Bill Matthews Outdoor Blog

Jan 27, 2019

BMO Top 10 Fish of 2018

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 beautiful M

Jan 27, 2019

How to make a Columbia River Crawdad

How I rig a "Columbia River Crawdad"

Jan 21, 2019

Yellow Perch - Pacific NW Style

Yellow Perch for dinner!

Dec 29, 2018

My New Compass360 Wading Pants are Awesome!

My son Michael had been telling me how much he loved wearing his Compass360 Pant Waders fly fishing from his raft and along the shore in Montana. I could not fathom that this was a good idea and asked him what it was about them that he liked so much. He said that he loved how comfortable they were and how easy get in and out of, and how well they worked for his type of fishing. Based on how enthusiastic he was I decided to give them a try. I got a pair of Compass360 Deadfal

Oct 15, 2018

BMO Q3 2018 Fishing Results

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

Aug 26, 2018

The Deschutes after the fire

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 r

Aug 24, 2018

Fishing Crater Lake National Park

Several months ago I was working in southern Oregon and stopped into the world famous Blackbirds Shopping Center in Medford. I met up with Tom Sittingdown, the sporting goods manager, and we went over some product lines. As we were talking Tom mentioned that he had heard that there was good fishing in Crater Lake National Park My ears pricked up at the mention of this and I wanted to know more. Tom went on to explain that he had heard that there can be good fishing in the par

Aug 3, 2018

Columbia River Bronze Bonanza

My son Michael came home from college for a few days and I asked him what he wanted to do while he was home. He said without hesitation that he wanted to fish the big “C” for Smallmouth Bass (SMB). He had been Fly Fishing in Montana for the last year and needed a SMB fix. We looked at the wind forecast and realized that if we wanted to go, it had to be the next morning because the wind would be howling the rest of the week. I loaded up our 2 Jackson Coosa kayaks and all ou

Aug 3, 2018

Umpqua River Smallmouth

In July I had the opportunity to fish the Umpqua River in Southern Oregon. The Umpqua is a beautiful river, with fantastic runs of Salmon and Steelhead, and also an incredible population of Smallmouth Bass. On this day we would be targeting Smallmouth with professional guide Todd Harrington of Living Waters Guide Service. I was joined by good friend and Eagle Claw Hook legend, Tenny Mount, Greg Zash and my new best fishing friend, Ned. We would be fishing a secluded stretch

Jul 20, 2018

Pacific City Trifecta

Dory Boat fishing , Pacific City, Oregon

Jul 4, 2018

BMO Q2 Results

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 amount of fish caught and the variety between saltwater, freshwater, la

Jun 9, 2018

I Poached a Spring Chinook! (on the BBQ)

I decided to poach mu portion on the BBQ and it turned out great!

May 31, 2018

Eagle Claw Featherlight Kokanee Rods

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

May 26, 2018

Do it for the Halibut!

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. New

May 8, 2018

Cinco de Mayo Rockfish

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

May 1, 2018

BMO Q1 2018 Quarterly Results

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.

Apr 28, 2018

Pacific City Oregon Dory Boat Fishing

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 would be there! As I learned, the

Feb 19, 2018

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 out. I like the float from the "Four Mi

Dec 20, 2017

Friends In High Places

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

Dec 18, 2017

November Chum

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: Chinook, Coho, Pink, Chum and