Author: The Troutist

Posted: 9/8/2012

I can’t believe that it is September already. This is the time of year that I get ready to head south across the border to Oregon and hit the Lower Deschutes for some steelhead angling. I am going through my mental notes on everything I have learned about this fishery from the legendary guide Don Hamblin. He crammed so much information into me in just a couple of days and a few follow up phone cal...

Author: Pete Heley

Posted: 8/28/2012

Although the halibut fishing was somewhat disappointing, the last week’s tuna fishing more than made up for it - and a few anglers were able to successfully catch both species on the same trip. Out of Winchester Bay, the tuna were from 20 to 45 miles out and most anglers were fishing for them around 30 miles east of Winchester Bay. All-dept halibut summer openers are on Friday and Saturday every o...

Author: Dave Graybill

Posted: 8/28/2012

This is going to be a great week to get outside and enjoy what our region has to offer. Summer temperatures will be in the mid 80s rather than the low 100s, and there are some super fishing opportunities. Summer run salmon are stacked below Wells Dam and in the Brewster Pool, and there are even big Chinook being taken in the Wenatchee River. The small streams in our area are in ideal co...

Author: Dave Graybill

Posted: 8/28/2012

There is some terrific fishing going on here in our region. The fishing for summer-run Chinook salmon is occupying much of the attention of anglers, or course. The big news though is the announcement that the daily bag limit on sockeye salmon at Lake Wenatchee has been raised to five fish per day! Fishing for sockeye salmon on the lake has been very good to excellent since the opening. Angl...

Author: Pete Heley

Posted: 7/28/2012

Despite receiving an additional 5,000 pounds of halibut from the uncaught portion of the spring all-depth halibut season, the near shore halibut fishery closed this last Monday. However, the summer all-depth halibut fishery is scheduled to begin on Friday, August 3rd. Cabezon are, once again, illegal to keep when caught from a boat. Fair numbers of tuna anglers ventured out this last weekend an...

Author: Dave Graybill

Posted: 7/28/2012

Sockeye fishing on the Upper Columbia River is dominating the fishing scene here in Central Washington. An all-time record number of sockeye are making their way up stream, and although the counts at Bonneville Dam are starting to dwindle, they are coming over the upper river dams at as many as 20,000 per day. Excellent numbers of them are already in our area, but we still can expect a couple hu...

Author: The Troutist

Posted: 7/28/2012

After five years, over sixty lakes, some of them several times, numerous campgrounds, thousands of miles on the road, and thousands of hours on the water, Hercules has formally retired from the angling life. He plans on spending his golden years sleeping in, lounging in bed in the mornings and watching Animal Planet, taking walks to the pasture and visiting his horse friends, an occasional ride to...

Author: Pete Heley

Posted: 7/18/2012

The Umpqua’s pinkfin run has generally been disappointing the last ten days. There are still perch in the river from the entrance to the East Boat Basin up to Gardiner, but it appears that the perch have been hauled out at a faster pace than they have been replaced. Additionally, it is almost a certainty that a large majority of the most aggressive perch have already been caught and those that are...

Author: Dave Graybill

Posted: 7/18/2012

The salmon fishing action on the upper Columbia River exploded this past week, with anglers scoring excellent numbers of kings during the CCA Salmon Derby in Wenatchee. Sockeye fishing has been outrageous from Wanapum Dam to the Brewster Pool. The salmon fishing is really just taking off, too, with kings and sockeye still making their way over Priest Rapids Dam in great numbers. The first a...

Author: Jason Brooks

Posted: 7/7/2012

It was another quick fishing trip thrown together within a few hours’ notice. We were excited and exhausted as we opened the door to our motel room, the last one we could find with such short notice, but Grant Blinn and his brother Alan could share the queen bed as I grabbed up the twin in an adjoined room just before midnight. Five hours later found ourselves hurrying out the door with anticipat...

Author: Pete Heley

Posted: 7/7/2012

I hoped very much to report good fishing for the finclipped ocean coho opener this last Sunday, but the Umpqua River Bar closed fairly early to most boats. The bar was actually more fishable than the ocean and while anglers like Mike Shannon, whose boat accounted for a 25 pound chinook near the bar, were disappointed at the restrictioni, anglers coming in from farther out in the ocean actually see...

Author: Dave Graybill

Posted: 7/7/2012

The summer run Chinook season is open now, and although fish are showing up later than ever in our region, anglers still managed to get some below Wanapum Dam. Sockeye numbers are much better and anglers are often switching to fishing for them. When I called Shane Magnuson, of Upper Columbia Guide Service, on Friday he wasn’t sure he would even be able to get out fishing for kings below Wa...