2009 Fall Fishing Exploits

[Netnorske]

Had a fantastic weekend of ripping large coho salmon! This is a photo of my buddy Tony Rezanow with one of about 30 big hooknose silvers we hooked over two days. Most were taken on spinners, but we got some trolling herring too. We hooked several that were in the high teens....both wild and hatchery fish...so were came home with full limits and sore arms... !!

More to come as the season is just getting rolling. Rain this week will bring hordes of kings and silvers into the rivers and it will be "game on".... :) !! Here's a tip.....if you're not fishing around me, you're fishing in the wrong spot.... ::) ::) !


Tony Rezanow

[rickyboy]

Kris,... does the Nootsack River carry any salmon? I usually venture out to the Vedder River near Chilliwack BC I just wondered if I was down at "the cabin" if it would be worth my while trying the Nootsack.

[Netnorske]

Originally Posted by rickyboy ... #00722

Kris,... does the Nootsack River carry any salmon? I usually venture out to the Vedder River near Chilliwack BC I just wondered if I was down at "the cabin" if it would be worth my while trying the Nootsack.

Rick,
I have never really fished the Nooksack (fyi...Nooksack, not Nootsack) River too much. I caught a few steelhead out of it years ago...but I think it has a healthy run of silvers in it that are probably in there right now. It is usually so dirty though that my guess is it will take some real cold weather and little or no rain for it to clear up enough for good fishing, but maybe not. I would check with the local sporting goods store or a local guide to get first hand info. Good luck!

[rickyboy]

so where were you fishing Kris??

[Netnorske]

For the next few weeks I will be fishing the rivers around Grays Harbor (Aberdeen area). I will also fish a day up on the Quinault Indian reservation with my favorite Tribal guide for huge king salmon...either on the Quinault or Queets River. Otherwise I will be fishing the Humptulips, Satop or Wynoochee Rivers.

I will post more pics here as the hogs come aboard....probably after next week as I think this weekend the rivers will be swollen and out of fishing shape with all the rain.....

[duneseven]

good luck hope you catch fish and not a cold o rthe pig flu

[Netnorske]

Well I have to say that I am really disappointed in this years fall salmon season. It started off with a bang and some great Coho fishing, but has been tough ever since. If you were lucky enough to be there mid-week, you could catch the rivers in good shape, but by the weekends the rivers have been pushed out of shape by massive rains that we usually don't see until mid-November.... :( :(" title="" border="0"/> :'(.

On top of that, the Chinook run has been dismal as well according to reports from my old guiding buddies . A few here and there, but not many big battle-cruisers to speak of. I did manage to hook a big chrome beauty of about 40 pounds on the Queets a week or so ago, but lost it. I eventually landed the one pictured below later in the day that was maybe 24 or 25 pounds.

You can tell from the water color behind me what we have been up against most of the season. We only had about 2' of visibility that day, when 4 or 5' would be more desirable and lead to many more hook-ups. Whatcha gonna do?

I'm leaving next Wednesday for my annual South Dakota pheasant hunting trip if I don't get Swine flu first.... . My boss was just diagnosed with it and I have been around him all week long. Just what I need.

Additionally, conditions in SD have been extremely wet and none of the crops are out yet.... :(" title="" border="0"/> :(...meaning tough hunting conditions instead of the optimal ones I am used to back there.

Seems my fall has been about as bad as my summer was good. I guess things have a way of evening out but I am still hopeful for a successful hunt. I'll post some photos upon my return.

Hope everyone is doing well....

[oledawg]

If I only cought one like that....... ::) I'd be as happy as a kid in a candy store. In the Northeast a 4lb'er would be a lunker. Even a 20 lb. Stripped Bass would make me grin like a Chesshire Cat. You guy's in the Northwest are to be envied for your fishing and landscapes.

;)Nice Pictures

[ringadingh]

Those are some nice fish Kris; I never noticed this post before today, I used to do a lot of river fishing a few years ago for rainbows and salmon. My best one is a 16lb steelhead and a 28 lb chinook. Around Toronto the rivers are so busy with fisherman that I finally got tired of spending my day untangling lines and retying. Unless you can fish on private property or go through the weekdays its a zoo. The Credit river here has a good run of Atlantic salmon in it now due to a good restocking program.
Tight lines; Steve

[Netnorske]

Ring,
Last fall for salmon and so far this early winter for steelies has been a washout for fishing. The rivers have been swollen for what seems like months...and when they do drop into shape...I am "on call" for work and can't get out, like this weekend ::).

Thought you might like to see one of the larger Chinook we've caught down here. It was 1997 and the photo is a little faded. I was still guiding at that time...and was hosting Nick Amato, editor of Salmon, Trout, Steelheader Magazine (for whom I occasionally write). Nick (left) caught this monster on a southwest coastal river with a big sardine wrapped K-16 Kwikfish. We estimated it to be over 60 lbs! We are both big boys and this thing dwarfed us. Not bad for a Washington fish, eh? Ironically, Nick caught one about 50 lbs. later in the same day right close to the takeout!

[ringadingh]

That is a really nice catch, they pull like a freight train don't they.
We see them caught up to the low 40lb mark here, I dont hear very much about the fishing here anymore, so Im not up on whats going on like I once was.
I would like to try the Queen Charlotte Islands one day, Ive heard that there are some real monsters there.

[Netnorske]

Originally Posted by Ringadingh

That is a really nice catch, they pull like a freight train don't they.
We see them caught up to the low 40lb mark here, I dont hear very much about the fishing here anymore, so Im not up on whats going on like I once was.
I would like to try the Queen Charlotte Islands one day, Ive heard that there are some real monsters there.

I have fished the Queen Charlottes and indeed there are some real pigs there. It is hit and miss fishing though and at times you have to work for them, but if a school is coming through....hang on! Last summer I fished out of Port Hardy, doing an article for a local charter guide. It was an awesome trip! You can read the article on his web page at the following link:

http://www.coastwidesportsfishing.co...ors-writer.htm

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by Netnorske

I have fished the Queen Charlottes and indeed there are some real pigs there. It is hit and miss fishing though and at times you have to work for them, but if a school is coming through....hang on! Last summer I fished out of Port Hardy, doing an article for a local charter guide. It was an awesome trip! You can read the article on his web page at the following link:

http://www.coastwidesportsfishing.co...ors-writer.htm

Great article Kris. Didn't realize your writing-skills; and "wordsmanship".

Enjoyed reading about all that you are involved with in "life".

To be quite frank... you seem to be the most active member I know of. You "Umpire" baseball; hunt pheasant is SD; guide salmon fishing; ride a Nomad; plus at least four or more other activities in a year.

I want "your-life"!!!!! ;)

Signed;

Jealous and bored

[ringadingh]

That was a good article Kris, Id love to try that some day. Id also like to try for a nice big Halibut. Im just about ready to go ice fishing, maybe tomorrow if I see that the ice is safe enough.
I have the good fortune to live very close to Lake Simcoe which is one of the best icefishing lakes in North America. Ive pulled 13lb whitefish out of there, 2 1/4 lb perch, 18lb lakers, and had things on the line that I couldn't hold and they broke off.
About 4-5 years ago me and my son came home with an 11lb whitey, I cleaned and fried it. It was delicious. Then I checked the scoreboard online for the derby and learned that we ate a $1000.00 fish. And the laker we also had cleaned was worth $500.00. Now I check first!

[Netnorske]

Originally Posted by glwilson

Great article Kris. Didn't realize your writing-skills; and "wordsmanship".

Enjoyed reading about all that you are involved with in "life".

To be quite frank... you seem to be the most active member I know of. You "Umpire" baseball; hunt pheasant is SD; guide salmon fishing; ride a Nomad; plus at least four or more other activities in a year.

I want "your-life"!!!!! ;)

Signed;

Jealous and bored

Greg,
Thanks for the kind words regarding my writing! I never took journalism or anything like that in school and it just comes naturally to me. Writing gives you the opportunity to say something just the way you want to, with the spoken word sometimes not so much...lol...! I have had many outdoor articles published over the years and have enjoyed the opportunities it provides. I will be traveling to Kodiak Island this Sept. to do an article for a fishing lodge up there. I was last on Kodiak in 2002 and I can tell you it is a very special place!

I try keeping somewhat active....it keeps my fat ass from getting fatter on the couch... . Now.....if I could just win the Lotto and retire. I would love to wake up every morning with two basic questions in my mind. Where am I going to fish today, and where am I going to ride tomorrow.... ?

Like my sig quote says..."Growing old is mandatory.....growing up is optional"! I'd like to take my last breath knowing I got the very most out of life, whether it's a long or short endeavour.... ;).

Steve,
That sucks eating your prize winning fish... ! Sounds like you have good opportunities around you. I have to admit, I have gotten spoiled over the years. Too many great trips to the BC coast and southeast Alaska have ruined me for fishing around home much anymore....