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Dave McCoy, the head guide of Emerald Water Anglers shared tips and information on fishing the expansive waters of Puget Sound. The seminar, held Saturday, Jan. 21, was part of series of seminars put on by Northwest Flyfishing Outfitters in Portland. About 20 people attended the seminar listening and writing down notes as Dave talked about access, tides, flies, rods, reels, lines, water temperature, seasons, etc. The primary fish being targeted are searuns and resident salmon since they are the most consistent fish in the sound. He noted that the sound is a year-round fishery but March through June and September through November are the best time to fish. With such a large body of water, it would be easy to get intimidated when trying to figure out where to start fishing. My goal was to learn more about this fishery since it is a natural for kayak fly fishing. You can cover more water than fishing from a bank, you can follow the fish as they move up and down the beach and you can g...

Ok, so you decided the ability to peer into the depths to find fish with an electronic device is a cool idea. And you already know the importance of power because you were smart enough to read my previous entry and you did a little research in addition to that. So now what? There are a lot of fish finders out there and you can spend a little or a whole lot of money to peer under the water's surface.  In many cases you get what you pay for. You remember me telling you about the Hawkeye finder? That finder simply shows fish and generic bottom structure. That's what you can expect to get for about $50. The Humminbird 560 shows a lot more including detailed bottom structure, fish size, depth, temperature, battery power, hours, etc. That one costs about $160. Now I am going to mix it up a little with another Humminbird finder called the Piranha 5. This finder shows the same structure and contours, but the quality of the image varies. On the 560, the lines are smooth and detail...

When the rivers are blown out from too much rain and I am feeling in the dumps from a lingering cold, it's time to do something fun. That something was smokin' salmon and brewing beer. The first is something I have done several times with some good success. The second is something I know little about and wanted to learn. Of course, both have wonderful rewards and really take about the same amount of time for success. On the fish side, the salmon and trout I was smoking were caught the previous summer. I also spent the previous 24 hours preparing the fish with a dry mix of organic brown sugar and Kosher salt. The beer, or rather a wort, is prepared in a little less time than it took to smoke the fish. Once the wort is finished, it ferments and ages a month or more before it is ready to drink. My guide for the brewing process was my buddy Kevin who is a great salmon fisherman.  He is also a great brewer and after evaluating a production IPA and a local amber ale, Kevin opened his...