Author: Hannah Pennebaker

Posted: 9/6/2020

It's that time of year again. Hundreds of fishermen line the shores of Western Washington rivers, casting over and over again in hopes of catching a Pacific Northwest treasure: salmon. Most of these anglers will be using a corky and yarn drift setup: 4-8 feet of leader, a "pencil lead" weight, and a small corky pegged on the hook and finished off with a piece of yarn tied close to the hook. Hundre...

Author: John Kruse

Posted: 8/31/2020

REDUCING VEHICLE COLLISIONS WITH DEER AND ELK – Many of our readers are familiar with the lonely, barren stretches of highway and roads running along the Hanford Nuclear Reservation towards the Tri-Cities. Much of this area encompasses not only the Hanford Nuclear Reservation but also the Hanford National Monument, where mule deer and elk herds live. Unfortunately, a significant number of both ...

Author: Rick Lawrence

Posted: 8/9/2020

A Google map’s isn’t just to find your way to Grandma’s house anymore. For many years I have been using Google maps to find new fishing spots. You can learn a lot about a lake or river by just studying it in close detail on Google maps. You can find sunken islands and logs, rock plies you never knew were there and my favorite weedlines, as well as down trees, but in the last few years I have bee...

Author: John Kruse

Posted: 8/9/2020

Anticipation is running strong for the Lake Wenatchee sockeye season opening August 3rd. This season is never a sure thing, always dependent on the number of salmon returning up the Wenatchee River to this wood-lined lake in the Central Cascades and there have not been enough salmon returning for a season to take place for several years. That changed this year with a strong run of sockeye comi...

Author: Jason Brooks

Posted: 8/9/2020

Salmon often rest in deep pools and cooler water as they make their way up rivers. This is true of just about every river they are migrating, from the mighty Columbia to the coastal rivers. Since they hold in one spot you would think catching them would be pretty easy. Instead the fish are weary and often have lock jaw as they sit and rest. I’ve tried just about everything to get them to bite, fro...

Author: Hannah Pennebaker

Posted: 8/9/2020

Kokanee are one of the Northwest's greatest treasures. If you've got a hankering for smoked salmon but the big boys aren't running, you can always head down to your local lake and get your limit. Kokanee are landlocked sockeye salmon; they tend to prefer cold, clear water with plenty of krill to feed on. They are smaller than their ocean going relatives but still incredibly tasty. Smoked kokanee i...

Author: John Kruse

Posted: 8/9/2020

Looking for a way to cool off during the heat of the summer? Head to a mountain lake and be sure to bring a rod and reel because trout fishing can be fast and furious this time of year! According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife there are some 2550 lakes sitting at an elevation of over 2500 feet in our state. Most are located in the Cascade Mountain Range and while not all of...

Author: John Kruse

Posted: 7/22/2020

Looking for a fun way to enjoy the dog days of summer? Take your dog on a hike! I did just that last week with Georgia, my springer spaniel. With a hot day forecast the two of us arrived at the trailhead for the Icicle Gorge Loop Trail in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest near Leavenworth at 8:30 AM. We enjoyed a great walk along the scenic Icicle River with several stops along the w...

Author: John Kruse

Posted: 7/17/2020

The heat of the summer has finally made an appearance making this a great time to hike a trail to a cold and refreshing waterfall. Looking for suggestions? Here’s a few: Rainbow Falls near Stehekin in the North Cascades National Park Complex is a must visit destination if you are in this area. From the trailhead it’s only a ¼-mile round trip walk to enjoy the mist from the 312-foot waterfall...

Author: Rick Lawrence

Posted: 7/14/2020

There are a few places in Idaho that you can actually sight fish for Sturgeon in a small gin clear creek. Although in Idaho you are not able to keep them or even take them out of the water, sight fishing for monster sturgeon in a fairly small creek is a bucket list fishing trip of a lifetime for almost any serious angler. I got to do just that this month and had a blast. I got 3 fish in the 4 d...

Author: Jason Brooks

Posted: 7/12/2020

After spending a few days in remote Nootka Sound we were beginning to run out of bait. The frozen Anchovies and Herring were all brined and used. Unusually warm weather and little ice to keep them fresh meant going through more bait than we had anticipated in the first few days. Now we were out and still had a couple of days left in our trip. The tide was going to change in a couple of hours and i...

Author: Hannah Pennebaker

Posted: 7/12/2020

Over the last few years, my salmon fishing has mainly consisted of lining up shoulder to shoulder with other eager anglers along the Puyallup or Carbon River. River fishing is easy and cheap, but it always runs the risk of another angler taking your spot when you land your fish or step away from the line to change rigs. I've filled out my punch cards on rivers in years past, but last month when I ...