Fishing Articles
Smile Blade Fly Review - Part One
Macks Lure Company has come out with a new product called the Smile Blade Fly. This is a modified Woolly Bugger with a smile blade propeller located at the front of the hook to serve as an attractor. The flies come in a variety of color combinations as do the blades which are interchangeable and can be ordered separately. This fly is designed for trolling and cannot only be used on a fly rod but ...
Fishing, Crabbing, and using Tide Tables
As someone who works in a tackleshop in a very popular area (Winchester Bay, Oregon), I am, at times, simply amazed at how many people do not apply a logical approach to using tide tables. Most people simply want to know when high and low tide is, but don’t think things through any farther than that.
One needs to be absolutely aware that the times listed for high tides indicate the point where ...
How to Beat the High Gas Prices
Being a 19 year old tournament bass angler and fishing guide, money is certainly tight. With gas prices reaching $4 a gallon and diesel around $4.50 it costs more and more a fishing trip with the age of 50 gallon gas tanks in our trucks and boats. Here are ten tips that will save you a lot of money on your next trip so you can afford to head out to beautiful Potholes Reservoir and MarDon Resort an...
Yelm’s Clear Lake
This column is dedicated to those adventurous few and my Thurston County readers. This lake is one of my top picks and has always been very good to me when it comes to trout angling. The 5 MPH speed limit not only makes it enjoyable but relaxing at the same time. This is a perfect lake for small 12’ aluminum boats powered by electric or small combustion engines. Float tubers, pontoon boats, and ro...
A Real Mother
Knowing that my better half had to work on “Mothers Day” and knowing that at times I have been considered a real “Mother”, it seemed appropriate that I take a little trout outing. I decided that my destination should be Phillips Lake which is often overlooked by anglers because of her big brother right down the road, Spencer Lake.
Phillips has always provided me with hours of entertainment an...
Bass Habitat and Management
The terms fishing and habitat management when applied to bass fishing is centered around habitat, food, genetics and harvesting. Habitat is everything from the water bass live in, its temperature, ph, vegetation, food and anything else that is needed by the bass to survive found in the water. This includes reproduction, places to hide in, and places to find food and places to protect itself from ...
Blue Collar Fly Fishing
My friend Matt Castor from Joint Base Lewis McChord was making his way down here on Easter Sunday for a pre-season look see. He was curious on what the trout season just might hold in store for him here on Mason County lakes.
Matt has become quite the accomplished feather tosser over this past year and he is no slouch when it comes to building custom fly rods and tying fly’s. Recently he has t...
Bass Fishing Requires Intuition and Knowledge
Know your adversary and you can catch him…
The successful fisherman is the one who familiarizes himself with the ways of fish. He who studies out and observes the peculiar traits, habits and haunts of the fish he sets out to catch. Who acquaints himself with facts as to their sense of sight, smell and hearing, their mode of existence, foods likes, seasonal movements, etc. Thus qualifying himsel...
Opening Day 2011
It seems my article on “Free is good” made quite the impact and I have been asked to try and include more in my columns. Our little magazine is finding its way as far north as Federal Way and as far south as Rochester down the I-5 corridor. On Hwy 3 it is reaching as far north as Silverdale. It is showing up in restaurants, tackle stores, book stores, grocery stores, and more. Through an agreement...
New Friends at Spencer Lake
I wanted to start this week’s column with a special shout out to Mr. Wood from up Deer Creek way whom I met at the ramp at Spencer Lake. He informed me he had been spending several days a week on the lake and had been doing quite well. The stringer he had in his possession proved what he had been claiming. Although he stated nothing really big it was still a nice looking dinner he held up for us t...
Deepwater Trolling Lake Chelan
The fish and me…
I fish for a living on Lake Chelan for Mackinaw (aka:lake trout). These unique fish were introduced into Lake Chelan around 1982 to capitalize on the lake’s burgeoning Mysis shrimp population and to provide additional big fish recreational opportunities beyond what the existing landlocked Chinook provide.
Mackinaw get big in Lake Chelan. Really big! The lake and state...
Free is Good
I want to start this week’s column out with a correction. The last edition photo was of Mike Carey with a very nice Lohanton Cutthroat trout, courtesy of Mike Carey.
It has been said that you get what you pay for and free is something that does not exist. I have to disagree with those myths. I had the opportunity to attend Verle’s (360-426-0933) free salmon seminar on February 26th and I have...
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