I recently got back from Washington, DC. I’ve gone there on many occasions, lobbying for change such as the Salmon Solutions Planning Act, addressing the depletion of Snake River salmon and how to remedy it, shoring up the Endangered Species Act so we have a critical regulatory backstop to prevent the extinction of species such […]
Top photo: Malheur National Forest Recently, I made a much-anticipated return to Malheur National Forest to hunt for elk. Maybe I was forecasting my own fate, but I prefaced my excitement internally and externally with the statement, “I don’t even care if I harvest an elk, I just really enjoy walking through the woods this […]
When I first started my guide business over 27 years ago, I knew switching professions from a field biologist that strived to conserve salmon, to becoming reliant on the health of a natural resource for consumptive use, was a risk. I was willing to accept that risk because, hey, I was skipping out of work […]
The news just keeps getting better for West Coast groundfish. Ringing in the New Year comes with good news for saltwater anglers in Oregon, and other West Coast ports as well. For starters, the seasonal depth restriction has been lifted, which should excite many anglers. It’s like the good ol’ days all over again, with […]
Top photo: Panoramic shot of the “Ghost-Town-Hole” with just 4 boats plying the waters for salmon on Sunday, October 16th, 2022 It’s as if Mother Earth knows, fall is for putting away a cache of food for the long winter ahead, and rarely does she disappoint, at least until this year. In my 26 years […]
With the kid growing up (read: friends now more important than parents) and more free time on my hands (read: kid no longer in dance class), plus an understanding wife, I’ve had an opportunity to get out more as a sportsman than a professional fishing guide lately. I have good fish and wildlife management as […]
I’ve spent a fair amount of my adult life organizing anglers to do good for fish. It seems that unless there’s a crisis (i.e. hatcheries closing) most anglers are content just going about their business, taking advantage of the good times, and critiquing agency policy during the bad times. I think it may stem from […]
Photo: Bob Rees with a June 4th Newport, Oregon halibut, weighing in at nearly 53 pounds. My wife is an accomplished writer, and certainly wiser than I, so I take her words seriously when she says, “If you write it down, it can no longer own you.” I’m not so sure that’s true, when talking […]
