I wandered around the variety of drift boats displayed at a recent sporting exposition and was initially shocked by the prices. However, I was also impressed by the quality of the boats and their available options, such as a “food warmer/pizza oven.” While larger drift boats are available, those measuring[Read More…]

Leaburg Hatchery continues to make fish news as it faces environmental issues caused by an overheated water discharge from the facility.  The water then flows directly into the McKenzie River, just below Leaburg Dam, where summer season water discharges exceed the 60-degree threshold.  The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife[Read More…]

It was the lead story on every televised newscast leading up to the Christmas holiday.  A dead pond Koi had been spotted in the McKenzie River at Armitage Park. The fish was bright orange, a bit tattered, and weighed about 3-4 pounds.  Of course, the fish stood out like a[Read More…]

Winter steelhead appeared in a handful of streams on the far north portion of the Oregon coast a few days before Thanksgiving.  Gnat Creek and the Klaskanine River are both lower Columbia River tributaries.  Also, the Necanicum River and the North Fork Nehalem, which drain directly into the Pacific, all[Read More…]

The final Free Fishing Days of the year are the weekend of Nov. 29-30. On these days, folks do not need a fishing license or harvest tags to retain salmon, steelhead, or shellfish. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce family and friends to the sport.  If, by chance, you[Read More…]

The heavy rainfall on my roof reminds me of an old saying that goes something like this, “Even the worst day on the river is better than being anywhere else.” I’m pretty sure that the saying originated from some angler sitting out in the freezing rain on some western Oregon[Read More…]

After an enjoyable period of early fall weather, things are about to change.  The possibility of an extended period of rain, generated by a building atmospheric river out over the Pacific, has popped up in our forecast. If it continues to build, the moderate storm, with predicted periods of heavy[Read More…]

It was early in the summer that I shared an alert from the Oregon Health Authority that “blue green algae” cyanotoxins were confirmed in a number of Oregon waterways. That advisory has since been lifted but it was widely reported that the contamination was the result of the unseasonably high[Read More…]