Northwest Steelhead

[John H]

I spent some days in Oregon and Washington fishing for steelhead. Rivers were blown out in January and dropped throughout February and were getting pretty low when I was there. Fish were caught for sure but they do not jump in the boat. If you want winter steelhead you have to put some time in whether that is driving or putting in a lot of river days and a lot of casts. Someone said to me it does not seem worth it. It is hard to defend that it is worth it based on the grabs per hour or whatever metric you want to use but if you want to do it this is what we have now so do it or don't. I try to look at the overall trip and do some things other than fishing so I am not grinding for a grab all day everyday. Have a great trip and remember the good fishing moments and you will go back. On this trip I spent about half my days fishing which seemed about right for me.

Good times in the Northwest.


Nice tributary stream in Oregon.


Parking the boat.


Getting the anchor set.


A Sagemobile sighting


Nice color.


Chromey one.


Big shoulders.


Beautiful fish.


This one is ready to get gone.


I look pretty happy about this fish.


Some hiking on the Oregon coast. I was able to hike to the top of this cliff and look down. A little scary.


A waterfall on the beach at low tide.


Yard deer. Cute but they will eat about anything you plant.


Razor clams are tasty. I got these two days.


Biking the logging roads in the coast range.


Launching the raft at a beaver slide.


An Oregon buck that wants to get back to spawning.


Keeping them wet in Washington.


A thick tail on this hen.


Hipster eats in Portland. A biscuit with fried chicken, bacon, lots of gravy and a slice of cheese.