By Andy Martin Judging by the first few weeks of the 2020 steelhead season on the Chetco River, anglers may have to deal with high water conditions. The year is off to a wet and stormy start. In between rainy weather, steelhead fishing has been good. Hatchery fish are showing up and plenty of wild […]
By Andy Martin Brookings is the center of one of the most productive feeding areas for south-migrating king salmon. While salmon from many Northwest rivers head to Alaska during the ocean portion of their lives, runs from some of the biggest West Coast salmon producers stay closer to home. The rivers from Cape Blanco south […]
By Andy Martin Fall salmon seasons are about to hit their peaks in the coastal rivers from Washington to Northern California, and that means back-bouncing roe or floating a gob of salmon eggs below a bobber will be the go-to methods for many anglers to catch big kings. Feeling a big salmon crunch a cluster […]
By Andy Martin The bite was like any other when a salmon strikes an anchovy or herring while trolling in a coastal bay. Tap, Tap. Slight pause. Rod buckles over. But seconds into the fight, the guy sitting in the front of my jet boat knew the salmon at the end of his line wasn’t […]
By: Andy Martin Every other week, from mid-April through mid-September, the McKenzie River below Leaburg Dam is stocked with fat rainbows by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. This year, the popular Willamette Valley river will be planted with 40,000 rainbows, making it one of the heaviest stocked streams in the state. The upper […]
By Andy Martin You can have the freshest bait, the sharpest hooks, the most expensive rods and the fastest boat. But if you can’t get your anchovy or herring to spin properly, odds are you will come back to the dock with an empty fish box. Perhaps the biggest key to ocean salmon fishing is […]
By Andy Martin Anyone who has spent much time fishing for rockfish on the West Coast between California and Alaska knows action can be fast and furious when you get into a big school of them. They also know you can lose a lot of gear, and the cost of rigging can take a big […]
By Andy Martin While most Pacific Northwest anglers are focusing on steelhead during the winter months, more and more are discovering the thrill of catching shallow-water, light-tackle lingcod when there are breaks in the weather along the Oregon Coast. Unlike most areas, Oregon has a year-round lingcod and rockfish season. And some of the best […]
By Andy Martin As the Pacific Northwest gets pounded by back-to-back-to-back storms, and nearly every river from Southern Oregon to the Olympic Peninsula is blown out, anglers are anxious to get back on the water and begin fishing for winter steelhead. Even when the rains finally stop, many rivers will still be too high for […]
By: Andy Martin Floating a gob of roe below a bobber, or back-bouncing a tiny cluster of salmon eggs into a deep pool, are two of the most effective techniques for catching fall king salmon on the coastal rivers of Oregon, Washington and California. The key to successful bait fishing for kings is having good […]
