Pink Salmon Beach Fishing August 2023

Doubled up on pinks on the beach

Fishing for Pink Salmon from the beach can be an incredibly exciting experience! We get to fish for pinks once every two years because of the odd-year return pattern they exhibit.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been fishing from my boat with downriggers for salmon for almost 2 months now, and though I didn’t have much choice this trip with my boat in the shop getting the autopilot repaired, I was really excited to put my waders on and head down to the local beach.

Read more

Westport Salmon Fishing 2023

 limits of westport chinook and coho 14 11 and 10

With a 2023 salmon season management approach favoring the ocean and a robust forecast of chinook and coho headed for the Columbia River, the almost perfect set of conditions have been created to produce one of the most epic salmon fishing opportunities out of Westport, WA in recent memory.

This post is all about getting you prepped to head out there and give it a go. You South Sound chinook fisherman who’s already had their season closed. You know who you are and you know you’ve been thinking about it!

Read more

Should we lie to WDFW about the fish we caught?

Box full of fresh chrome salmon

You might be thinking this is a ridiculous blog post just from the title, but it’s actually a really important question to think through with a full understanding of how our fishing and catching data is used by WDFW. By attempting to apply logic and reason to this question we will hopefully illuminate some things we may not fully understand.

Read more

Puget Sound Salmon Seasons 2023

Neah Bay Chinook King Salmon June 2023

We made it, we’re finally here in the summer of 2023! And, I cannot believe I haven’t yet made a comprehensive post about the Puget Sound salmon seasons this year. Inside this blog post I will cover the “likely” seasons WDFW has published for Marine Area 5 – 13, the catch charts that give you some idea about timing the runs, and some of my thoughts on each area.

Read more

Puget Sound Crab Season 2023

Hood Canal Crabbing can product some nice hauls of crab
Hood Canal Crabbing can product some nice hauls of crab

The details of our Puget Sound summer crabbing season have finally been announced! Most of it gets underway on July 1st, with some of the usual areas delaying their openers out of concern for soft shells continuing through July.

This blog post will share the season details and connect you to helpful resources for anyone just starting out, or if you need a refresher / new gear for this crabbing season.

Read more

Halibut Fishing Trip May 2023

Me holding 47 lb halibut up with Gaff

My friends and I recently had an absolutely epic halibut fishing trip out of Westport, WA. You know, the “early limits” back at the dock first kind of trip that you and your buddies will talk about for a long time.

This blog post breaks down everything we did in hopes that it might help someone repeat a similar level of success. And that includes me! When I write this stuff down, I like to go back and study it before the next trip so I can repeat what I did.

Read more