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Northwest Outdoor Report

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Sol Duc Picking Up for Springers
Bill Myer from Anglers Guide Service in Forks says he’s been hooking a few nice spring Chinook on the Sol Duc river every day and the fishing appears to be picking up. Myer said most of his springers have been in the 8 to 14 pound range, but he’s heard of quite a few spring Chinook over 20 pounds already. He’s been backtrolling cured eggs and cut plug herring to get his bites on the Sol Duc. The Sol Duc springer fishery will continue to produce fish well into the month of June.

Trout Fishing Still Great Despite High Flows on Upper Columbia
Jack Mitchell from the Evening Hatch Guide Service checked in from Black Bear Lodge on the upper Columbia River to say that the trout fishing has remained great despite really high flows the past couple of weeks. The upper Columbia has swelled from 85,000 cfs to over 175,000 cfs recently from snow melt in the upper part of the basin. Mitchell says the fishing has remained great right thru the uptick in flows. He said they’re catching trout over 20 inches on a daily basis on anything from carpenter ant patterns to caddis, baetis, mayflies, and pmd’s. Mitchell says the great fishing will continue thru the month of June when the Green Drake hatch takes off.

Hein Bank Comes to Life on Second Halibut Opener
Kevin John from Holiday Sports in Burlington reported excellent halibut fishing on Hein Bank on the second halibut opener on Thursday of this past week. Kevin and the gang from Holiday Sports had their limit of halibut between 25 and 45 pounds before noon on Thursday. They caught their fish on the south end of Hein Bank in 120 to 180 feet of water. He said the hot baits were squid with a big glow in the dark hoochie and a large squid with a whole herring stuffed inside of it. Anglers should have decent weather on the Strait of Juan de Fuca for today’s halibut opener until the wind kicks up later this afternoon.

Last Razor Dig of the Season
Clam diggers will get one more chance to dig razor clams at Twin Harbors beach near Westport next Friday thru Sunday. Twin Harbors will be the only beach open for digging. WDFW coastal shellfish manager Dan Ayres says this has been the most productive clam digging season in over 20 years on the Washington Coast. Since last October diggers have harvested more than 5 million razor clams. The coast will close after this last clam dig to allow the razor clams to spawn and provide another crop of clams for digging next fall.

Kids Fishing Event on Heart Lake
One of the hottest trout fishing lakes in the region, Heart Lake near Anacortes, will close over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend for a kids fishing event. The event takes place on June 1st and the lake is closed two days prior to allow freshly stocked trout to acclimate. Kids that otherwise might not get a chance to catch a trout get the entire lake to themselves on June 1st. The Kids Fishing event has been held for 20 years on Heart Lake and is sponsored by the City of Anacortes and the Fidalgo/San Juan chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers.

First Copper River Salmon Arrives in Seattle
Alaska Airlines pilots carried a 40 pound Copper River king salmon to waiting chefs at Sea-Tac Airport yesterday. It was the first Copper River king to arrive in Seattle and marks the beginning of the yearly craze for this great eating strain of king salmon. Copper River king salmon are prized for their high fat content and restaurants pay as much as $50 a pound to purchase them for their patrons. The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 contained an additional 24,600 pounds of Copper River king salmon and Alaska Airlines said it would run three more Copper River salmon flights like it on Friday.

Minnesota Lakes Test Positive for Cocaine
Associated Press – Scientists just studied 50 lakes in Minnesota for water quality and found a myriad of manmade chemicals in the lakes – including cocaine, DEET, synthetic estrogen, antibiotics, and antidepressants. The bug repellent DEET was found in 76 percent of the lakes and researchers were shocked to find that 32 percent of the lakes tested positive for cocaine. Cocaine was the third most common chemical found in the lakes and scientists were surprised to find it in some very remote lakes that weren’t close to population centers. Before you head to Minnesota and start snorting lake water understand that you’ll probably drown before you catch a buzz. Scientists say the levels of cocaine in the lakes that tested positive is around several parts per trillion…hardly enough to catch a buzz.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle

Summer Steelhead – North Fork Strategies

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By Dennis Dickson

As the oldest flyfishing stream in the country, The North Fork of the Stilly is steeped in tradition, known for its wild summer steelhead of Deer Creek. This is a passionate subject for me. Not only was I fortunate enough to fish this river as a youth, my first job out of college was that of a fisheries biologist working back on my home river. I have certainly seen my share of this little wild steelhead, and I am thankful for every one. There is also the hatchery fish that swim these waters.

I am not about to climb on my soapbox and expound the hype-surrounding wild versus hatchery steelhead. Instead, I am going address my remarks to poor Joe who simply doesn’t have the means to spend his time in Russia or British Columbia. He does enjoy a pretty stream with a decent chance at swimming a steelhead. Simply put, if we didn’t have a hatchery program on the Stilly, we wouldn’t have a summer fishery. Period. But I am not here to talk about that. I am going to explain where, when, and how to catch them.

Where: Just for landmarks, I will break up the river into four sections.

Confluence upstream to Deer Creek. This is actually  a two-day float. Deer Creek down to Cisero and Cisero down to Arlington. Migrational Timing: I will catch new 3 salt summer runs as early as April but June is the migrational timing these fish are primarily passing through the lower river. With many of the pools filled in from sediment produced from Deer Creek, these fish do not linger but swim directly for their natal stream, Fortson Creek. Though not quite as aggressive to the fly as a wild fish, they have a tremendous amount of stored energy to last for their year’s stay in fresh water. They are as “hot” as any fish that swims in the Stilly. Rocks are a real premium in the lower river. Pools with any boulders and logs in this section will pull steelhead in like a magnet. Fish the same flies and lines you do for the winter steelhead.

Deer Creek to Cisero has some of the best water. I like to fish this river section anytime Deer Creek allows 2 feet of visibility in the North Fork. The bulk of the Stilly steelhead run 7-12 pound 2 salt summer steelhead. July 4th is the traditional time to start looking for fish in good numbers, but the fishing can be great one day and zero the next. Summer water temperatures are coming up and fish will move to both sinking and floating line techniques. By the way, I have maintained for years that the Deer Creek fish actually prefer surface flies to wets. These lower river fish are not fussy, find the fish and get it in front of him. Bright, dark, big, small, just fish your fly right in the surface or right near the bottom. Mid water presentations are worthless.

Hazel to Deer Creek: I do not believe I have ever caught a wild summer run above Hazel. The first pulse of hatchery fish head directly for Fortson, the mid July two salt fish will start to slow up as they reach the mid river.  By August 1, the hatchery fish are settling into imprinting locations. The first arrivals are very susceptible to the usual techniques. As they start getting fished on heavily, they become more reluctant to come to the surface, then to sinktips.

Hazel to Fortson: Same thing applies here, but the upper river gets pretty skinny and fish work their way up to the few deep prominent pools. Fortson has its own fishery. The angler who would not dream of walking in downstream of another angler in the lower river doesn’t hesitate to do so at Fortson. By the same token, nobody bothers to keep stepping down through the pool either. Advantages of Fortson Hole? Fish. I swear I don’t think there is a week in the year there isn’t a fish or two in Fortson. I won’t mention how many there can be. These poor fish are chased around by legitimate flyfishers all-day and snagged by poachers at night. The Deer Creek flyboys have such a disdain for this fishery, they have a point system set up. For example, A Deer Creek and anywhere downstream fish is worth 5 points, a Fortson fish, only one. You get the idea.

Fishing Strategy: I like to get out and poke around to find few fish here, a pod of fish there. I would rather fish over three rested steelhead then fifty hard hat fish, but I will do that too, if I think its the only game in town.

“Show them something different” The one vulnerability of a summer steelhead is he can be a sucker for a change-up. A story will illustrate the point. One day I was fishing a couple good ole boys from the mid-west. The summer water at French Creek was very low and clear and the steelhead had seen about everything. We were fishing small brown nymphs on floating lines and long leaders. We were having little success. Don decides he has had enough of that, so he says he is headed downstream around the corner. I said we would be down in a few minutes. We finally decided the steelhead in front of us were not going to bite and were just coming around the corner, and here comes Don carrying a grin the size of the steelhead in his hand. He proceeded to tell me the first thing he did was lose his fly and a good portion of his leader to a sunken log. He said he was tired of fishing that little sh##t anyway. I tried not to flinch. He went on to explain he pulls out HIS box of bass flies and ties on a 1/0 black zonker. It was heavily weighted and when it splashed down, this big steelhead was all over it! Needless to say, Don wasn’t fishing any small flies for the rest of that day!

Summer time is a great time to use your trout techniques. The same steelhead that refuses to come to the surface, and is bored to tears dodging another greenbutt skunk on a sinktip, can be a real sucker for a dead drifted dark nymph. (until they have seen all those too.) Do not be afraid to experiment. Sometimes dead drifting a woolly bugger right in front of a steelhead’s nose and strip it away, like you do at Rocky Ford, can be killer!

Fall becomes a transitional time, and many of the Stilly’s hatchery steelhead holding in the lower river, start migrating for home. This October fishery is a great time to fish. If I wasn’t chasing the best rising steelhead in the pacific Northwest on the Grande Ronde River, I would be there, myself.

“Moving fish are taking fish”. Stories are told and retold about hitting the right pool when the fall migration is moving through. My biggest day anytime anywhere (Alaska doesn’t count) was hooking an even 20 steelhead and landing thirteen, on this fall migration.

Summer time is a lovely time to fish and remember not all the fish are at Fortson. Not until the late fall, anyway.

North Fork Stilly School – July 12 or 13, 2013

Dennis Dickson
Dickson’s Flyfishing
www.flyfishsteelhead.com

Northwest Outdoor Report

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I-5 Stretch Producing Springers on the Columbia
Eric Linde from Linde’s Sportfishing in Vancouver, Washington says that about a third of the boats are catching springers on any given day on the Columbia and traffic has been light so far. Linde says he’s been getting a few bites a day fishing just above Interstate 5 near Portland International Airport. His go to setup so far this season has been a green label herring behind a chartruese Fish Flash. Linde expects the fishing to continue to get better in the coming weeks.

Chelan Cranking out Phat Kokes
Don Talbot at Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee says the Kokanee fishing on Lake Chelan is starting to heat up. He said the Kokanee are running in the 16 to 17 inch range and most of the action has been taking place around Wapato Point and Rocky Point. Talbot also likes to troll the area between Wapato Point and First Creek in about 300 of feet of water, targeting the water column between 50 and 100 feet to find kokes. He said to use a pink and white mini-Ace Hi Fly tipped with white shoe peg corn behind a Luhr Jensen 50/50 dodger. He also like to run a couple of larger size 1 hooks with his hoochie rig, as it helps to keep these soft-mouthed fish on the line. Don said to be sure to swing into Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee to get help rigging up any of the troll gear necessary to catch Kokanee on Lake Chelan.
Use Swim Baits to Target Sea Bass off Ocean Shores Jetty
John Martinis at John’s Sporting Goods in Everett has gotten some great reports from the jetty at Ocean Shores last weekend. Martinis has a tackle shop customer that’s been catching his limit of nice sea bass casting swim jigs off the jetty. John says the go-to lure is a 4 inch red-flake motor oil twin tail grub rigged with a 2 ounce jighead. The successful angler has been walking to the end of the jetty on days when the weather is nice and working the jig over the submerged rocks.  Martinis says to wear foul weather gear and to watch the weather carefully though, as the surf often pounds across the jetty at Ocean Shores. Martinis notes that ling cod season opens today in Marine Area 2 and the jetty’s are a great place to find them also.

Catch and Release Only for Sturgeon Starting in 2014
Starting May 1st recreational fisherman will be limited to one white sturgeon per year in Washington. By 2014 new regulations require the release of all white sturgeon in Puget Sound, its tributaries, the Washington coast and the Lower Columbia River below Bonneville Dam. The new rules were adopted to address drastic declines in the population of white sturgeon in Washington state the last five years. Catch and release fishing will still be allowed for white sturgeon in all the effected areas.

Spot Shrimp Seasons Announced
Recreational shrimp fishers will get more days to fish and a larger share of the catch in areas of Puget Sound under fishing seasons announced by WDFW. The spot shrimp season is set to begin May 4th and will run from one day to several days longer in areas of the Sound due to policy changes recently adopted by WDFW to give recreational shrimpers a larger percentage of the overall quota. In the San Juan Islands the shrimp fishery could be open for more than a month in Marine Area 7-West and the shrimp season is expected to run for 13 days in Marine Areas 7-East and 7-South, up from just 6 days last year. Hood Canal and Discovery Bay shrimp seasons will be open a total of 5 days this year and Marine Areas Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10 and 11 will be open two days this year. Please log onto the WDFW website for a complete listing of the new shrimp seasons.

47 Lakes Stocked with Trout
With Spring Break fast approaching WDFW is stocking dozens of lakes in Washington with more than 250,000 rainbow trout. The 10 to 12 inch trout will be stocked into year-round lakes in Grays Harbor, Thurston, Pierce, Mason, Kitsap, Island, King and Snohomish Counties. The State is planting the lakes to give families a chance to get out fishing over spring break and to give them a chance to tune up their gear before main trout opener on April 27th. A complete list of the lakes being stocked can be found on the WDFW website.

Blackman’s Lake Planted with Triploids
The Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club just planted Blackman’s Lake in Snohomish County with about 200 triploid trout ranging in size from one and a half to as large as six pounds. Blackman’s lake is on the north edge of Snohomish County and has a large fishing pier and an improved boat launch.

Little League Raffles off an AR-15 in Illinois
Associated Press – A youth baseball league in the eastern Illinois town of Atwood wasn’t happy with the previous fundraiser’s it’s held to raise money for the league, so they’ve decided to raffle off an AR-15 assault rifle. A local gun shop owner provided the Rock River Arms AR-15 for the league, which is in bad need of baseball equipment that it can’t afford. Charidy Butcher of Atwood Armory is the shop that donated the gun and they said the raffle is going gangbusters. They’re phone has been ringing non-stop since 4:30 in the morning the day after the AR-15 raffle item was announced. Butcher says the lucky winner of the AR-15 will need to have a background check and will need an Illinois Firearm’s Owner I.D. card to get the gun.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
TheOutdoorLine.com

Northwest Outdoor Report

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Cowlitz Slow for Steelhead, Columbia Picking Up for Springers
Justin Leach at Bob’s Sporting Goods in Longview says the fishing has been really slow on the Cowlitz for steelhead. Leach says the guys that are catching fish on the Cowlitz right now are working extremely hard for them. He says most of the guides are catching just a couple of steelhead a day for four or five rods. The springer bite in the Portland area, however, has picked up quite a bit this past week. Leach said he’s heard reports of springers in the Lower Cowlitz around the Camelot area, as well.

The Year of Big Fish Continues in Forks
Bill Meyer of Anglers Guide Service in Forks said he taped three steelhead in the mid-20’s last week and he heard of several more trophy class steelhead being caught by other local guides. Meyer’s customers caught two of the big steelhead on the Sol Duc and the third one came out of the Calawah River. He said to time your fishing with the rains on the coast for the best chance at good fishing.

Blackmouther’s Still Catching Fish in the San Juans
Kevin John from Holiday Sports in Burlington is reporting decent blackmouth fishing on the banks and on the northern side of the islands around Parker Reef and Pt. Thompson. He says the fishing seems to have slowed down quite a bit in the Rosario Strait, which has been producing fish all winter. Kevin’s top choices in the Strait of Juan de Fuca would be Coyote, Hein, Eastern, and Salmon banks. He said most of the blackmouth have been falling to either cut plug or whole herring or small spoons and hoochies.

Kokanee on the Surface at Lake Stevens
Marcy Rockenbach at Gregs Custom Tackle in Lake Stevens says the kokanee fishing is starting to pick up on Lake Stevens. She says the fish have been really shallow and anglers are catching them flatlining Dick Nite spoons, Apex lures, or wedding rings tipped with shoe peg corn or Berkley artificial maggots. Marcy says the fish are averaging around 10 to 12 inches and that the numbers of fish being caught has really picked up this past week.

Trout Still Biting on American Lake
Mike Barr at Bills Boathouse on American Lake said that anglers are still catching nice rainbow trout off the boathouse dock. He said there’s been some nice trout in the 16 to 17 inch range and they’re mostly hitting Berkley Power Egg’s in yellow or lemon lime. Mike hit the lake for Kokanee yesterday and didn’t come up with anything. Barr says the kokanee bite usually starts to pick up around early April.

Yet Another Razor Dig this Weekend
State fishery managers have approved another razor clam on the Washington coast this weekend. Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis, and Mocrocks beaches will be open today and tomorrow and Twin Harbors beach will remain open thru Monday. Todays low tide is at 4:50 p.m., tomorrows tide is 6:33 p.m., and Mondays tide at Twin Harbors is at 7:12 p.m..

Poachers Busted in Okanogan
Wenatchee World – State Department of Fish and Wildlife officers seized 9 trophy deer heads from a poacher in Okanogan last Friday. A 10th deer head was recovered last month. Officers say the killing was the work of a poaching ring made up of several individuals working together to poach trophy bucks. Both mule deer and whitetail deer were taken and all of them were 4 point or better. One impressive buck was a 5 by 6 with an impressive 29 inch spread. Those arrested in the case face a fine of up to $6,000 per animal.

New Product Allows Mushers to Go…on the Go
With the 2013 Iditarod dog sled race underway in Alaska this past week some of the female mushers are testing out a new product called Pee Pants. Pee Pants are described as a combination of bicycle shorts, a funnel, and a tube that pokes out next to the mushers boot. The women mushers testing the product are hoping the invention will allow them fewer pit stops along the 1,000 mile long Iditarod trail. Pee Pants were developed by a North Carolina doctor seeking to provide a more pleasurable outdoor experience for women. You can find Pee Pants online at MyPeePants.com!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Northwest Outdoor Report

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“B” Run Steelhead Trickling into the Cowlitz
Phil Stephens from Mystical Legends Guide Service says there’s some really big three-salt hatchery steelhead cruising up the Cowlitz River right now. The “B” run on the Cowlitz just got started and while most of the guides are only picking up a few fish a day it won’t be long before the run gets into full swing. Stephens says these late steelhead hit a yarnie really well and he fishes them almost exclusively when he’s sidedrifting. He suggests using a 4 to 5 foot leader and using a little shrimp scent on the yarn sometimes helps to draw strikes. The Cowlitz “B” run starts to hit the river in earnest in early March and runs strong thru the end of April.

Lake Washington Still Productive for Cutties
Todd Daniels from Tall Tails Guide Service says he’s still catching around a half a dozen nice cutthroat a day on Lake Washington. Daniels says the fish have moved a little deeper and he’s been getting most of his bites trolling 20 to 35 feet deep. His best lures have been orange label cut plug herring and fire tiger needlefish spoons trolled at least 100 feet behind the boat. Daniels said the area between the Cedar River, Mercer Island, and the Boeing plant is where most of the action is occurring.

Skwala Hatch Nearing on the Yakima
Josh Holt from Red’s Fly Shop on the Yakima River says there’s been a few Skwala’s around, but overall the fish are still in their winter feeding mode. He says most of the trout are being caught nymphing with size 16 to 20 red or black brassy’s. The guides working out of Red’s have been getting a couple of trout a day on dries and he suspects that the Skwala hatch should get into full swing in the next couple of weeks when the weather starts to warm up. The forecast is for 60 degrees in the Yakima Canyon tomorrow and if that weather pattern continues the hatches should start to come off soon.

Puget Sound Salmon Forecasts Released
The salmon forecasts for the Puget Sound and the Washington coast were just released and numbers for Puget Sound look very good for the summer of 2013. Salmon runs of note are the Nooksack with a forecast of 46,500 Chinook. The Nooksack run has increased steadily from 23,000 king salmon in 2009 to this year’s forecast of over 46,000 fish. Hood Canal will also see an increase of Chinook with a combination of wild and hatchery Chinook making up the 69,000 Chinook projected to head back to the Canal. On the coho front the Skagit is forecast for 137,200 wild coho this fall, up from just 48,300 last year and the ever-solid Snohomish system is forecast to get just over 163,000 silvers. And the pink salmon forecast for the Puget Sound is for an astonishing 6 million pink salmon to stream into Puget Sound. While it’s too early to tell what the seasons will look like many think that with the rock-solid forecasts for both Chinook and coho they should be much the same as last year on Puget Sound. A more detailed look at the salmon run forecasts is posted in the Outdoor Line forums.

Spring Chinook Seminar at Outdoor Emporium Today
Don’t miss the yearly spring Chinook seminar today from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Outdoor Emporium in downtown Seattle. The seminar features longtime Columbia River guides Eric Linde and Steve Leonard along with Outdoor Line host Tom Nelson. They’ll be covering everything from run timing, where to fish, and how to rig up for spring Chinook. Outdoor Emporium provides a free lunch and there will be a ton of tackle giveaways, as well.

Duck Dynasty Crew Runs off Singer Morissey
Grammy award winning singer Morrissey cancelled a performance on the Jimmy Kimmel show this past week after finding out that the cast of A&E’s hit show “Duck Dynasty” was also booked as a guest on the show. The former front man for the Smiths is an ardent animal rights activist and said he couldn’t take the risk of being on a show alongside people who amount to animal serial killers. The publicity didn’t hurt Duck Dynasty one bit either, as it posted the largest viewing audience in A&E’s history the night after the Morissey/Kimmel catfight with 9 million viewers.

Squirrel Cookoff World Championships Announced
Joe Wilson of Squirrel’s Unlimited just announced the 2013 World Champion Squirrel Cook Off to be held on September 7th. The event will be held in Bentonville, Arkansas and will feature hundreds of contestants from across the country that are the best of the best at whoopin’ up a mean batch of squirrel. Squirrel’s Unlimited president Joe Wilson says the event will draw an estimated 10,000 people to the area. Last years squirrel cook off will be televised on Bizarre Foods on the Cooking channel on April 1st. Interested parties should log onto squirrelcookoff.com for more information.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

River Etiquette 101

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By Dennis Dickson

I was floating a popular run on the Sauk River one spring day. The April morning found the river in prime shape and I knew the flyboys were going to be out in numbers. As we rounded the corner of a long bar, there near the bottom of the half mile run, was another fly guide boat I hadn’t seen for a while. There is a nice slot in the tailout, so I figured they probably had already fished the upper drift, and were about to fish the lower. The day was still young and there could be new fish moving in so why not give this upper pool a go anyway? The guide and his client were just chatting in their boat. Couldn’t really tell if they were climbing in or getting out, and as they were not within shouting distance, I thought I would drop down and talk, after I got the boys fishing.

My guys had been fishing for a few minutes, and the guide heads up the gravel bar towards me so I waded out of the river to talk.

“How come you stole my water!” He demanded.

Gee, I am sorry,” I apologized. ” I saw you parked down in the lower run so I assumed you had either passed on this water to fish the lower pool, or had already fished it.”

“Everybody knows I always park my boat at the bottom of this run” He said. ” You should have asked.”

“No,” I said, “Obviously I didn’t know, (I had been on the water every day for the last month) and its not river etiquette to have ask permission, to fish the water behind someone, particularly, when they are not even in the river. Now, if it’s a really big deal, you take the pool, and we will slip on down the next pool.”

He declined.

Contrast this episode with an experience a few weeks before.

I was fishing some new water in early season, and we passed another guide with a couple clients. They were pulling plugs so I gave them a wide berth so not to disturb their water.

“Good morning Dennis!” Rod yelled. ” Swam anything this morning?”

Not yet,” I answered. “You?”

“Lost one in the upper run” He said. “Say, have you fished that new fly water down in the tailout?” “We hit two in here yesterday.”

I had to admit, it looked fishy. I shook my head, No.

“Tell you what,” He continued, ” Why don’t you fish it today, and tell me how you do?”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

I wanted it bad but it was his water.

“Yeah, What the hell.” He answered.

We hooked three steelhead that morning……all from that pool. I made it a point to thank Rod the next morning. As more and more anglers hit the rivers, it seems this fishing pressure brings out the aggressiveness in some anglers. It’s a little like driving in freeway traffic. We are all trying to get somewhere, but we sometimes forget we are All trying to get somewhere. The rules of the road get forgotten.

Here is a rundown on some of fishing rules on our local rivers.

Rule # One: First Comes First:
Anglers know that a steelhead undisturbed is probably going to hit the first thing that is presented reasonably. The Dawn Patrol is the angler that gets on the water in the wee hours of the morning to take advantage of “new fish”. The rule is ” If you are first on the water, you get to fish down through first, provided, you are on the pool ready to fish, and you are stepping downstream in a reasonable manner, so the next angler also has a chance to fish.” Standing at the head of a run and fiddling with your gear, in hopes that the angler who showed up, a few minutes after you, will finally get frustrated and go away, is not good etiquette. Neither is any reason that hinders or prevents an upstream angler from fishing down through the run.

My assistant Jackson said he was following a fellow down through the Buck Island Pool, on the Skykomish, when this downstream angler sees another fly boy walk up. By the number of patches on each of their vests, you would think they were in the armed services. This fishing angler wades out of the pool and begins a conversation with the new arrival.

Jackson continues to step down. The boys keep talking and Jackson keeps
stepping down.  When Jack gets even with these boys, the guy that was fishing, yells out, ” Don’t you be fishing down through my water, buddy!”

Fortunately for him, he caught Jackson in a good mood. He breaks people. The rule implies that, if he begins fishing upstream of you, he has every right to be there. If you get out of the water long enough to slow the progress of the upstream angler, let him fish through. The key, be reasonable.

Rule # Two: Don’t Crowd;
Just as you do not appreciate it when you have someone come up and tailgate you, when your driving, try to maintain a reasonable distance between you and your downstream buddy. Downstream buddy – read rule # one.

Rule # Three: Be reasonable about your concept of the pool. Little rivers tend to have little pools. Sometimes when I am fishing even two anglers, I will space them, allowing each to fish his own pool, if the waters are strategically close.

By contrast, a river the size of the Skagit may have pools a half-mile long, if you were to fish the whole thing. The Mixer on the Skagit comes to mind….but the taking water may be only about one hundred yards in length. If you know you won’t be fishing the lower waters for a least a half hour, and a guy walks up to ask if he can fish, let him. If you are looking forward to fishing that water yourself, and you know you are fishing iffy water, you should reel up and go down and fish the prime stuff yourself, but do not hoard the whole pool, simply because you happen to get there first. IT’S NOT YOUR POOL! You just have the right to fish it first.

Don’t pull this crap about ” We consider this to be two pools”, which is your excuse to step down in front of someone into prime water. If there is a question about what the fishing anglers intentions are, ASK, but permission is only necessary, if they are downstream of where you want to fish.

Rule # Four: Hooked fish goes to the back of the line.
You really see this get abused on the popular waters. The idea here is, If you are lucky enough to play a fish and you are in front of somebody fishing through, give him a chance at the next fish. I once saw an angler get on a Grande Ronde pool and proceed to play and release five steelhead, always going back to the front of a long line of anglers after each fish! What was he thinking?

Rule # five When in Rome…..
Different rules apply to different waters. All these rules don’t mean jack to a combat fishery like Hoodsport ,or around a bunch of gear guys, or even a crowded morning at Fortson Hole. If you go waltzing in and start in on the locals as to where and how they can fish…You Are Out Of Line. Not only that, but you are probably going to get thumped.

Rule # Six No Sponging or Bragging
I was just pulling into the Ben Howard boat launch. It was the same two guys I had seen the day before, and the day before that. The conversation would start off innocuous enough with a “So how was fishing today?” and then they would launch into the twenty questions, about where, when, how many, which fly and yada yada…….. As soon as they would sponge as much information from one boat, they wouldn’t even say thank you, they were off to the next boat. I actually witnessed one guy sponge the new arrivals and walk back up and get on his cell phone to pass on the information, like he was doing the flyfishing kingdom this great service! I finally got so irritated by the third day, (didn’t these guys have a life?) that as sponge # one came up while I am pulling my raft up, before he could even open his mouth, I said, “look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I will make you a deal. If you don’t ask me the questions, I won’t lie about them.”

At first he was shocked, then he just laughed, and ambled over to the next boat. Some fellows want desperately for everyone to know, just what a wonderful fisherman they are, they can’t wait to tell everybody about it. Young guide want-a-be’s are bad for this. They will start by asking how the day is going, and before you can hardly answer the question, they will start in about all the amazing fishing they have had that day. If they are really feeling their oats, they will hang around the takeout and drill the guide boats as they come in. Kind of their way of saying ” Boy, now if you were in my boat today, you could have had thissss much fun. You could term this as “Reverse Sponging”. Very annoying.

You see, the problem with all the rule breakers are, they simply don’t care about anyone but themselves. The problem is, even if they read this, they won’t get it. Nothing tries my patience more than some flyboy that will scream bloody murder when they think someone else steps out of line, but will do the same thing, given the opportunity, and never even think twice.

The Golden Rule is still the best rule:
Simply treat others the way you would want to be treated, and we can all get along.

Best of fishing
Dennis Dickson
www.flyfishsteelhead.com

“There are only two types of anglers in this part of the world, those that catch steelhead on a fly and those that want to.”

Northwest Outdoor Report

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Jerry Thomas Wins Oly Pen Salmon Derby

A record catch of 351 hatchery Chinook were weighed in at the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby last weekend setting a new record for the 40 year old derby. 820 anglers fished in the event compared to 650 last year. Mount Vernon native Jerry Thomas took first place and $10,000 with a 15.90 pound blackmouth, Lauren Selvig from Port Orchard took second with a 14.80 pound blackmouth, and Don White of Hansville took 3rd place with a 14.35 pounder. Thomas hooked the winning fish first thing in the morning on Saturday near Protection Island on an orange label herring. It’s the first time he’s fished the Olympic Peninsula Derby and he says he’ll be back next year.

Lake Roosevelt Producing Limits of Rainbows

Don Talbot at Hooked on Toys in Wenatchee says the rainbow fishing is still good on Lake Roosevelt. He recommends trolling small Apex lures in either purple or bright red with anywhere from a half ounce to an ounce of lead. Talbot says the fish are cruising in the top 20 feet of the water column and anglers should set the gear as much as 200 feet back from the boat to get strikes. Talbot also recommends using a K-Fly tipped with a nightcrawler if the Apex’s aren’t working. Talbot says to launch at Spring Canyon boat launch and fish the lower six to eight of the lake just above Grand Coulee Dam.

Steelhead Showing in the Cowlitz

Derek Anderson from Screamin’ Reels Guide Service reports that a few of the “B” run steelhead are starting to show up in the Cowlitz. He said a friend of his caught three the other day and there were some fish being caught by the bank anglers at Blue Creek, as well. Anderson thinks that things will pick up the first week of March when the run typically starts to show up. The majority of the hatchery steelhead planted in the Cowlitz River now show up in the river as a late “B” run that starts in late February and goes all the way thru the end of April. These fish are big too…averaging around twelve pounds and steelhead into the upper teens aren’t uncommon.

Razor Clam Dig Scheduled for this Weekend

WDFW approved another razor clam dig for this weekend at Long Beach and Twin Harbors on the Washington coast. Today’s tide is at 5:12 p.m. and tomorrows tide is at 5:47 p.m.. Clam diggers are limited to 15 razor clams per day and are required to keep the first 15 clams they dig. Check out the WDFW website for more details.

Spring Chinook Seminar at Three Rivers Marine

Northwest salmon fishing expert Josh Hughes will be doing a spring Chinook seminar at Three Rivers Marine in Woodinville on March 9th. Hughes will cover in detail where to fish on the Columbia River for springers and exactly how to rig up to catch these prized fish. Three Rivers will also be conducting mini-clinics starting at 10:00 a.m. on everything from how to rig a cut plug herring to wrapping and tuning a Kwikfish. If you’re at all interested in fishing the Columbia and its tributaries for Chinook this spring this seminar is a must. There’s bbq’d hot dogs and soda at the event and please RSVP to let them know you’re coming.

100,000 Descend on Tulsa for the Bassmaster Classic

Approximately 100,000 people are expected at both Grand Lake and in the city of Tulsa this weekend for the 43rd annual Bassmaster Classic. It’s the first time the Bassmaster Classic has ever been held in Oklahoma and the farthest west the Classic has been in more than 30 years. The angler with the best three day bass total in the Classic wins an impressive $500,000 and much, much more in endorsements. The big story at the Classic this year is the weather. There was snow on the ground for practice during the week and temperatures are supposed to drop below freezing every night.  The cold weather didn’t slow down Mike Iaconelli and Cliff Price though, who are both tied for 1st place after day one with 21 pounds, 8 ounces apiece. 4 time Classic champion Kevin VanDam is in a very close 4th place with 19 pounds 12 ounces.

Wolf Population Doubles in Washington

According to a survey just released by WDFW the number of gray wolves in Washington has nearly doubled in the past year. The survey found at least 51 wolves in 9 packs in Washington state. In 2011 there was just 27 wolves in the state. Bioligists suspect that there are two additional wolf packs in the state and think there could be as many as 100 wolves in Washington state.

Russian’s Crowned Ice Fishing Champions

From the A.P. – The Russian’s just took the gold medal in the World Ice Fishing Championships in Central Wisconsin last weekend. Eleven teams from around the world competed Saturday and Sunday on Beg Eau Pleine Reservoir near Wausau. The Finland ice fishing team took 2nd place, Lithuania took 3rd, and the the U.S. team took fourth place despite having the “home ice” advantage. Last year the ice fishing championships were held in Khazahkstan where the U.S. team took 11th place.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Northwest Outdoor Report

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New State Record Lake Trout Caught
Phil Colyar from Wenatchee just caught the new state record Mackinaw trout from Lake Chelan on Monday. The huge lake trout weighed 35 pounds, 10 ounces and beat the old state record by just 3 ounces. Colyar caught the fish in 270 feet of water in front of Kelly’s Resort on the south shore of Lake Chelan. After a 35 minute battle he and fishing buddy Jack Stagge raced to the nearby hospital in Chelan, which happened to have the only certified scale in the area. Colyar, Stagge, doctors, and nurses all watched as the scale ticked up to 35 pounds, 10 ounces. Colyar is having the fish mounted and plans to keep fishing for big Mackinaw’s in Lake Chelan, as he thinks there’s even larger Mackinaw to be caught in the lake.

American Lake Still Kicking Out Rainbows
Mike Barr from Bill’s Boathouse on American Lake says that anglers are still getting limits of nice trout fishing off the of the boathouse dock. He says a bunch of small trout in the 7 to 9 inch range just showed up, but the people that are putting in some time are going home with limits of trout in the 13 to 15 inch range. He recommends fishing yellow or lime green Power Eggs on the bottom in 12 to 35 feet of water. Barr says there’s definitely no shortage of trout in American Lake.

First Springer Caught on the Cowlitz
Todd Daniels from Tall Tails Guide Service knows of at least five spring Chinook being caught on the lower Cowlitz River this past week. Daniels says the springers have been caught in the Castlerock area and he knows that at least one of them hit a Kwikfish. There’s been sporadic reports of spring Chinook being caught on the Kalama River, as well. The forecast for both rivers is down this year with only 5,500 springer’s projected for the Cowlitz and just 700 spring Chinook projected for the Kalama River.

“Uncle Pete” Leading in the Roche Harbor Derby
After day one of the Roche Harbor Derby “Uncle” Pete Nelson is leading the derby board with a 16.7 pound blackmouth. Carter Whalen is in a very close second place with a 16.4 pound blackmouth and Derek Floyd and company are leading in the total weight category with 46 pounds 3 ounces. There’s still one more day to go in the two day derby and we’ll have more coverage and the final list of winners available on TheOutdoorLine.com.

Oly-Pen Salmon Derby Offers $22,000 in Cash
Tickets are on sale now for the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby happening February 16-18. The derby area extends from Freshwater Bay all the way to Port Ludlow and includes the banks in the Strait of Juan De Fuca and the western shore of Whidbey Island. Derby weigh stations are located at Freshwater Bay, Port Angeles, Sequim, Gardiner, and Port Townsend. Tickets are $40 apiece and derby chairman Dan Tatum expects well over 1,000 anglers to fish in the event, which boasts $22,000 in cash and prizes. John Otness from Tacoma won the event last year with a 17.60 pound blackmouth. The Outdoor Line will be fishing in the event and broadcasting live from Port Townsend next Saturday. For more information log onto GardinerSalmonDerby.org.

Hood Canal Derby Next Weekend
Tickets are on sale for the Bill Nik Memorial Derby next Saturday at Misery Point boat launch. The derby is ran by the Kitsap Poggie Club and boasts $2000 in cash and a ton of prizes. Last year’s derby was won by Shane Morrison with a 13.6 pound blackmouth he plucked from Hood Canal. Tickets are available at Kitsap Marina, Defiane Marine, Aqua Tech Marine, Brother Dons, Seabeck General Store, Papas Eats and Treats in Port Orchard, and Camp Union Saloon in Seabeck.

Maine Legislators Out to Ban Swim Baits
KeepAmericaFishing.org is reporting that legislators in Maine just introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of all “rubber” lures. The intent of the bill is to ban the soft plastic swim baits that most Maine anglers use every day. The bill would also ban the use of biodegradable swim baits, as well. Extensive tests have proven that plastic baits cause minimal problems for fish and they usually regurgitate them or pass them without problems.

REI Executive Named Secretary of the Interior
The Associated Press is reporting that President Obama just nominated REI’s Chief Executive Officer Sally Jewell as the new Interior Secretary. Jewell has helped push REI to nearly 2 billion in annual revenues and a place on Fortune Magazine’s “Best Places to Work”. The Interior Department manages more than 500 million acres in national parks and other public lands and more than 1 billion acres offshore. If confirmed by the Senate Jewell will replace current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who has announced he will step down in March.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Northwest Outdoor Report

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February Razor Dig Scheduled
WDFW just tentatively approved a razor clam dig on the Washington coast for the weekend of February 7th thru the 12th at Twin Harbors. Long Beach will be open February 8-10 and Copalis and Mocrocks beaches will be open February 8th thru the 9th. WDFW will release a final approval for the dig after marine toxin test results come in next week.

Smaller Spring Chinook Run Forecast for the Columbia
Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon are projecting a run of just over 141,000 spring Chinook for the Columbia River this year. The forecast is down 25 percent from the 10 year average and well below the 203,000 spring Chinook that returned to the upper Columbia River last year. The forecast will allow anglers to catch up to 5,000 upriver springers before the run is updated in early May.

Lake Washington Kicking Out Cutties
Todd Daniels from Tall Tails Guide Service (206-437-8766) is reporting excellent fishing for cutthroat trout on Lake Washington this past week. He had a thirteen fish day on the lake earlier in the week that included a few blackmouth between 3 and 5 pounds. Daniels says that even though the blackmouth have to be released they are a blast on light trolling tackle. The most productive areas have been on the south end of Lake Washington between the Cedar River and Mercer Island and also up on the north end of the lake near Kenmore.

Wynoochee Fishing Well
Derek Anderson from Screamin’ Reels Guide Service (206-849-2574) is reporting steady action for hatchery steelhead on the Wynoochee River the past couple of weeks. Derek has been catching most of his fish backtrolling plugs and baitdivers. Anderson said his biggest hatchery steelhead so far this winter has been 17 pounds and he’s had quite a few chunky fish in the 10 to 14 pound range. He’s been getting his fish on a mix of plugs and baitdivers and Anderson thinks the size 35 Hot Shots in green and blue will really produce this next week in the low and clear water. The Wynoochee River should fish excellent all the way thru the month of March.

Dickson Eye’ing Queets and Hoh for Wild Steelhead
Longtime north sound flyfishing guide Dennis Dickson of Dickson’s Flyfishing (425-238-3537) says the dolly varden are still snapping Egg Sucking Cop Cars on the upper Skagit river, but the steelhead fishing has been poor. With the upper Skagit closing on February 15th, however, he’s gearing up to head to the coast to fish the Queets and Hoh Rivers for wild steelhead. Dickson’s top choice on the coast for flyfishing water is the Queets followed closely by the Hoh River. He suggests tying up pink or black leeches when the water is high and red or blue marabous for low and clear water. Check out Dickson’s weekly flyfishing reports at Flyfishsteelhead.com for up to date river reports!

San Juan Islands Steady for Blackmouth
Derek Floyd from Angler’s Choice Charters (425-239-5740) is reporting fairly steady action in the San Juan Islands this past week. He’s had blackmouth all the way up to 16 pounds and he says the average weight of the fish has been around 9 pounds. He’s been using smaller presentations like 3” and 3.5” Coho Killers and Kingfisher Lite in glow patterns behind a green glow flasher. Floyd says that the northern Rosario Strait has been fishing good as well as the north shore of Orcas Island on the ebb tide. Derek says there’s definitely been some bigger fish in the islands recently and he wouldn’t be surprised if a 20 plus pound blackmouth won the upcoming Roche Harbor Derby.

3 Spots Left for Roche Harbor Derby
Debbie Sandwith at Roche Harbor Resort reports that there are only 3 spots left in the Roche Harbor Derby next weekend. The derby boasts $25,000 in cash prizes and this year there’s a $30,000 jackpot for any winning fish over 30 pounds. The derby is February 7-9 and you can find more information about this great event at Rocheharbor.com.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Going with the “Flow”

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By Joseph Princen

The past few weeks have been nothing short of challenging, trying to persuade those silvery ghosts to commit to the presentation you spent hours prepping, tying, wrapping and curing. One thing is certain, when it all works out there is nothing more spectacular than rolling fresh chrome in shallow gin-clear water. Its an image you’ll never forget. Its burned into your mind and it will replay over and over in slow motion bringing you back again and again for more.

One moment its just another slated gravel bottom and you can see every rock, every detail, your mind telling you its too shallow and you should move on. All of a sudden those thoughts are pushed aside as you see the shallows exploding with big bright flashes and white water foaming on the surface as a thick steel tail slices through the cold winter water. Its only in these conditions that a steelheader will get to see the strike first hand from the bite to the finish. An angler never forgets these moments.

A steelheader must think smarter, harder, and longer about how he’s going to spend his time on the river though. Even if its just an afternoon trip to the local home-river or a 3 day excursion to the coast to backpack or drift boat into his favorite water. Low water means you need to consider all the options, such as which section of the river you will choose to fish.

Here’s some things to consider when searching for low water winter steelhead:

- Does the river fork anywhere? East or West fork? Does it have streams and small creeks that dump into the main stem?

In low water it is MOST important to try and gain as much flow as you can get. This means to fish below any forks, streams, creeks or major sources of water that relay into the main stem of the river system you are fishing.

Get to know your river! Google Maps on your smart phone will show you detailed satellite imagery of small creeks, streams and river forks that dump into the main river.

That means to concentrate your efforts on those lower portions of the river and spend very little time higher in river systems. Staging fish will be below those forks in appropriate deep water areas making it easier for you to locate water that is suitable to hold multiple steelhead. These fish are far too smart to risk being attacked by misjudging safe living conditions and hurrying up river to hold in shallow, exposed areas.

Don’t waste your time fishing the fast 2-3 foot gin-clear sections or those 1-3 foot “long runs” on the sides of the river that you would normally beat up all day in medium to high flows. Even with overhanging trees and shaded cover those fish simply are not there in any fishable numbers when the water is low.

Its a numbers game and by numbers i mean… how many feet deep! In low flows steelhead will lie in deeper water making it safer for them to break cover from the safety of the depths to hit a plug or lure. After all, the most important thing in any steelheads tiny little mind is to ensure that their genetics are passed on from generation to generation. Deep water with a bottom covered in boulders provides the cover they need to feel safe.

As soon as it rains these types of runs will be full of migrating fish and I specifically target those long runs that dump into deep canyon holes that low water fish have been hunkered in during periods of low flows.

- Which water holds low water steelhead?

It’s imperative to find those slots that have water with walking speed flows that you could physicality walk into and the water would be over your head, especially those runs with shade and size to the pool that gives steelhead an element of safety. These fish will set up shop in these areas when water visibility increases past the 5 foot margin to well below median stream flows.

Why risk the threat of their journey being cut short laying in risky, shallow water when you can lay in a deep, “walking speed” canyon slot that’s 5-15 feet deep, preferably shaded, with structure and most importantly a riffle at the head of the pool.

Riffled surface water provides full, all around cover from the sides, top, and bottom.You have to think that most the time in low water conditions its sunny, cold, and clear out so having riffles or choppy water on the surface of a hole is vital to feeling secure from anything that poses a threat looking down into their holding area.

- How do I fish for low water steelhead?

Going small with your baits, jigs and plugs will always pay off. A good rule of thumb for 7-10 feet of visibility is using nickle-size baits and decreasing your Cheater or Corkie sizes to size 14′s or smaller. Using neutral/natural color schemes with your presentation really helps and pays off too.

By neutral I simply mean colors that aren’t neon, radiant, or vibrant. This includes shrimp pink’s, peaches, whites, and that opaque and translucent look that looks like worn out egg skein (peach/white). Using small sand shrimp and very lightly cured medium sized tiger prawns that are coated with just Mike’s Gel Scent and sugar can be deadly in this situation also.

Here’s how I cure my tiger prawns for low water steelheading:
- 1 Bag raw medium-size tiger prawns
- Leave the shells on, but cut off 1/4 up from the tail end
- 1/4 Cup Orange Borax O’ Fire
- 1/2 Bottle Mikes Pink Gel Scent
- 1/4 Cup Sugar and Sprinkle salt on top.

Mix, mix, mix this all together by shaking the container gently until product is evenly distributed and then simply put the cured prawns into a fridge.You can even throw them into your boat on your drive out to the river and the prawns can be ready in less than 2 hours. Remove the shells and cut the prawns down the middle of the slit in their back or cut them in half into small chunks. Either the flap or the chunks will fish just fine but I prefer using the flap style because they bend and flex with the flow of the river giving them a more natural “free-flowing” appearance.

Over the past few weeks my boat has been on the Satsop, Wynoochee, Queets, Humptulips, and Hoh rivers. Call me a groupie, but I love to get around! Knowing each rivers positives and negatives gives a guy an advantage over just fishing one river and being limited to a small fishable area.

On the coast the Queets and Hoh rivers run through giant open gorges with classic gravel bar runs and giant boulder strewn stretches. One thing for certain that gives these rivers the “nod” in low water and that’s the fact that they are fed from grey clay cliffs!

These clay cliffs constantly bleed grey clay sediments into the river 24/7 giving the river the “carbon emerald green” appearance in ALL conditions. This carbon green look is IDEAL for low water conditions because it gives the fish a sense of security and they are more willing to continue their journey up higher into the systems. Fishing those 1-2 foot travel lanes can still produce in these systems and you’ll find me here more often then not in low water. Plus these rivers have naturally higher flows in terms of CFS than almost all of the others in our state so they fish better in low flows.

Below are some photos of the past 14 days in my driftboat. They are pictures of only some of the steelhead that have been caught in my boat, but each one was special in its own way. Steelheading is a lifestyle for me. It’s gotten into my blood and there’s no cure to get rid of it. Salmon season is just a time filler anymore and during spring, summer and fall I dream about those cold crisp wintery mornings when I finally get to hook those cold silvery steelhead once again.

Capturing the shot, sometimes we take 20-30 photos and only one works out

Wynoochee hatchery buck, this fish was caught by Daniel Hubbard and it was hooked way under a down tree. This fish was jumping into brush and we were able to pull it out from structure and get a solid net job

This enormous steelhead took over 225 yards of line at one point

This huge hatchery steelhead caught by John McCleery was just shy of the 20 pound mark

2ynoochee hen! this fish took red Borax O’ Fire Eggs!

Nothing like Limits in the fish box! Let the chrome shine!

A hatchery buck from the Wynoochee system just prior to release

14lb Wynoochee buck that fell to a yarn ball

My father with a beautiful hatchery buck that hit the Dr. Death K-13 Kwikfish

Spots for days

Limits by 9am!

John McCleery with a big buck caught at first light

Limits of huge hatchery steelhead that fell for backtrolled plugs

I swung by to take some photos of Duane Inglin and limits of hatchery steelhead

Rain or Shine – a true steelheader will fish in any conditions on any day just to feel that tug, see that float dissapear or the chance to capture the moment with a photo of the most elusive fish in the pacific northwest!

The release of a native steelhead very high on the Queets River last week.

A fine wild hen steelhead caught by fellow Outdoor Line “Young Gun” Lael Paul Johnson.

One of the many primitive launches on the Washington coastal rivers.

A hatchery hen with blue haze on her back, fresh as can be!

A customer with his first steelhead…and his second steelhead!

If steelheading is in your blood as much as it is mine please feel free to drop me a line to chat about your addiction or perhaps book a day of fishing with me on the Washington coast. Hope to see you out there and don’t be afraid to stop by and say hello!

Joseph Princen
Outdoor Line “Young Gun”
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

(Joseph Princen operates Rainforest Wild Guide Service on the Southern Olympic Peninsula and he will be a regular contributor to the Outdoor Line. He can be reached at (253) 347-5300.)