March 14 2014

Woke up this morning to rain beating on the roof while even though the weather called for light showers it poured the entire 1 hour drive to the river this morning. When we got there the river hadn't rose much but was still mudded up at that point we decided to reschedule. The drive home was just the opposite, the sun was poking through the clouds and the rain stopped. Heading back tomorrow for one last day on this stream weather is in our favor and we're hoping for a banner day then say goodbye till next year.

March 12

Had a great day on the water with anglers Jeff and Roger. This time of year there are a few smaller streams in the area that will close on March 15. These streams are off the beaten path and being late in the season they get little attention. Fishing can be very good, 10 fish days are not uncommon and we generally have the river all to ourselves. So today I was surprised to find we were sharing the stream with 3 other boats. As the day progressed the camaraderie between fellow anglers grew, and though it wasn't the banner day we'd hoped for we still went 3 for 5 on some beautiful late winter steelhead. We'll be back again tomorrow and I'm hoping to have my little river back to myself.

March 11 2014

Looking for something different to do with salmon or steelhead. ...Try pickling!
Pickling fish can be a time consuming process but the end result is worth all the efforts. While being off the water so much this season due to adverse weather I took from the freezer salmon from this last fall and pickled it and I'm telling ya ,this stuff is a home run!
I'd like to say that the recipe I use is my own but the truth is I found it right here on the www. To pickle some salmon on your own just Google "Charlies pickled salmon" the only change I make to the recipe is along with the sliced onion I add sliced lemon. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

March 10 2014

With the abundant return of smelt to the Cowlitz River we were given a short harvest season of a few Saturday mornings. This last Saturday we "dipped" just enough for a couple smokers full. Kelso WA was once known as the smelt capital of the world where every year in late winter thousands of people would line the banks of the Cowlitz River to dip buckets full of the slippery little fish, but over harvesting combined with climate change and the natural cycle of these fish their numbers have dwindled. It's good to see a good return, I'd forgotten just how tasty these little "Eulachon" are!

March 9 2014

Another storm dumped a huge amount of water blowing everything out again but today the rain has stopped and water levels are dropping in a couple days we'll be back on the water.

March 4 2014

Had a great day on the water with anglers Ken and Dave. Dave is Dave Calhoun from NW Rods, Dave is building some great rods for the diehard salmon and steelhead fisherman he's using Gary Loomis' new blanks that are without a doubt the best blanks on the planet.

We fished hard yesterday in a tough bite, we hit 5 fish and managed to get only 1 to the bank for a photo. There is some great weather predicted over the next week and with that we could see some FANTASTIC steelhead fishing. We have a couple midweek open days!

March 3 2014

Well we've been busy on the water experiencing some GREAT steelhead fishing! Water conditions have been perfect, we've had some ten fish days with a mix of both hatchery and wild. As we move into March we should continue to see some banner days. If you're looking for some great steelhead fishing now is the time, if we can lend any advice please feel free to text or email us!