Electric Chrome!

This coho I caught & released in Ibeck Creek, Alaska last month was so fresh that it lit up like it was plugged into 220V. They don’t make ‘em any more chrome than that!

Think we got bit that day??

Here’s a photo of my graph from a couple days back…we were fishing the Delta for stripers and…as you can clearly see…we found ‘em. Lots of them.

There’s a nice shelf that, on the incoming tide, the stripers hang on the back side of to intercept bait. This is what the screen looked like for the entire time we were there and it was doubles and triples on stripers all through the tide.

I figured I’d throw this picture up so you can see that there are, occasionally, some days when reality actually matches what you see on the demo screens that all these units sport when on display at the store.

Why did the salmon cross the road??

This is one of the coolest pictures I’ve seen in a long time. A buddy just randomly emailed it to me, so I sadly don’t have any info on where it was taken (or by whom…nice job, by the way!).

From my time living in Washington State, I’d have to guess that this was taken somewhere up there. In big rains, we’d often see chum salmon in some goofy places…though I never saw one swimming across the highway!

I’m thinking that the next time this happens, I might just have to do a new article for Salmon Trout Steelheader on fishing for salmon out of truck….something like Backtrolling out of the Back of Your Truck,” or “Pound the Pavement for More Salmon,” or “Black Top Trolling Tips” or…ah, nevermind!

So long, old girl…The Last Ride

I came across this photo awhile back…I hadn’t seen it since I took it back in 2003. Anyway, it was snapped after I cranked my boat up on the trailer for the last time. She was as good as sold and I had a new Willie ready for delivery.

I get so attached to boats that it’s always sad to see them go — even when you’ve got a new one on the way. I spend so much time in these things that they almost become family, each scratch and ding in the paint a reminder of some previous adventure.

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Give me a bridge and a treble: Coho fishing, Downtown Juneau Style

So, I was recently in Juneau, Alaska doing a couple articles on what the place has to offer from a fishing standpoint.

The assignment was to do some remote fly-out fishing and then spend a couple days in a rental car, hitting the local roadside honey holes.

One of the more interesting spots was right in downtown Juneau, in front of the DIPAC Fish Hatchery. The hatchery is funded by commercial salmon anglers and raises untold millions of juvenile salmon that are released back into area waters.

Of course, lots and lots of those kings, chums, pinks and coho come back to spawn at the hatchery — and before they swim up the ladder, they mill around in huge schools out front in the salt.

What you get is productive urban fishery, right across the street from some government buildings. It’s kinda short on ambiance, but it’s a great deal for the locals, who flock down to the waterfront when the fish are “in.”

The really crazy thing about the place is the way many of the local anglers fish for salmon there…

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I really, really like GLoomis rods, but…I ain’t doing THAT!

I’m with ya on the whole “Fear no Fish” deal, pal, but “Fear no Needle” is another story for me. Hell, I wouldn’t let Hedi Klum get near my soft white underbelly with a needle, let alone some huge biker guy named Spike.

You’ve gotta admire his team spirit, though…and his huge cajones.

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Starting ‘em out right

I took my soon-to-be-best fishing buddy (my 1-year old son Cooper) out to the local pond the other day on a little fishing excursion where we caught some toddler-sized bass and bluegill. While Coop thought it was pretty cool, it was dad who was totally jazzed.

I got totally fired up thinking of all the fishing spots and styles that I want to share with him. I can’t wait until he’s a little older!

I’ve always been a believer in the train of thought that says kids who are really into fishing and hunting — and are taught proper outdoor ethics — turn into pretty good people as adults.

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His Royal Airness

So, just how high can a salmon jump, anyway? Well, it depends on things like species and other variables like the relative depth of the water at the foot of the fall, current velocity, speed of the fish, etc.

Atlantic salmon (Salmon Salar or “the leaper” in Latin), seem to be the best of the jumpers and have been known to make a vertical leap of 12 feet over Orrin Falls in Scotland.

That’s pretty crazy when you think of it in relative terms. Those salmon going over the 12-foot high falls are making a jump that’s 4 times their body length. Even Michael Jordan would be jealous!

This picture is of a high-flying coho that I shot while hanging out in Southeast Alaska.

River Cammo

The trout will never see ya coming in this thing…

Always, always check the forecast before you go…

If it sounds like I’m speaking from experience, here, you’re right. Not taking my own advice yesterday, I headed for Lake Oroville without checking what the weather was supposed to do. Why check the forecast? It’s always sunny and hot in July in the Valley, right? Well….

I show up at dawn in my typical summer gear…only to find it sprinkling. A little rain never hurt anybody, plus I had a sweatshirt in the boat. I quickly launched and headed out under a beautiful sunrise…

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