NW Outdoor Explorer

I am sure many are relieved to put 2020 behind them and look forward to 2021 and beyond. From the pandemic to all the inconsistent rules and guidelines about masking and social distancing. The most outrageous of all the restrictions was the fishing closure. How much more social distant can you be when fishing by […]

Who does not like an early boat limit of nice sized coho? People who fish like fishing, but they do not necessarily want to spend all day doing it unless they are just out to catch and release. This was not one of those days. We pulled away from the dock just after 7am. Executed […]

When the ocean salmon season opened up a week ago, I was reading a number of reports about early limits of both chinook and coho. Due to weather and ocean conditions, we decided to wait. It was a hard week of anxiety for sure. It was finally time. Had an early wake up call and […]

In the midst of this COVID-19 stay at home order, we all just have to get out now and then. After Washington closed all recreational fishing, Oregon quickly followed suit and closed the Columbia for all salmon and steelhead fishing. They allowed fishing on the Columbia for all other species which tells me this closure […]

The stars and moon were in alignment. The tide was just right. No wind, not even a ripple on the water. We launched and had lines in the water just before sunrise. There was a light fog hovering just over the water. The water temp was a cool 46.4 degrees. The air temp was about […]

After the Fall salmon season has ended, if you are like me, you start thinking about the next years springer season. Yes, there is plenty of Winter steelhead fishing to be done, but I am a big salmon junkie. It is that time of year now and I am itching to get out there. Typically, […]

WOW! I have mixed feelings about the fishing trip today. We took our old neighbors from Sherwood, Mark and his son Alex, out for a second day hoping to repeat what we experienced yesterday. The drive out to Ilwaco was typical. Nothing to report. Got to the boat and prepped the crab traps. Today, we […]

The weather synopsis is not always 100% accurate. The ocean conditions on paper looked to be similar to the flat conditions we experienced last week. Reality was something a bit different. Crossing the bar was not too bad, but once outside, the water never layed down. We headed straight out West from the river till […]

We are a week late due to some mechanical problems on the truck, but the wait was definitely worth it. Last week, we had a small issue with the truck not starting. I first thought it was a failed starter, but with a replacement starter, it still would not engage. At least I thought it […]

It was a cold day in early March, but it was a beautiful one none the less. After getting the motor 100 hour service completed, we decided to get out for a little “Here fishy fishy!!” We launched from the Ridgefield, WA ramp and had a short run to the Columbia River. DFW decided to […]