NW Outdoor Explorer

Another back to back weekend.  With the projections so grim, I am trying to take every opportunity I can to get out on the water and stake my claim before my upcoming week long buoy 10 trip. Today, much of my regular crew could not make it opening up seats for a backup crew member […]

The action continues. The bar was a breeze and the ocean was almost a lake.  Cruising speed was 30+ mph. This week, my first mate was finally able to get out on the ocean with us.  She needs to reclaim her status.  🙂 Unfortunately, this trip, my first mate was not the first to catch […]

Again, only three people in the boat.  The wind forecast was worse than the day before.  If we can find the fish and get off the water by 2pm, we should be good. Started in my new favorite spot.  Lines in the water not even two minutes and we get hit.  Manage to get the […]

This week, we are a man down.  Only 3 people in the boat this day.  If we can find the fish, it should be a short day.  🙂 Well, it took us a while to find the fish, but once we did, it was lights out.  The fish were basically following the boat.  We were […]

This was the week that persistence payed off for sure. We decided to start this week where we got our one and only fish last week.  Not a single boat in the area.  Some people think if there are no boats, there must not be any fish.  I do not understand that reasoning.  I almost […]

Here we go again.  🙂 6am start to launch by 8am and cross the bar at low tide.  We struggled this week.  On the positive side, after the bar crossing, the water was so calm I was able to cruise about 35 mph up to the first spot.  Got there in no time. We tried […]

With the ocean salmon season underway and Buoy 10 just around the corner, it is time to free up some space in the freezer.  How better to do that than with my #1 smoked salmon recipe?  This recipe has already been covered in my previous blog posts, you just need to search for it.  In […]

June 23rd, Ocean Salmon Opener.  I have been waiting for this day since the end of Buoy 10 last year. I have a slip in Ilwaco, but not using it just yet because I have river plans for the 4th of July.  I will be trailering for a couple weeks. We got an early start.  […]

Springer season on the lower Columbia is officially closed, but the WDFW/ODFW once again has blessed us with an additional day of post season springer fishing on the lower Columbia and everyone with a seat in a boat was out there. With all these fishermen in the area, how do we not have a greater […]

With the weather warming up a bit and tons of great fishing reports from some reliable sources on Thursday, I felt really good about hitting the water Friday. Launched the boat in Ridgefield and came across a fella tied up to the dock that appeared to have a dead battery situation.  I tied up along […]