This year's much anticipated Columbia River spring chinook run has been a mirror image of our "spring" weather: underwhelming at best. April was a near bust for both the sun and the springers as low water temperatures slowed the early running chinook's accent up the Columbia to a mere crawl. In fact, the sport anglers…
BY RAY GOMBISKI. Smoking fish and game has forever been a pastime of the American sportsman. Smoking can be traced thorough out American history from the Native Americans to George Washington’s home at Mt Vernon. Today, smoking has become a cherished part of the outdoor experience. The modern smokehouse has made smoking easy and efficient…
The biggest fishing event of the year will occur this weekend as a quarter million plus anglers hit the lakes of Washington in search of easy limits of stocker trout and perhaps a few of the jumbo-sized trout that are planted along with them. There are a lot of opening days in Washington, but this…
Spring is upon us and with it lingcod, rockfish and halibut seasons. So, if you've still got fish in the freezer… You, my friend have a problem that is probably starting to look more like Styrofoam than fresh fish. Fortunately, there is a much better solution than deeming the contents of your freezer "Crab bait"….
By Tony Floor What is it about big salmon? I mean big salmon in the 25-50 pound class that brings an angler to the pinnicle of happiness. As reported in this column, I’ve invested around a half century chasing chinook and coho salmon in Pacific Northwest waters, not including Vancouver Island and SE Alaska. I…
The third stop on the 2011 Northwest Salmon Derby Series was the Roche Harbor Invitational and I have to say that it is one of the best run events that I have ever had the pleasure of participating in! Start to finish from the location, to the wonderful Roche Harbor facilities, the fishing and the…
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…