February 15, 2021

1,000 Casts? More like 410 Days: A Steelheader’s Journey

How long did it take you to bring home your first steelhead? A few days, weeks, or months? It took me over a year… 410 days to be exact, and not for lack of effort. My adventure began on Black Friday, 2015. I walked into Fisherman’s Marine and bought all the gear to float fish for salmon and steelhead, but none of the store employees warned me how difficult the challenge ahead would be.
January 11, 2021

High Water and Small Creeks: Winter Steelhead Fishing on Oregon’s North Coast

It was the beginning of what would be a turbulent year, but the only thing on my mind last January was how I was going to catch a steelhead during an almost month-long high-water event. All the rivers within my reach were blown out (too murky to fish) and many were flooded. As a dedicated winter steelhead fisherman, however, I wasn’t about to let that stop me. I came up with a plan to scout out potential tributaries at a higher elevation in the watershed than the main rivers, knowing they would be the first bodies of water to clear up.