Eagle Claw Featherlight rods have always been one of my favorite rods. They are bright yellow, fiberglass and have a ruler on the blank, but for the money they are one of my very favorite rods! Over the years, I have caught a lot of fish on both Featherlight spinning rods and fly rods and I absolutely love the light action. All rods in the Featherlight series are made of fiberglass which gives them a great feel. You can see lots of reviews on line about these rods, one of

Oregon had a Halibut opener this week, and my good Friend Bill Scholtes had a trip booked with Barrett Sport Fishing out of Newport Oregon. Bill had booked the trip a while back, but due to unforeseen events, everyone else backed out so he asked if I could go. I gladly jumped at the opportunity. We left Camas, Washington at 3:00am and headed to Newport. The drive takes about 3 and a half hours. We met up with Bill Barrett of Barrets Sport Fishing in the Newport Marina. Ne

Contrary to popular belief, Spring Smallies will hit topwater lures. We tested this last week on the Columbia river with both topwater flies and top water lures. What we found is that the early morning bite is not great, but as the day warms up so does the top water action. We caught fish on both top water flies and topwater lures and just like during summer, fish are waiting at ambush points, across flats, along weed lines, and next to rock walls. The Gurgler! A great top

It’s Cinco de Mayo weekend and everyone wants fish tacos, so we decided to head to the Washington Coast to catch some of the best eating fish in the world, perfect for amazing fish Tacos. Our destination was Neah Bay Washington. Neah Bay is located at the far northwest tip if the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. It is as far NW as you can go in the continental USA. There is no quick way to get to Neah Bay, but the trip is well worth the effort. Located on the straight

At 91 total fish caught, BMO was up substantially over Q1 2017. Net results on both size and variety of fish was up almost 25% over the previous year. Q1 fishing in the Pacific NW has fewer opportunities, but there are still plenty of fish to be caught. Please see the BMO Q1 fish Board at the bottom of this post for complete results. Highlights: Q1 was highlighted by a vast variety of good fish being caught and a plethora of different locations throughout the Pacific NW.

Dory Boat at pacific City Oregon Pacific CIty, Oregon its know as a great place to fish from a “Dory” boat, and it has always been on my bucket list as a uniquely PNW thing to do. My good friend Mike Laverty is an excellent Dory Boat captain, and he invited me to join him, and two other friends on an early Spring outing for Pacific Ling Cod and Sea Bass. Mike had called me earlier in the week and said there was a window to launch the Dory later in the week, and I told him I w

John Day River, Spray to Service Creek If you are looking for a good one day stretch of the John Day River, the section from Spray to Service offers several options. The section from Spray to Service Creek is approximately 12 miles long, and depending on CFS is can take up to 12 hours to float. My Opinion is that a CFS of around 400 is perfect for fishing. 400 is not too fast, and not to slow..just right. If that float is too long, there are other options to take in and o

It was late October in the Pacific Northwest, and the weather was still mild so I figured now was the time to catch a beautiful brook trout in its fall colors. I did some research and found that some of the high mountain Cascade lakes in Washington State have a a small brook trout population, so I decided to give it a try. I made the drive up into the Cascades and arrived at a remote lake with a small boat ramp. As I pulled into the parking lot there was only one other truc

As the fish swam away, we looked at each other and starting laughing, asking ourselves “Did that really just happen?”

Giant Oregon Chum Salmon! My son Michael & I headed out to the Oregon Coast on Sunday morning to see if we could find some Chum Salmon. We are on a dual search this Fall. Part one is to catch fish in their spawning colors and photograph them, part two is to catch as many Salmon species as possible in 2015. So far we have been able to land Chinook, Choho and Pink Salmon. A Chum would leave us only one short of catching all five Salmon species found in the Pacific NW: Chi

I got a break in my schedule on Friday, and was able to try out my new Jackson Big Tuna Kayak on some pre- spawn Smallmouth. My biggest goal for the day was to learn the basics of my new Big Tuna. I bought it this winter from the Kayak Shed in Hood River Oregon, and have not had a chance to use it. I was especially interested in seeing how the “Tuna Tank” would work as a live well for fish. It was slightly overcast, 60 degree day with some wind when I launched the Big Tuna.

My wife and I decided to take a vacation to the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. We have good friends that have a beautiful property in Cabo San Lucas, and that is where we called home for the week. Cabo is known for its great fishing, but not all times of the year are great. After talking with a few reputable fishermen ( if there is such a thing ), I figured my best bet for this time of year was to target inshore fish including Wahoo, Dorado and Rooster Fish. I have

This past week I had the opportunity to fish with Rocky Conroy, Dan Radke and Kelly Reichner on the Deschutes River in Central Oregon. Rocky and Dan are both with Big Rock Sports out of Clackamas Oregon and Kelly is with Fisherman’s Marine Stores in the Portland area. We left Troutdale, OR around 4:30 AM and headed East on I-84. We met up with guide Forrest Foxworthy at Celilo Park near the mouth of the Deschutes and were headed up river by 6:30AM. The Deschutes is unique

It was another beautiful Spring Day here in the Pacific NW, and I was reviewing my options for this glorious Sunday. As my wife and I had coffee I reviewed my three top options: 1. Razor clamming at Long Beach WA. 2. Spring Skiing at Mt Hood Meadows. 3 Kayak Bass Fishing on the Columbia. Option 1 & 2 were out because I could not get anyone to go with me, so that left option 3, Kayak Bass Fishing on the Columbia River! After our coffee time, I loaded the Kayak and headed

Another great NW adventure awaits you in Garibaldi, Oregon. Located near Tillamook Oregon, Garibaldi is a small coastal town with many great fishing opportunities. I was invited by the crew of Outdoor GPS to go on a bottom fishing trip with Garibaldi Charters. I arrived Tuesday night, and met up with the crew at Hook, Line & Sinker, a great little bar & grill located on the main street in Garibald. We had a couple of beers and got the game plan together for all 15 of us. T

I have heard of the epic stonefly hatch on the Deschutes River ever since I moved to Washington State over 17 years ago. I have always wanted to fish it, but for one reason or another it has never worked out. Michael and I were determined to do it before he headed off to college. With time running short on the hatch, we decided to head out Friday afternoon, catch the evening bite and fish all day Saturday. We arrived at Warm Springs, Oregon about 4:00 pm and stopped into

that's I knew that this was a special fish - one that I have been looking to catch for a very long time.

Tiger Musky in WA State? Absolutely! I had always heard that a few lakes had Tiger Musky in the state, but never knew they got this big around here! I was fortunate enough to be able to take a trip this Summer to see what it is all about and landed this monster 45” beauty. Once again I was fishing with good friend and master Musky angler Kelly Reichner on a beautiful late summer day. Tiger Musky as defined by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Description Tiger

Mark another Kayak excursion off the bucket list! I have been talking about catching Crappie out of the Kayak for over a year, but have just not been able to fit it in to my schedule. I heard from some good friends that Crappie fishing was in tilt mode right now, so I decided that it was now or never. Michael was in full agreement, so we loaded up early Sunday morning and headed for Silver Lake, WA. The water and air temps are still cold, so I wore my new Ocean Rodeo,

Beaver Creek Colorado is a beautiful town just east of Vail on I-70. My brother Pat Matthews was scheduled to paint live in front of the Sportsmans Gallery in Beaver Creek over the July 4th Holiday. Pat is known for his paintings of the American Flag, and the 4th of July weekend is a perfect opportunity for him to paint live in front of an audience that would be in a patriotic mood. It was also the perfect time and location for a Matthews Family reunion that we had planned