By: Mike Ainsworth After two poor years the Puget Sound coho fishery has rebounded. We’ve seen an influx of numbers and larger than average coho this year and there’s still more than a month left in our fishery. We started to see coho in July and they’ve continued to trickle in ever since. I’m expecting […]
By: Mike Ainsworth With fall upon us this weekend I have been busy prepping my eggs for fall salmon. This is one of my favorite times of year. As the days get shorter and the rain starts falling king and silver salmon begin to flood into Washington rivers. Here is a simple, yet effective way […]
By: Mike Ainsworth At the start of the season in July we were targeting resident coho, but couldn’t keep the king salmon off our lines. For those of you that fished North Puget Sound last year, you know this wasn’t the case. There weren’t many kings around last year. Fortunately, this summer has been different. […]
By: Mike Ainsworth A reflection of high water and lots of snowmelt this week the Columbia River is a foot and a half above flood stage. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean you have to forgo your spring king fishing. Meanwhile, you’ll likely have to alter your techniques to be successful. The springers are going to come […]
By: Mike Ainsworth There’s nothing worse that pulling eggs out of the freezer and them having freezer burn on them. Freezer burn is common when anglers throw eggs directly into a plastic bag and freeze them for storage. Here’s a quick and easy way to help preserve your precious eggs. I have been curing salmon […]
By: Mike Ainsworth It’s been rainstorm after rainstorm after rain storm in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been fishing high water the last three days, but it is fishable. The fish do travel when the water is rising. They have a mission to get upstream and they are going to do it regardless of how high […]
By: Chris Shaffer In today’s society getting kids out on the water can be a chore. In many households fishing has been replaced by video games, constantly cell phone interaction and indoor activities. Meanwhile, for parents looking for a way to get kids hooked on fishing look no further than Puget Sound’s sand dab […]
By: Mike Ainsworth At the start of springer season, lower than normal water and clearer water than we’ve seen in the past few years on the Columbia River had me focused on running mostly Natural Fire Brine herring. The water is still clear. However, we’ve been catching them on blue herring and other colors daily. […]
By: Mike Ainsworth Like in years past they are predicting a decent number of springers in the Columbia River system. On the other hand, every year the experts predict a good return and then we end up disappointed, often due to poor water conditions, which can make fishing a challenge. Meanwhile, we are having a […]
By Mike Ainsworth We are only a few weeks into crab season in Puget Sound and so far we’ve found a lot of full pots. We’re setting our pots on the way out of the marina before we fish and it’s been limits when we return. In fact, limits have come within the first couple […]