Camping at Potholes State Park April 2019

Potholes state park
Looking out at the water of Potholes (O’Sullivan) Reservoir from Potholes State Park.

If you are looking to get away from the gray skies of Western Washington and soak up some vitamin D, you can certainly choose worse than Potholes State Park in Grant County just over the Cascades in Central Washington.

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Harvesting Oysters near Tacoma

shucked oyster
scraping the top of the oyster shell

Raw Oysters – One of the most well-known delicacies associated with the Pacific Northwest. You might pay north of 20$ for a dozen Oysters at market prices and even more if you want them served to you at a nice restaurant on a half shell. What if I told you, that you could get them for free at dozens of public beaches around Puget Sound?

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2019 Springer Fishing on the Columbia River

Nice fat springer caught just above Warrior Rock

This years run of spring kings on the Columbia River had me seriously questioning whether it was worth the time and effort to drive 2.5 hours, fish a new part of the river and chase a run predicted to be worse than most recent previous years. Here’s the deal though: One, just one Columbia River Springer is enough to make it worth the effort. The meat quality is better than any other salmon or steelhead (fish?) you can angle for in the Pacific Northwest.

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History of Puget Sound Salmon Runs

Hatchery production by region

Anyone who has fished for Puget Sound salmon has no doubt heard of (or experienced) the “good old days”. We’ve all heard the many theories about what has happened to the great abundance of fish.

I just recently finished reading a fantastic book on the history of Puget Sound salmon runs that is a must read for anyone interested in what has happened to these great runs of fish that once made Puget Sound the center of all salmon fishing and more importantly to glean insights about where we are going.

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