Washington outdoors

I'm baaaaaack!

2011-11-04T21:25:00.001-07:00

Don't know if anyone has seen this in a while but wow has life changed for yours truly. I was married back in January on the big island of Hawaii to the love of my life and as of lately… I am now a father!!! We have a five week old little girl who pretty much controls every part of our lives. Also, I am no longer in the fishing tackle industry. I drive a bus for a living now. So, to recap… I've grown up. I guess I'll keep this blog up to remind me of the fun times.

Flood 2006

2006-11-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

The "pineapple express" payed us another visit this year. After days of down pour the rivers where at epic flood levels. Since fishing was out of the question, I decided to take a drive. Here are the photos of what I saw........

2006-11-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

What a great day for a picnic, Oh look! No one is using the gazebo!

2006-11-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

This is the Sultan boat launch.

2006-11-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

2006-11-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

2006-11-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

A nice two point. I'll see ya next year!

2006-11-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

"Hey! It's wet out here!"

2006-11-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

The sign says it all.

2006-11-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

This the Parking lot at the Lewis Street boat launch. In the back out can see the bathrooms under water.

2006-11-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

A few chum salmon found the Parking lot to their liking.

2006-11-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

The Water was so high it was running over the roads.

2006-08-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Me with a pair of kings from the shore at Hoodsport.

2006-08-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Bill and Chase with a Hoodsport king.....

2006-08-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

Crappy pic of a Skokomish king.

2006-08-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

Yellow tail snapper.

2006-08-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

We had a cattle herron that waited for a free fish when we got back in,

2006-08-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Needle fish.

2006-08-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

Not shure hwat he was, but he shure was pretty!

2006-08-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

Dad with a nice Mangrove Snapper.

2006-08-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

Pullled of to look at the water and spotted this little guy right next to the shore.

2006-08-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

First catch of the trip! Too bad I had to throw him back. I had the melted butter ready to go!

Oh boy!

2006-08-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

Well it was a wonder full trip to Florida with my pappy. Caught lot's of fish and saw lot's of neat things. Sorry about being a little lazy on posting some of my pics. I have been spending time with a wonderfull person I may tell you all about some time. Any way.... I have been fishing again around these parts and have had some great success so far. A nice king on the Skokomish and a few at Hoodsport this week. Bow hunting starts this weekend and I might have a few pics to post after that, In all life is great!

2006-07-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

The sunset from seven mile bridge. Over the Gulf of Mexico.

South bound!

2006-07-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well as I am typing this I'm sitting in the Seatac airport waiting for a flight to Atlanta GA. I will be connecting to a flight to Tampa Bay FL. We will then drive 6.5 hrs to Marathon in the Keys. Time to fish for anything that swims! We have rented a 22' Parker fore three days. This will be interesting!!!! My first attempt at "do it yourself" blue water. I will post more pics as the trips progresses.

Shad Mania 2006

2006-06-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

Big numbers of shad on the Columbia means HOT shad fishing. Carl, Jim and I made the pilgrimage down to the big "C" to wear our arms out with the silver acrobats called American shad. We left at 04:00 in the morning, 250 miles and four hour's later we found ourselves standing on the rocky shore below Bonneville dam. The sun was shining and the fish were biting! The only downside to the day was the wind. It never gave us a break! After six hours of non stop action we figure we had landed somewhere in the realm of 100 shad each. We kept quite a few for crab bait (best darn bait in the world!). The hot ticket was any thing chartreuse . Carl tried a little size 0 Dicknite spoon in pink and white. He couldn't keep them off. The shad are huge this year with many running in the 3-4 pound range. Looks like it will be another record run. Last year topped 6,000,000. That's allot of shad!

Jerry

2006-06-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Nice one Jim!

2006-06-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

Jim has hooked one of many, many shad. Don't you love the 80's sweater look?

2006-06-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Carl's turn to land one.

2006-06-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

A big ol' bucket of shad!

2006-05-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

Chase and Bill enjoying the view in Westport.

2006-05-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

An oldie but a goody, still my favorite picture!

2006-05-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Some times an Elk call can be too effective.

"you called?"

2006-05-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

Queets river

2006-03-15T00:14:00.000-08:00

Well, another really long drive to catch nothing. I'm getting into a slump! The river was in great shape, not that great of clarity. We hiked up river about five miles and did two crossings. Ton's of untouched water and no fish! Saw plenty of wildlife. It did every thing from rain to snow to shine on us. I'm thinking steelhead are magical creatures that are only in my mind. Am I crazy? Possibly . (maniacal laughter)

2006-03-15T00:09:00.001-08:00

More elk! I love elk!
Jerry

2006-03-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

Paul at a river crossing.
Jerry

2006-03-15T00:08:00.000-08:00

Moon rise over Cresent Lake.
Jerry

2006-03-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Ruby beach.
Jerry

2006-03-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

Paul in front of a giand red cedar.
Jerry

2006-03-14T23:58:00.001-08:00

We were not the only ones that were looking to catch something.
Jerry

2006-03-14T23:58:00.000-08:00

We grow them big around here! Not me, the tree!
Jerry

Road trip!

2006-03-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

It's so nice to get out and blow a little steam off. I decided to take a trip over to Yakima for a little trout fishing and a chance to shoot some pictures. Both where better than I had anticipated. I found a lot of hungry trout on the Yakima. They seemed to prefer the backwater spots this time of year. I only found fish in froggy spots with little current. They really had a loving for my mayfly colored Rooster Tail, oddly they didn't want the black one. As I was driving out of the canyon I was thinking to myself that it would be nice if the resident sheep would be near the road for a few pics. As I turned the corner there they where. After a few quick shots I was off to Oak Creek to see the elk. And boy where there elk! I think they have almost a thousand there. In all I had a fun day!

2006-03-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

One of many trout that jumped onto my spinner.
Jerry

2006-03-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Young ram.
Jerry

2006-03-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Big horn sheep on the cliffs.
Jerry

2006-03-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

Spotted a few mule deer in the canyon.
Jerry

2006-03-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

There where some very impressive bulls!
Jerry

2006-03-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

Small raghorn.
Jerry

2006-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Proof that elk can be very deep sleepers.
Jerry

2006-03-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that this baby elk still has spots! It's alomost a year old!
Jerry

2006-02-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

The new fishing truck!
Jerry

2006-02-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

From the front!
Jerry

2006-02-02T20:22:00.001-08:00

The side!
Jerry

2006-02-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

Glow go!
Jerry

2006-02-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

Finnally some chrome!
Jerry

2005-12-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

Cresent lake
Jerry

Feels like winter!

2005-12-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

December has been very good to me so far. I took my first winter trip to the Bogachiel river to look for fresh steel. We found it! My buddy Jim and I each hooked five fish. Saw several rolling and several more landed by other fisherman. In all it was a good day! Water was very cold, weather was good. I'm hoping to get the feeling back in my feet later in the week, that's if I can keep out of the local rivers. (just joking)

2005-12-05T21:53:00.001-08:00

Finally landed my first steelhead on a centerpin rod!
Jerry

2005-12-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

First Steelhead of the year!
Jerry

2005-12-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

Fish on!
Jerry

2005-12-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

Nice bright fish for Jim!
Jerry

November = chum

2005-11-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

Finally a break in the rain. It has been pouring for two weeks now and that has left me with little to do. To make the best of a rainy thing My longtime friend Carl and I made our yearly trip to Hoodsport on the Hood Canal. Fishing was pretty good, there did seem to be fewer fish this year than last. Sounds like all of the other runs I've fished. WE all caught several fish including the two friends Carl brought along, Steve and Garry. We also did a little crabbing but that was terrible. Several rock crab but not a single dungeoness. It was good to get out any ways.

Up next, Blacktail hunting and coastal steelhead (I hope).............................................................

2005-11-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

Even though Carl and I have been fishing here for over 12 years together, I'm sorry to say that due to his old age I'm constantly haveing to show him which end goes into the water. (Just kidding old guy!)
Jerry

2005-11-07T18:09:00.000-08:00

Carl does battle with another dog!
Jerry

2005-11-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

Nice one Carl!
Jerry

2005-11-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

Set the hook a little less harder Garry, next time you will catch the whole fish!
Jerry

2005-11-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

I love to see the first snow of the year.
Jerry

2005-11-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

We had lot's of company.
Jerry

2005-11-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

Panoramic view of the Hood canal.
Jerry

2005-10-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

Grant and James Dilger. This was James first steelhead!
Jerry

2005-10-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

Nice hen.
Jerry

2005-10-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

Fish on!
Jerry

2005-10-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

A big Wallace river Coho.
Jerry

Heavy lifting

2005-10-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

October is Vedder River time! I just returned home from two days in Canada fishing what I think is one of the best Chinook fisheries south of Alaska. If you remember my posts from this time last year I talked of one of my favorite trips of the year. The Vedder (AKA Chillawack) is a medium sized river that flows out of the mountains thru the town of Chillawack into the Fraser. Every fall they receive a run of "white" kings. They are called white because their flesh is all white. Some people say that are very good to eat but I would disagree, mainly because they have been in the fresh water for several weeks with out eating. But they put up a great tustle. This trip was a really good one. Monday rained hard, so the river came up four to five inches but we found fish in the lower river with a little looking. Today was the complete polar opposite of yesterday, sun and fun! After a little exploration we found a ton of fish in a spot up river. We fish this spot for ten hours non stop. We only quit due to exhaustion and fading daylight. I will be back up next week so expect another report.

2005-10-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

It's nice when they bite a lure you make your self.
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

We camped at the Cultis Lake 1000 trails club.
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Keep them comin Grant!
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

Biggest one of the trip! 40lbs. !!
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

I even hooked one on my center pin rod.
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Another nice one for Grant out of Allyson pool.
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

My turn!
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

I don't know who was wetter, me or the fish.
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Put the wood to that fish Grant!
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

Grant Dilger with the brightest fish if the trip.
Jerry

2005-10-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Sunrise on the lower Vedder.
Jerry

Fall harvest time!

2005-09-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

If you see some one skulking around in the woods in cammo, don't worry it's probably me. I just spent two days in a ultra secret spot in central Washington hunting mule deer. I saw plenty of deer including some VERY impressive bucks. I missed all of my shots (AGAIN!) due to equipment failure. Time to tear down my bow and rebuild it. The weather was great with morning temps in the thirties going into the eighties in the afternoon. I was surprised to not see any grouse, I'm suspecting there may have been a population decline. I will try to make it back for at least one more hunt by the end of the month so I'll keep you updated.

2005-09-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

Another warm day ahead.
Jerry

2005-09-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

This is when you realize you should have stayed on the road.
Jerry

2005-09-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of bucks I spotted this morning.
Jerry

2005-08-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

Another humpy.
Jerry

2005-08-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

A little fun and sun!
Jerry

2005-08-07T21:04:00.001-07:00

After recovering from moving into a new apartment I finally got out to go fishing. My buddies and I made our annual pilgrimage to Neah Bay for a little salmon fishing. This has to be one of the most disappointing years I have seen since the salmon population crash of the early 80's. I fished for three days and only caught one silver. We did catch ton's of pink salmon but they are not what we where after. I can't tell you why they just have not been there but I hope this changes soon. The rockfish populations where ok but the lingcod seem to have moved off to deeper water. For now I'm going to stick around here to fish and I'll keep you updated.

2005-08-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

Another sunset from Skagway Rocks.
Jerry

2005-08-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Paul with a China rockfish,
Jerry

2005-08-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

Sunset on the pacific ocean.
Jerry

2005-08-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

I don"t think Paul was very serius about fishing.
Jerry

2005-08-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Seal rock on a very foggy morning.
Jerry

Did you miss me?

2005-05-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Probably not eh? Any how, after a two month sabbatical I'm back on the water. I just spent the last two weekends up at Neah Bay. I now have a freezer full of delicious white flesh fish! I finally found the lingcod hole of my dreams. I made it out to Skageway rocks on the Ocean side of Tatoosh island. I found limits every time I hit it. We had good weather the first three times, but yesterday was terrible. I not ashamed to admit that I got seasick and did a little chumming. You would too if you where being tossed around in 14' swells. We saw lots of wild life including three grey whales, sea otters and eagles. I tried to get a picture of a sea otter but it came out looking like a bad loch ness picture.

Enjoy the pics!!!

2005-05-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

I broke out the fly rod to land a few black rockfish.
Jerry