Damn, I thought you were a shad...
Not 24 hours after telling one of the guys on my boat that I rarely catch stripers on salmon plugs…PRESTO!…A striper climbs all over a backtrolled chrome and chartreuse number we were trying to put in the face of a king.
Still, it’s a rare occurrence…maybe once a year or so. You’d think it would happen more often when you consider the fact that a plug looks (and smells) a lot like a small fish…something, in theory, that an opportunistic striper would find hard to resist. But in fact, I’ve caught far more linesiders on back-bounced eggs. Go figure…
He’s normally guiding deer hunts on a private ranch in the Bay Area (yes, you heard that right), but Josh Peixoto of JP Guide Service also likes to put a bend in the ol’ rod from time to time. On Saturday, he caught this nice king salmon on a backtrolled Kwikfish while fishing with me on the Feather River.
As if just catching a king in California this year wasn’t reward enough, Josh is also entered into our August Hawg of the Month Contest in which he’ll battle it out with other anglers for a shot at a free fishing trip. Learn more about the contest HERE.
It's been a long time since you could fish kings here! (photo: www.idahobyways.gov)
For the first time in recent history, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will open the upper Snake River for fall chinook salmon harvest on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010!
The chinook fishery will open to sport fishing seven days a week concurrent with the annual Hell’s Canyon steelhead fishery. The river will be open from the Oregon/ Washington border to the deadline below Hells Canyon Dam and will remain open until Oct. 31, or until a closure is announced.
The daily bag limit is two adipose fin-clipped fall chinook salmon per day, only one of which can be an adult salmon longer than 24 inches. Only barbless hooks may be used. Anglers are reminded to consult the 2010 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for other applicable regulations. [click to continue…]
Back then, we thought the resource was limitless...now we know better! (Photo: www.nwcouncil.org)
Okay, I guess this is a positive thing that they’re trying to modify commercial fishing gear on the lower Columbia….but I do have one question to ask before you read on: WTF?? They can still commercially fish on the Columbia? I’m not into messing with person’s livelihood, but can somebody explain to me how netting salmon in a river is a good thing in the Big Picture?
I’m off the soap box now…go ahead and read on…
Starting this week, fishery managers from Washington and Oregon will test the feasibility of five types of alternative commercial fishing gears on the lower Columbia River. Expanding on a pilot project conducted last year, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will work with commercial salmon fishers to test purse seines, beach seines and trap nets.
In addition, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) will work with a team of commercial fishers to test commercial troll gear and tangle nets during fall chinook and coho salmon runs. [click to continue…]
Photo: www.guideservicenorthwest.com
Okay, so you know the drill when it comes to fishery forecasts, right? The basic rule of thumb is never get too excited about talk of projected record runs…that way you won’t be too disappointed when the actual number of returning fish falls way short of expectations (which seems to be the case all too often). That being said, you can make what you want of the very positive outlook for adult fall run Chinook on the Columbia River.
At the moment, the signs are pointing to a very good autumn of fishing. Here’s what the folks at Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife are saying…
[click to continue…]
The General and a mooched-up slab of yum...
Bill Herzog wants to make you a better salmon moocher, and when General Zog’s in a lecturing mood, you’re gonna want to pull up a chair and take some notes, son!
So, without further adieu, click over to our pals at
Northwest Wild Country for the scoop…
We didn't catch a lot of monsters on the 'Nush, but this was clearly a beast...that we released.
During the last week of June and into the start of July, it’s hard for my thoughts not to wander up to the incomparable Nushagak River in remote Southwest Alaska. Before I was a papa, I spent 7 seasons guiding on the word’s greatest king salmon stream…which always seemed to peak about this time of year.
The ‘Nush is simply one of those places you must fish before you turn into fertilizer…there’s just no other place like it. You won’t find better king fishing anywhere. Looking back over all those seasons, I can clearly recall my worst-ever day of fishing, which still resulted in 18 kings to the boat! And the best of days were well into the triple digits, though after a dozen or so you kinda lose count. I’d say the average day during the meat of the season saw each of our boats hooking 20-40 per trip.
Most of my photos from those days are all on slide film, but I recently found a few digitals. So, here we go a little walk down memory lane…
[click to continue…]
Photo: www.fishkevinbrock.com
Salmon anglers — and those who make their livings off them — suffered a huge setback on June 5 when the Alaska Department of Fish & Game issued an emergency order to close the Kenai River to all king salmon fishing until the end of the month.
Despite good returns to the river when these fish were hatched 5 years ago, the 2010 crop of early-run Kenai kings is looking like it may not reach the escapement goal of 5,300 fish. As or now, biologists are predicting a run of under 4,000 kings. Since the sonar counting station in the lower river started counting fish in the middle of May, under 800 kings have moved upstream — the lowest ever number to date.
The river is scheduled to re-open for late-run of kings in July. The Kasilof River will be closed the rest of June to the take of wild kings (adipose fin intact). The use of bait has also been banned on Anchor River, Deep Creek and Ninilchik River. Anglers should always check the
ADFG website before planning a trip.
Luckily, there’s plenty of other cool stuff to do in the area to keep anglers happy — from halibut to huge trout to red salmon, so don’t let the salmon closure keep ya from heading up there!
