Recent content by JHawk

The coast has been slow for us. We've been on the N. Fork Nehalem, Kilchis, Wilson, and Trask. We pulled on 8# buck out of the Wilson at the Guide Shop. Otherwise, it's been a lot of driving. The Clack and Sandy have been slow as well. Even though a guide will cost you $125 for a half-day...

Is the big fall run supposed to be limited to the Columbia, or is the runs into the other coastal rivers (Necanicum, Nehalem, Wilson, Trask,, Nestucca, Salmon, etc.) supposed to be big as well?

I've been looking for 6-15 FOW for steelhead. How much water should I be looking for with fall Chinook? 20-30 FOW? Deeper?

We're new to salmon fishing on the Columbia, and we're trying to scout and learn as much as we can. We're bankies and I have two questions about fall Chinook. • I’ve read a couple of places that the fall chinook tend to run on the Washington side of the river. Is that true and should we get...

We're bankies and I've been reading about some spots on the Willamette. I'm not sure if they are only accessible by boat, but where is the "Lakeline" (or "lake line"), the "sandbar", and the "garbage hole"? I know where the garbage hole is on the Sandy, but not on the Willy.

How big are their boats?

What would be a good reel then for salmon and steelhead plunking in the Willy?

I'm putting a plunking rig together and I'v narrowed it down to two reels. Both are level wind and in the same $180 price point. Does one prevent backlash better? Which one would you recommend?

I think the natives are catch and release, correct?

Throwing hardware like Vibrax, Mepps, and things like that does get expensive. I hate loosing a $5 spinner on the second cast, especially the one I lost because I forgot to close the snap swivel! You can get pretty much everything you need for making your own first class spinners from places...

For somebody like me just getting into beads for steelhead, are 8mm and 10mm the best sizes to start with? 12mm and 14mm look huge! What colors of Hevibeads would you recommend for starting out?

Do any of you have experience with the rubber band system that Hevibeads uses? It seems like a decent concept being able to change beads without re-tying the leader, but does it work as good as they show on the video?

I'm new to the steelhead game and I'm trying to learn quickly, but there's a lot of 'stuff' to know. What are the relative merits of hard beads versus soft beads versus cheaters versus Fish Pills versus corkies? I've read posts that say to stay in the 8mm to 10mm range for hard beads. I've...

I use the William Joseph magnetic closure series of chest packs and really like them. I was surprised how convenient the magnetic closure was compared to a zipper.

I looked at the Clarus four piece, but it's only rated at 1/8-1/2 ounce and I'm leery of throwing 1-1.5 ounces. I was hoping for something with a little more backbone. Are there any local (Willamette Valley) custom rod builders that y'all'd suggest for a 4-piece 10-11' travel rod?