Forks, Washington Guide Mike Zavadlov with a chrome Bogachiel River winter steelhead I've been watching all the coastal steelhead reports lately like a cat staring at a bird. Reports of hammer-time steelhead action were pouring in with regularity. By last weekend my tail was switching back and forth in anticipation of batting some steelhead…
How do you write a review for a pair of hunting boots? I’ll tell you how. You put them on your feet and wear the hell out of them for three years. I’ve hiked, climbed, side-hilled, walked, stalked, ran, ascended, descended, and slept in these boots. I’ve put my barkin’ dogs (that’s what I call…
You'd think a bird with a brain the size of a tomato seed would find it's way into the decoys no matter how they are arranged, but as we all know that's seldom the case. Ol' "bird brain" isn't as gullible as you'd think. Here's some tips from frequent Outdoor Line guest Robert Strong, owner…
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…
Gerald Sexton downed this 4×4 blacktail with guide John Koenig in the Skagit valley Big blacktail bucks seldom leave the confines of their worm holes in the jungle on the wet side of the Cascades and when they do most of their movements are nocturnal. They are big because they don't make many mistakes….
John Whitlatch from Reel Adventures put Ray into this Methow steelhead BY RAY GOMBISKI. Exactly one year ago I was invited on a centerpin trip with John Whitlatch of Reel Adventures. John is a premier guide on the Kenai River in Alaska and for years has touted the centerpins effectiveness for steelhead. One trip was…
My luggage has been packed for three weeks now. King salmon on the coast, mule deer in the Okanogan, honkers at Potholes, blacktails on the Oly Pen, and just as I'm unzipping my travel bag to empty out a backlash of hunting and fishing attire my new Droid does-everything-but-dishes phone buzzes half away across the…
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…
Seven of us descended upon Mar Don Resort on Washington's Potholes Reservoir for the first annual Outdoor Line Waterfowl Weekend. The blue bird weather we experienced in Washington the first week of hunting season rapidly deteriorated on Friday as a huge storm pushed into the Pacific Northwest, bringing with it high winds and plenty of…
On my office wall is a European skull mount of a beautiful whitetail that I harvested in Eastern Washington eleven years ago. While my knuckle-dragging friends and I think it's quite attractive, the rest of the folks that spy the antlered skull perched on the wall either give me an "ewww" or they curl a…