I'm lucky enough to have a wife that enjoys the outdoors almost as much as I do, so when she asked "When are we going to go to Forks?" I didn't hesitate to hook up the driftboat and get the steelhead gear ready. It was more like a sprint than anything. When your wife demands…
"You couldn't get Tobeck to come?", asked Mike Meseberg of Mar Don Resort as we shivered out of our skin in our layout blinds/coffins in the midst of four dozen full-body Canada goose decoys on Wednesday. My reply, "Nope, he's a lot smarter than we are." I was trying to convince myself that I'd much…
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…
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…
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….
Fishing buddy Steve Maris and I hit the Olympic Peninsula bright and squirrely on Tuesday morning in search of an elk. We drove for three hours in the dark, launched the driftboat on river "X" at sunup in a what-the-hell-are-we-doing-here rain storm and then floated downstream, poking our way into alder bottoms and potential elk…
Alexandria, VA – November 4, 2010 – The sportfishing community commends the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for its decision to reject a sweeping petition to ban lead in all fishing tackle. The petition, which was submitted on August 3, 2010, by the Center for Biological Diversity and four other groups,…