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I wanted to get out a HUGE congrats to Addy for boating his first springer!!! Way to go my man…Addy has definitely put in his time and paid his dues trying to get a springer. After all his hard work it finally paid off for him. I didn’t make it out this weekend but heard it was pretty slow. Let us know what you saw being caught out there Saturday….

Yesterday proved to be another success for Big Jim, Keith, and Gabe aka the “Masher”. They hit the river very early and had a slow run out as the fog was terrible early in the morning. Unable to safely navigate the river they shut down the big motor, fired the kicker, and baits went into the water. I guess it wasn’t to long before Gabe’s brand new rod folded with a springer on! Bummer was they lost…Not long after Jim hooked into this little chrome slime rocket! Good job fellas. Jim is know a phenomenal 5 for 7 in two trips so far this season which is very impressive by any measure. Thanks for the sharing your picture Jim and keep putting them in the box.

This upcoming Thursday, the House Committee on Sustainability and Economic Development will hold the first hearing on HB 2734, the SAFE for Salmon bill. This is an historic moment that brings us even closer to achieving better fishing and better conservation on the Columbia River. Join Us in Salem where sports anglers voices will be heard!

Over 100 anglers and activists will be coming to Salem on March 26th for SAFE for Salmon Hearing/Lobby Day. Before the hearing, we will be meeting with dozens of legislatures and letting them know that the problems plaguing the Columbia River fisheries are damaging family businesses and the resource itself.

Legislators need to know that a solution is needed and needed now! The most influential person in Salem is a legislator’s constituent. Use your voice to let our lawmakers know that SAFE for Salmon must pass!

The more supporters we have on the 26th, the more powerful the impression we will make on the hearing committee and the entire legislative body. Your presence in Salem will help us usher in a new day for fish and fishermen in the Northwest. We need you there!

Although you will not be able to testify at the hearing, you can submit written testimony that can help the Committee grasp the benefits of SAFE for Salmon.
Please see below for further details.

R.S.V.P. ASAP to:

Colin Cochran
safeforsalmon@gmail.com
503.631.4747

Many of us have to work and are unable to attend this very important hearing regarding the future of our sport fishing. Please feel free to write any of your comments about this bill here on this site and I will personally take responsibility for forwarding them directly to Safe For Salmon and  The House Committee on Sustainability!!! 

SHHHHH.....Its a secret spot

Made it out this weekend with a few of the guy’s to see if we could find some springers. After a late start we dropped in with the masses and started drowning some herring. It didn’t take but a few minutes and Keith was hooked up to a nice big native that was released quickly. All the gear back in and Double D stops by to say hello. He has one in the boat also! As we are chating my rod folds and its a smokin hot hatchery fish. After a really good fight he is BONKED!!!! IN the box on ice baby….All in all it was a great day and guess what? Both Gabe and Jim hooked and landed one also. Yep thats right we went 4 for 5 in a few hours !!! Always fun fishing with this crew. We did very well and Todd got another also, going 2 for three over the weekend. We did have one trick up our sleeve that really was to our benefit. We had amazing bait and a unique mooching rig that caught all but one fish. The video link is on the site so check it out…Its titled disco ball herring and its been a great producer for me the last few years. Give it a try you wont be sorry… Well you might be sorry if you dont.

Gabe aka "Masher" and Jim

In the last few Steelhead seasons we have moved to less crowded streams seeking a more rewarding experience doing what we love. When you find these streams there is considerably less pressure do to high number of natives or a total lack of  a hatchery steelhead program. Obviously, responsible changes in the way you angle for these steelhead is absolutely necessary especially if you are a gear fisherman like myself. Leave the bait at home! Get rid of the medieval treble hooks! For the life of me I never understood why a person would use them anyway. Why zipper the mouth shut and suffocate a fish rather  than fight him fair, QUICK, and release healthy. Anyways we have heard about these methods, do’s and dont’s till our ears are about to bleed. Right? What about your net……

Yep I said NET.. Reference the pic above and let me explain. This is a very soft rubber net with a shallow bag. The wet rubber will not rub and pull scales off the fish. Also the bag is very shallow so the fish cannot wrap themselves up like a traditional nylon net ,and the lure or rig your using won’t tangle in it causing more damage. Really its like a large rubber holding cell that allows perfect control over the fish to remove the hooks and set free very quickly. I choose to net rather than try and bank a fish. Most of the time several attempts are made to bank a fish, and the result is playing it to long and rolling it all over the sand and rocks. With the net you acheive a faster release and the fish almost never leaves the water except for the quick 2 seconds of a photo snap. Then off they go to do their thing. The rubber nets have a few draw backs but when you get comfortable with them you will realize what a great benefit they really are. They are heavy and hard to use I wont lie. Because of the wide rubber mesh of the bag they grab the current when dipped in after a fish. You wont be stabbing into the water for a quick net job. The fella battling the fish will need to let up and ease the fish into the net that will need to be on the downstream side of the fish. But with a little team work it can happen like a well oiled machine. This is just something I wanted to put out there for all of you to think about. They are reasonable price wise, only about fifty bucks. I just really think you will like what you see! Hit me up if you need a place to buy one of these. Tight lines….

Dear friends of the Tillamook forest,
It is my feeling that we must provide a convincing alternative to the people of Tillamook County, as well as the state and local governments, if we want to prevail and protect Tillamook’s rivers. The Tillamook Forest Initiative, now dead and buried, offered some reasonable alternatives, and I will revisit those. But I am looking for feedback from any of you who can provide good ideas.

We’ve seen what happens when we try to stuff our beliefs down the throats of rural people, or when we attempt to undermine peoples’ control over their own environments via legislation, courts and ballot initiatives. We need supporters. “Fish in the Wilson River” is just not going to be a convincing argument to the people of Tillamook. They still believe they can make all the fish they need in their hatcheries, and that we, the wild-fish environmental whackos from the city, are just trying to take away everything they hold dear.

Any help, direction and/or criticism you can provide will be very much appreciated.

Best regards,
Rob Russell