OUTDOOR JOURNAL

Hanging out at the Reno Fly Shop!

2018 was an incredible fishing year. From the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska and many places in between. While there are way too many fish to mention, here is a quick recap of the top 10 fish of 2018 BMO Top 10 fish #10 This picture of a Pacific City Copper Rockfish may be my favorite picture of the year. Read more about fishing at Pacific City Oregon HERE. #9 Capt Mike Barksdale with a giant Neah Bay Cabazon. Read more HERE . #8 BMO Team member Andy Schmidt with this beautif

October Rainbows on the Kenai River

At 930 total fish caught, Q3 was a great quarter for BMO. Net results on both size and variety of fish was up substantially over the previous year. Q3 fishing in the Pacific NW has many opportunities, and we took advantage of many, but unfortunately left several opportunities on the table. Please see the BMO Q3 fish Board at the bottom of this post for complete results. To make the board a fish must be remarkable in some way. Highlights: Q3 was highlighted by a sheer number

It comes around once a year, and it is a mixture of fishing, food and friendships that all collide in Venice Louisiana for one of the greatest fishing trips ever. It's called Marsh Madness. I love this place! Eric and Artie Cosby of Top Brass Tackle started this event 20 years ago as a way to get fishing product manufacturers and outdoor writers together to test out new product in one of the best fishing places on earth…Venice Louisiana. It has tuned into the best of the be

Earlier this Summer the “ Substation Fire” spread to the lower Deschutes River and burned a significant area along the river. You can read more about it in this article from the Oregonian . I had the chance to fish the river in August and saw the devastation first hand. Although the area was scorched, there are signs of life all along the river. Small patches of green dot the charred landscape, pheasants, deer, wild turkeys and even porcupines can be seen up and down the

Joe with a Kenai River Sockeye! I had to make a trip to Alaska to see one of my biggest customers. As my trip approached I saw that my old friend and University of Montana Rugby Team Mate Joe Marks was up fishing on the Kenai river for the week. Joe was the “hooker” for the University of Montana Jesters back in College, a quiet, but tough dude that always had your back. We were both part of a great era in UM "Jesters" rugby . I had some extra time on Tuesday afternoon, so

Dory Boat fishing , Pacific City, Oregon

Gabe Miller and Capt. Mike Barksdale with a 37 Pound Neah Bay Ling Cod At a total of 745 fish caught for Q2 2018, BMO had one of the best quarters ever! Net results on quantity, size and variety of species was up substantially over the same quarter in 2017. Q2 has abundant fishing opportunities in the PNW and our team took advantage of many of them. Please see the BMO Q2 fish board at the bottom of this report for complete results Highlights: Q2 was highlighted by the large

BMO Bass Camp 2018! As tradition would have it, this past weekend we headed to the beautiful John Day river for our annual Bass Camp. We have been fishing this river for over 15 years. In the beginning of Bass Camp, when my two sons were little we went fishing every year with master guide and all around great guy Steve Flemming of Mah-Haw Outfitters guide service . If you want to enjoy this river, do yourself a favor and book a trip with Steve. He is an amazing guide and

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

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.

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

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

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

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