rosy on paper it is probable that we’ll still come out in April when fisheries are finalized with some type of summer ocean fisheries package. The Oregon Production Index, which provides…
For the first time since 2017, smelt dip-netters will get a chance to try their luck in the Cowlitz River on Friday (Feb. 14) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the Highway 432 Bridge to the Al Helenberg Memorial boat launch located approximately 1,300 feet upstream from the Highway 411/A Street Bridge in Castle…
If you can’t smell the flowers or in this case the eulachon – better known to many as smelt – then it’s likely that sniffing them out in the Columbia River mainstem or two lower-river tributaries will depend on in-season factors, according to a recently released joint Washington and Oregon fishery managers stock assessment report….
By Mark Yuasa While the New Year’s Eve celebrations took center stage, many salmon anglers were saving their fun times for hitting up three marine areas that opened to salmon fishing on Jan. 1. Success was mainly slow to fair at times in central Puget Sound (Marine Catch Area 10) – from Apple Tree Cove-Point…
We’re still months away from getting our first glance at 2020 salmon forecasts but the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fishery managers have already dished out some early signals of what lies ahead. “It is so early yet in the process but I’m guessing we will be looking at conservative measures especially from…
Why You Should Hunt with a Muzzleloader By Jason Brooks Looking for extended seasons, liberal bag limits, or a new challenge? Then put down the long range rifle and pick up a muzzleloader. Recently a good friend of mine began asking me about hunting with a muzzleloader, something I have been doing for years now….
By Mark Yuasa We’ve almost reached the halfway mark of the 2019-2020 coastal razor clam digging season and it has been a slam dunk of optimism with the possibility of many brighter times ahead. “The biggest story of this razor clam season is the sheer lack of bad weather and that has really helped,” said…