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…
Fishing rags for steelhead has actually been around longer then I have been fishing. A few guys have told me they were fishing rags back in the 1960’s. My Dad started fishing rags on the Puyallup and Carbon Rivers back in the eighty’s. I’m not sure where he saw it, or came up with it, but it was…
I’m often asked which scents I use. And, while there are many options available, most of the time, I use three: Pautzke Nectar, anise and krill. These scents, when combined and mixed properly, make a difference. Nectar, Anise, Krill or “NAK”, as I call it, is the additive I rely on for Northwest salmon and steelhead…
Maybe I was thinking about this because I just polished off my boring breakfast of oatmeal and fruit. At the ripe old age of 41 I’m trying to watch my diet a little closer these days, but don’t think for one furry second that I’ve forgotten about the memorable morning meals I’ve had at these…
30 degrees to “Trout Success” Team Pautzke hit the road yet once again for another opportunity to get out and fish. This time we would meet up with some sales Reps from a local distributor on the East Coast. Destination; the rolling mountains of West Virginia. This road trip took us through a number of small towns ie; Durin, Brandywine,…
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…
If you remember my Salmon River blog back in January where I mentioned that you'd better get to the Quinault River after it comes back into shape. It's in shape folks and now is the time to be there. Like…right now! The Quinault gets it's far share of gagger-sized steelhead in the 20 pound range…