Fishing Articles

The weighted spinner could be considered a foreign object in the river. It really doesn’t resemble any living creature. A case can be made that the flash of the blade is similar, at least momentarily, to the flash of a smolt, shiner or other baitfish. Or, perhaps when fished near the bottom, a brass-bladed model faintly resembles a crayfish.  When resident trout are feeding they will still utilize cover most of the time to keep themselves from being eaten and to hide from prey they hope to ambush. I think that a spinner looks alive and arouses the curiosity of trout....

American-made Proven Versatility “There’s a new old lure back in town.”  At least that’s what we say to newer generations of anglers who haven’t heard of, much less used, the Al’s Goldfish lure.  For those of you who do remember the wide tail-wobble and lazy flutter of the Goldfish and are pleased to hear it’s making a comeback, we say “you’re welcome”.  Either way, whether you’re scratching your head on the funny name, or drifting back to sweet memories of another time with a pretty little gold spoon, perhaps introductions are in order.  I’m the owner of Al’s Goldfish Lure...

The anadromous trout and salmon that enter the tributaries of the Great Lakes or ocean to spawn seldom actively feed during their migration. Migrating steelhead, Atlantic salmon, and various trout species retain the ability to feed but rarely do so actively. Pacific salmon become unable to swallow or digest food once they enter the river. The instinct or memory of all these fish is still there and they will opportunistically pick up food items on their river migration. Another trait remains present and dates back to their early river life when they were growing to smolt size. Territorialism was important...

Every so often, a new bait or technique will come bursting into the fishing world and becomes quickly declared as the ultimate way to catch steelhead. I remember when Bruce Belles started shipping his Clackacraft boats out east to Michigan and hot-shotting from drift boats became incredibly popular in the Great Lakes tributaries back in the eighties. I also recall the first time I fished from a drift boat and watched a rod almost get ripped off the gunwale by an early November steelhead. Seeing those violent take-downs convinced me at the time that using lures was the most effective...

When steelhead go airborne they seem to defy gravity, zooming upward, twisting toward heaven in a halo of water then splashing down in preparation for another soaring display. They surge from the open waters of the vast sea into tributaries, in small packs to massive schools numbering in the hundreds. When they reach obstacles like dams, they turn on the afterburners and make impressive aerial leaps. Some jump high and splash down straight in the water. Others leap headlong out of the water, twisting and turning mid-air, as if to flex muscles and announce their arrival. At times they jump...