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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 ma...

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, ma...

Spring Chinook are nearly as mythical as steelhead. Persistence, skill, tools and a really lucky day are key to success. My recent trip to the Willamette River was heavily weighted on the last one. Work had consumed me for the past month and I needed a day in the kayak. I woke up Sunday morning torn between fishing for trout or salmon. Based on my previous salmon trips, I was leaning more towards trout. But, I also wasn't interested in driving two hours in hopes of catching a couple large trout that had recently been stocked in Timothy Lake. Besides, it was cold on the mountain. I spent an hour getting ready and as I pulled out of the driveway with the trailer and kayaks I decided I would mull it over on my way to get coffee. I had two fly rods, a sturgeon rod and a salmon rod and gear so no matter what choice I made, I was prepared. I walked into Safeway, grabbed three nearly expired yogurts that were 50 percent off, and stepped up to the Starbucks coffee stand. I ordered ...

So far this winter has set records for warm temps and little snow in the Oregon Cascades. Drought is not in the picture so far since there has been no shortage of moisture. However, instead of snow, we have seen a lot of rain and rivers that flow high and muddy or low and clear. Monty, a new kayaker, joined me on a couple trips this winter. the first on the Willamette during one one of the high and muddy flows. The second on the lower Sandy River during a break between the rains. Both were learning experiences. The Willamette provided me a chance to secure two boats on one anchor. I chose this idea because anchoring a kayak in a big, cold river in winter is one of the most dangerous parts of kayak fishing. Since Monty was a rookie kayak angler, I wanted to be as safe as possible which meant anchoring my kayak and then having him bring his kayak alongside mine and lashing onto it. The idea proved effective, although it took a couple tries to get the anchor to stick. When it fin...

I loaded my little Heritage kayak on the Ford Escape and headed for a tiny suburban pond on the morning of Super Bowl Sunday. I had checked the stocking schedule and discovered the pond had recently been planted with 500 larger trout and I figured it was a perfect quick trip before the game. The pond was barely 5 acres but there were some areas difficult to fish from shore even with a spinning rod. I pulled in the parking lot about 10 a.m. There were about five or six guys on the pond. Not ideal, but there certainly was room for the kayak on the far shore where I wouldn't crowd the bobber and spin guys. I put on wader, dropped in the kayak and started paddling toward the middle of the pond. I saw a guy throw a spinner towards a tree hanging in front of me and I knew my day was going to quickly end. It was cemented when he said "boats are not allowed on the pond." I challenged him and said I had checked the regs and and signs and knew it wasn't the case. Of cou...

While most of the country was chasing deals on Black Friday I was chasing fish. For a couple years now, Washington state has closed a handful of lakes the week of Thanksgiving and stocked them with larger trout. The lakes and ponds open on Black Friday providing a chance to skip the shopping crowds and catch some fish. I was looking forward to the day because if offered the chance to catch some nice trout while initiating my $250 fly fishing kayak. My destination was Kress Lake outside Kalama. There were a couple small lakes close to Portland but because I had never fished Kress, I decided it would be a perfect location to spend a couple hours while testing my latest kayak project. I woke up a little later than expected and drank my coffee while watching the rain poor down. Oh well, I thought to myself, it was the Northwest and I had everything to stay dry. Besides, the rain may reduce the number of anglers on the water. I loaded up the kayak and within 90 minutes was on the ...

A nice Williamson River rainbow October found me down in Klamath Falls, Oregon for a few days with the Klamath Country Fly Casters . This long-established fishing group invited me to talk about kayak fly fishing and offered a few incentives to get me to drive 5 hours for a couple days of fishing. The invitation came from the group's president Dale Zemke. Dale is a kayak fly angler who has roots south of the Oregon border and has fished with the great Jim Sammons, a pioneer in kayak fishing. Dale contacted me in February and plans were made for a three-day trip that included a presentation to the group and some fishing on the Williamson River. The Williamson is a storied river and since I had never fished it, I jumped at the offer. I looked forward to the trip for more than a month and found myself researching flies and fine-tuning my presentation. The day finally arrived and I left Portland in the first rainstorm of the season. On the way down, I stopped in at Odell Lake ...

Check out my video here Moving into our new home has meant change. Mostly good with new remodeling challenges, more space and the joy of living with big trees. The new home also meant returning to a tighter budget. My family spent 10 years getting our previous house fixed up allowing me more time and money to spend on fishing. Since I spent most of the money from the sale of my aluminum fishing sled, I have to returned to a limited budget until we get through the big house projects. The challenge reminded me how I started out with my Old Town Otter and seeing how I could make it into a fishing kayak. Because I traded one of my kayaks for some work on the new house, I was in the need of a fourth kayak so we could take friends out on the water. I decided this was the perfect reason to create a video series on building a budget fly fishing kayak. The series would also be a nod to other kayak anglers, like  Zoffinger , sharing their tips on fishing kayaks. My goal was to spen...

The spring fishing season started with a surprising successful trip to Hagg lake on opening day. The surprise was finding a pod large of rainbows on Scoggins Creek arm. The Hobie proved its worth that day easily pedaling from the Sain Creek arm which had frustrated me that morning.      The following weekend wasn't nearly as successful but I did land another big stocker. During the next couple months, trips to Harriet Lake, Benson Lake, Willamette River, Tillamook Bay, Deschutes River, Columbia River and Swift Reservoir were all mixed with some days outstanding while others a total bust. The trips are all recorded on my YouTube channel.             The weekend before 4th of July was the highlight of my summer so far when my son, Sam, and I joined friends of Western Rivers Conservancy on a four day float trip down the John Day River. The canyon was stunning and the guiding and support from Little Creek Outfitters  made it a trip that...

A calm morning fishing for sturgeon on Tillamook Bay. I n my desire for new adventures in the kayak, one topping the list is catching a sturgeon on a fly rod from my kayak. I have told many fellow anglers about this quest and most looked surprised, skeptical or intrigued. None have laughed.       It's a complicated task and there are many people, including me, who have caught large sturgeon from their kayaks. There is even a handful of people catching sturgeon on fly rods in British Columbia on the Fraser River. However, I have yet to find anyone combining the two.        With the Willamette so close to home, I have ventured several times to the "willy" in hopes of catching one of these ancients on my 12 weight. Last summer I had identified the "perfect low tide" and marked the calendar. On that beautiful fall morning I launched my kayak from the Milwaukie boat ramp a couple hours before the low tide. With the low water and ...

Note - wow did this take a long time... Launching the Hobie boats went well and Michael, in the Outback, quickly adapted to the boat and pedal action. We cruised toward one of the creek inlets that usually produce fish.The early conversations with Michael included my fly recommendation which were woolly buggers and leach patterns. About 100 yards from the ramp I turned the pedals around, made sure Michael was comfortable and had his line out, and started to fish. I was quickly on a nice sized trout and the day looked promising. In the next hour I hooked three more trolling my go-to green woolly bugger in reverse.      My goal was to fish the stream inlet where I had first pedaled the Hobie in reverse.      As I got closer to the inlet I realized how low the reservoir was. I made my way up the inlet until the water started to show signs of movement. It was the same location where I could no longer pedal the kayak so I took out the paddle, used ...

I returned to Henry Hagg Lake but this time I took musician Michael Hoppe on his first kayak fly fishing trip - and he wants to go again. I was talking with Michael a few months ago and he was lamenting the fact he had not fished a lake in Oregon. He had fished a few Oregon rivers but was wanting to get on a lake and in a float tube. I told him I could do better than a float tube and promised to take him out in the kayaks. He looked skeptical but said he would give it a go (see the video here ). We emailed a few times to determine which lake and after suggesting Lawrence, Trillium and Hagg, he chose Hagg. I was a little concerned since Hagg is not nearly as pretty as the other two but it had been stocked recently so I figure we would at least have a chance at catching fish. It was the same weekend as the Next Adventure Kayak Bass tournament. I had suggested Michael and I enter the tourney for fun, but he was not interested. After choosing Hagg, I toyed with the idea of entering...

    September is a great time in Oregon. The salmon and steelhead are in the rivers, the trout are becoming more active, there is a crispness in the air and the food festivals are as abundant as the bounty.     The favorite fall getaway for wife and I is the Skamania Lodge Celebration of Beer, an intimate festival featuring local brewers and generous pours at the beautiful Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington.    We stay at the lodge so we can enjoy ourselves at the festival and not have to worry about driving the 50 minutes back to Portland.      This is not a huge festival but instead one in which you can actually taste all the standard and seasonal brews offered the festival and then sit and enjoy a gorgeous view while drinking a glass or two of your favorite. You even get to keep the glass.     Afterwards, you can pile on more calories at the lavish dinner buffet, get some relaxing sleep an...

The blog has been neglected while I work on videos from my summer fishing adventures. Those inquisitive enough to check my YouTube channel and the video links on this blog have discovered some videos from Harriet Lake, a how-to on my custom rod holder and some teasers from my BC trip. More recently you may have seen my Netarts Bay Crabbin' video that I posted the other day. I was hoping to add some footage from a fly fishing Tuna trip and some salmon trips to the gorge but those ended up being cancelled or a bust. And, I still have footage from a two Trillium Lake trips that I haven't used but will hopefully show up later this year. Highlighting my summer was a trip to BC fly fishing for wild steelhead. The trip proved great for both weather and fish and the entire experience could only be described as a trip of a lifetime. I am choosing to keep the river nameless primarily as a way to protect it. I struggle with this because the river is quite remote, but certainly not out...