Hatchery vs. Wild Steelhead: How to Tell and What It Means
Learn to spot an adipose fin clip at the boat ramp, release wild steelhead the right way, and record your catch on the punch card as the rules require.
Trailhead
Fishing
Olympic Peninsula Winter Steelhead Primer: Rivers, Timing, Gear
A planning guide to Olympic Peninsula winter steelhead — which rivers peak when, where bank anglers can reach good water, and the gear that covers the whole season.
Chum Salmon: Puget Sound's Underrated Fall Fishery
Why October and November chum runs deserve more attention — where they stack up, what gear catches them, and honest expectations for eating quality.
Salmon Egg Curing at Home: Three Recipes Compared
Three proven salmon egg cures compared — borax-only, Pautzke-style sugar cure, and a fire-cure approach — with when each one wins and the handling rules that make good eggs great.
Bank Fishing the Columbia for Fall Salmon: Where and How
How to catch fall chinook and coho from the bank on the Columbia — reading travel lanes, choosing water by run timing, and the setups that work from shore.
October Trout: Stocked Lakes Worth Fishing When Seasons Turn
Why October is a sneaky-good month for stocked trout lakes — cooling water, aggressive fish, thin crowds — and how to find recently stocked water near you.
Plunking for Steelhead: The Classic Bank Setup Explained
How plunking works for winter and summer steelhead — the rod, the rig, the water, and the patience that turns a lawn chair into a fish-catching machine.
Coho Gear: Twitching Jigs, Spinners, and Where to Throw Them
A practical guide to catching coho in rivers — twitching jig technique, spinner presentations, water selection, and the gear that covers both.
Fall Kokanee at Depth: Last-Push Tactics Before They Color Up
Late-season kokanee tactics — where schools move as water cools, how depth and speed change from summer, and why the last silver fish of the year are worth chasing.
$830 Million in Government Waste: How a Contract Threatens Our National Parks
A look at the $830 million Interior Department contract that included a 10-question survey, what that money could have funded in Pacific Northwest parks like Olympic and Crater Lake, and how park lovers can push for accountability.