September is my favorite month of the year. Fall salmon, the last remaining viable run of wild fish, come back to our rivers and stage in our estuaries and the nearshore, where we have good access to them. Dinner-plate sized Dungeness crab are readily available, albacore are biting, elk are bugling, upland birds are flushing […]
Earlier I wrote on the need for regulatory action to save salmon. After writing about that, I feared that I gave the impression of an underappreciated volunteer base; nothing could be further from the truth. I work for the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, a dedicated group of over 1,600 members that collectively, contribute over 30,000 […]
As I read yet another article about communities coming together in “collaboration” to ensure the future of salmon and sportfishing, I let out another yawn. Same subject, different day. Of course everyone wants to save salmon and ensure abundant numbers for future generations. I’m no better, however, bringing attention to what everyone already knows: the […]
As we enter peak season for chinook on the lower river, so we enter the sea lion circus. Most of the breeding population remains off the California coast, but young bull California sea lions are taking advantage of the ample food sources on the lower Columbia, much to the frustration of sport anglers. It’s hard […]
August 1st marked the opener of the Buoy 10 season; it’s the time of year that all Pacific Northwest anglers wait for. The fishery likely offers the best chance at a freshwater caught chinook or coho salmon in the entire region, and with about 1.7 million of them coming back, you can understand why the […]
Wait on ‘em Stevie, wait………..hold on……….hold on………. Okay, get him! It can often take a great deal of patience to catch a sturgeon. They’re not aggressive biters but fishing in the lower Columbia River estuary, where there are thousands and thousands of the beasts, is very exciting! This fishery is world-class, but you wouldn’t know […]
Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act: Does that title scare anyone else in the conservation community? I wonder how this is making the environmental community shudder. Since I and a large number of sportfishing anglers/guides I represent make our living from the ocean, we have a lot invested in the future […]
June –- the time of year to be on the ocean chasing coho and chinook out of coastal ports. Moving out in the early morning, hopefully on flood or slack tide, with the expectation of finding the quarry before mid-day winds point the boat back toward a comfortable harbor. Most of us fishing the ocean […]
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