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Welcome back to the 2021 kayak fishing season recap.  It's now the waning of summer and Mark and I focused our efforts on the Columbia as the Fall King season gets underway. We are still close enough to home that I have time to fish a couple hours before work, keeping our carbon footprint low and putting extra hours on the water. Salmon No. 5 - After July, the action moved from the Willamette River to the Columbia River. I caught a nice jack king during an early trip and tagged No. 5 on a trip before work on August 23. We were still using spinners and Pro Trolls but we can only fish one rod in the Columbia. The video features a look at the jack first and finishes with the big fall king.  Salmon No. 6 - Number 6 was caught on another trip before work and it was the biggest of the season at that point. My trips before work start in the dark and last about 2 hours before I need to be at the shop by 9 a.m. I have a little wiggle room with the 9 a.m. start, but this year I made it to w

Welcome back to the 2021 kayak fishing season recap.  Summer was in its glory and Mark and I took taking advantage of the waning Willamette River Springer season by fishing less than 30 minutes from home.  Salmon No. 3 - The third salmon was caught the day after my halibut trip with Don. Halibut, as well as tuna trips, are often 18 to 24 hour days that begin at 1 or 2 a.m. to drive to the coast and launch the boat before daybreak head 20 to 40 or more miles offshore, and then fish hard until, hopefully, everyone limits out. Then it’s back to the launch to clean the fish before driving back. For this king, I was able to get a few hours of sleep before heading to the Willamette River. I am currently working on the halibut video.  Salmon No. 4 - Number four was another trip after work. This one was caught about two miles from the launch, which was located under the St. John's Bridge. The trip back was a slog since it was against the current, but the sunset, and the king, made it wort

Welcome to the 2021 kayak fishing season recap. Last season was exceptional with lots of salmon on the kayak, a few trout on the fly rod, and a nice halibut on the boat.  I spent most of my time fishing the Willamette and Columbia rivers with my friend Mark. Fishing less than 30 minutes from home in a kayak also reduced my carbon footprint, especially when transporting the kayak on my 16-year-old Ford Escape hybrid.  Fishing close to home also allowed fishing trips before and after work, which were key to my success in 2021. The season highlights included fishing in five different Hobie kayaks and catching salmon in four of them and hooking salmon in all five. This season also included two friends and my brother catching their first salmon in the kayak, fishing a new area with new techniques, and earning a limit of a king and a coho before noon.  Although I would hook more than 30 fish this season, I only landed 24 and tagged 19, falling just one short of filling my salmon tag. Most

A limit of springers caught in July! As the fall salmon season was coming to a close, I anxiously waited for another disaster in 2020 while hoping to catch one more fish on the kayak.   Starting with a pandemic, the year seemed like it was forged in strife with racial injustice protests, political conspiracies, hazardous air quality, massive hurricanes, melting glaciers, financial disasters, and finally an election where unproven accusations and lies caused the first breach of our nation's Capitol in more than 200 years. Yep, 2020 was certainly a year we got a clear view of our country's past, present, and future.  Through most of the chaos, I enjoyed many days on my home waters fishing for salmon with my buddy Mark. The kayaks proved a great way to social distance and the Willamette and Columbia Rivers offered opportunities for salmon, steelhead, bass, sturgeon, and shad close to home.  The first half of the salmon season was tough and it wasn't until May that I finally la

Since teaching myself to kayak fish many year ago, I often shared tips and ideas on my blog, YouTube Channel and in seminars. The idea of kayak fishing intrigues many anglers and kayakers alike. Anglers are often looking for something new to expand or improve their fishing opportunities while kayakers look to add something different to their adventures. On Jan. 5, I add to my seminars with an introduction to kayak fishing at eNRG kayaking located near the base of the Willamette Falls in Oregon City. The class covers kayak and kayak fishing basics including kayak types, fishing opportunities, gear and safety. The cost of the seminar is $10 and includes a $10 gift certificate for kayak rentals or guided kayak fishing trip. Here is the link . This seminar is the first part of my work with eNRG and I expect to do more in 2019. See you on the water and Go Farther. Catch More.

This year has proven one of my best yet for putting salmon in the kayak. After a slow start in March and April, I hooked eight and landed six spring Chinook "Springers" on the Willamette River. All were hatchery fish and most were 30-plus inches. They were all caught with my red and orange hand-tied spinners and Pro-Troll 360 flashers. The Springers were caught in May and June, typically the end of the season. These two months seem to be my most productive. Two years ago, I landed six, and had two, two-fish days. This year, I never hooked two fish on the same day, although I had more days catching fish. Most days were spent focusing on the tide changes, and I was usually off the water by noon. I was fortunate because the run was about 25 percent lower than expected and many anglers had a rough season. I spent July fishing for smallmouth bass in the Willamette and Columbia, and spent a few days in August anchored in the Columbia fishing for fall kings. The fall season p

My Kayak Guys column in the March 2018 Northwest Sportsman.  The magazine is available in stores across the region as well as  online through the digital subscriptions . Late last year, one of the local kayak fishing pioneers, Mark Veary, requested story ideas for the regional publication, Northwest Sportsman . The ideas needed to focus on kayak fishing and would either be columns or feature stories. I jumped at the chance and suggested an article on kayak fly fishing, telling Mark, I would base the story on my fishing presentation. He liked the idea and we settled on the March issue. The issue would be perfect to talk about trout fishing from the kayak since March typically marks the lake opening of trout season in Oregon.  In late January, I sent my first draft which came back with the basic edits. I updated the story and it was sent to the NWS editor. I was concerned about photos because I focus on video rather than stills while kayak fly fishing. In addition to the fe

I am excited about teaching the class and talking with fellow anglers. A note to my readers, the fish in the photo was killed and grilled. On Saturday, March 9, I return to the Northwest Fly Tyer and Fly Fishing Expo to teach my kayak fly fishing class. The sport continues to grow and interest is higher this year than when I offered the class in 2016. The class is an introduction to kayak fishing as well as focusing on fly fishing. At my classes and seminars, I always discover anglers who have kayaks but are not using them for fly fishing. This is primarily because the kayaks are typically small sit-in recreation kayaks that the anglers feel aren't stable enough to fly fish in. The stability issue is the primary reason many kayaks end up on the side of the garage unused or rarely used. What I often tell those attending my seminars is to either think about getting a different kayak or use their kayak more often and become comfortable in it.   In many cases, kaya

A beautiful wild winter steelhead kept wet. The modern fishing photo is of a smiling angler looking at the camera and holding a large wild fish he or she just caught and will likely release. This photo is the evolution of the angler struggling to hoist a large fish by the gills, which in turn, is the evolution of the string of fish held by two anglers or displayed behind a group of anglers. The main difference, of course, is that the last two examples of killin' and grillin', rather than the practice of catch and release. In many ways, displaying a dead fish is more respectful of the fish than hoisting it out of the water and posing with it as the fish gasps for air. I say this because hoisting a fish out of the water after a long fight is like dunking your head in a bucket of water after running a mile. This one was headed to the grill. Unfortunately, I too have been guilty of this and I have several photos of me displaying a beautiful fish I just lan