Fishing Articles
Winter Fishing Opportunities
Black Friday is over, and December is finally upon us. But don't hang up your fishing pole just yet, there are plenty of ways to get outside and beat the cabin fever this winter. You'll forget all about your frozen nose and chilly hands once you've got a dandy trout or chum salmon on the end of your line. There are thousands of clams and oysters out there just waiting to be made into fresh clam ch...
Hunting for the Elusive Rooster
“How the mighty have fallen.” That might be a good epitaph to pheasant hunting in Washington State. In theory, you can still bag a limit of three rooster pheasants in Eastern Washington between mid-October and mid-January but unless you are hunting at a private ranch where the birds are released just for your party, you’ll be hard pressed to do so in 2020.
Pheasant hunting in Washington hasn...
Stocker Trout Fishing 101: from Tie Up to Fish On
Washington is a state with countless fishing options, from tuna, salmon, sturgeon, walleye and beyond! As we all grow as anglers and begin to chase these fish, however, one often overlooked fishery is our local stocked trout lakes. In 2020 alone, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will stock 2.19 MILLION rainbow trout across the state for us anglers to take advantage of. Most of these...
Fishing and Hunting Roundup
FISHING REPORTS:
Bob Loomis, Sales Director for Mack’s Lure, went out with three friends to Banks Lake recently to try their luck for walleye. Their short afternoon of fishing went very well. Fishing metal Sonic Baitfish lures as blade baits they caught over 35 walleye averaging 20 inches in size. Loomis reports they were fishing ¼ ounce jigs 35 to 52 feet deep. The hot color? Glow white. ...
For the Love of Brown Trout
I didn’t realize how much I missed catching brown trout until I hooked a 14-incher that immediately launched out of the water three feet into the air. Tough, hard fighting and beautifully colored, brown trout are a true treat to catch whether you hook them on the Jefferson River in Southwest Montana where I was catching them last week, or here in Washington State.
My love affair with ...
A Wild Thanksgiving
Turkeys are running scared across the nation and for good reason, a lot of them are going to be consumed for dinner on November 26th! The vast majority of these Thanksgiving birds are store bought turkeys but have you considered some wild game alternatives?
The first option of course is the wild turkey. Turkey season remains open through the end of December in Northeast Washington and harvest...
Late “B” Run Coho
Now that the wet weather is here the late returning coho known as the “B” run will only get better once the rivers become fishable. The late run of silvers have been trickling in for the past few weeks, pushing in with the last of the chums. These fish will run into the new year and even a few rivers past Ground Hogs Day. But November is the prime month for B runs. Water conditions will dictate wh...
Razor Clamming on Hold in Washington
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced razor clam digs in Washington are closed through November 12th and it’s possible the closure could extend to December.
The reasons are twofold. One of them has to do with domoic acid. It’s a toxin found in shellfish and at high levels can cause serious illness if you eat them. Razor clams near Long Beach (one of four razor clam dig...
So You Want to Get a Boat
You've gone fishing with friends and guides and have thought to yourself "I need to have a boat of my own." Such thoughts can be dangerous to your health - physical, mental, and financial. The path to boat ownership is treacherous and full of traps and missteps that will give you a greater appreciation of the old adage that boat stands for Break Out Another Thousand.
Having been a boat owner f...
Outdoor Roundup Nov 6-13
Wolf news, trout fishing, an update on razor clam closures and news from our state parks makes for an interesting round-up of outdoors news in Washington this week.
WOLVES: On October 29th the U.S. Department of the Interior declared victory on the effort to recover Canadian gray wolves in the lower 48 states and removed them from the federal endangered species list. Nearly exterminated by th...
Decoding Squid Jigs
With salmon season winding down, many anglers like myself are starting to come out of the rivers and venture to the many piers around Puget Sound to jig for squid. During the winter months, thousands of California market squid show up in our waters for their yearly spawn. These squid live only 7-9 months, and usually average 4 to 12 inches long. The action heated up earlier than expected this year...
Open water winter Pike fishing
One of my favorite things to do all year is open water winter pike fishing. I have caught most of my really big fish during the cold water months of the year. Pike fishing during winter is all about location and the relationship between the Pike and their food. Knowing what the forage fish are for the Pike in your lake and their feeding and location habits is equally as important as learning the P...
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