Salmon Trout Steelheader Podcast

Being a Good Netman - Randy Bonner article

"Being a Good Netman" is an article written by Randy Bonner, author of "The Bead Fishing Bible". Learn a few of the tactics that make for a successful net job when the time comes for you to take that role.

Big Dave Podcast - Early Spring Chinook live at PDX Sportsman’s Show

Lucas caught Big Dave at the Portland Sportsman's Show where he asked Big Dave Manners about Spring Chinook Fishing. 

Fishing & Humility - Why I love Fishing

The reason I love fishing, is it keeps my egotistical ass humble. 

What about you guys? Let us know at customerservice@amatobooks.com

Beyond the Twitch (More than just a Coho Crusher)

From a deadly niche-technique, to a West Coast phenomenon, “Twitching” has added a new tool in many coho (silver) salmon anglers arsenals. This technique has been covered in STS before, and there are many excellent resources to learn more about the basic twitching technique.

Basic Twitching

Here is a quick breakdown of basic twitching.

• Cast into your target water
• Do not allow your jig to hit bottom, instead twitch at least 12 inches from bottom and up.
• Lift the rod tip quickly and drop it immediately. Your line should fall slack for a natural drop. Do not slowly drop your rod tip.
• Reel after the drop and twitch again. If you’re in danger of touching bottom (for instance, when casting upstream) reel in more line. If you’re upstream of your jig, you may not need to reel much at all. Just make sure you don’t let it snag on bottom.
• Cover water quickly and try to cover the hole from a few different angles.

This could be expounded upon dramatically, but let’s move past the standard twitching technique to look at some other ways to fish twitching jigs.

Why change it up? When I started twitching I rarely saw other anglers using the technique (I was the first!!! Just kidding…), but now almost every angler I run into has a rod tied up for twitching. By utilizing some other styles, you can give the fish something different to look at.

Fishing 360 Flashers for Salmon (Interview w/ Tyler Kraft)

An interview with one of the best 360 flasher anglers in the Northwest. Not a guide, just an excellent angler. We talk about the details that makes 360 flashers special. Either Pro-Troll, Shortbus or even the new Brads Flashers....it's an excellent technique to catch loads of chinook and coho on a trolling setup. You can even anchor with a 360! Tyler has figured out the technique and perfected it. He catches loads of fish on the Columbia River with 360 flashers...so listen up!

How to Catch Coho in Low Clear Water | Q&A w/ Lucas

Question & Answer with Lucas. A listener asks about catching Coho Salmon (silvers) in low clear water. It's a great question and has a few answers depending on the conditions. A-Run coho can be notoriously difficult to get to bite, but it can happen.

Between plugs, spoons and a whole lot of repetitive casting you can get a chance, but the later Coho still bite great in low water.

Thanks for the question! Send your questions to customerservice@amatobooks.com - subject: Podcast Question

Close Encounters w/ Bear & Moose - George Joy Interview

The wild Bear Guide from Becharof Lake (Egegik River) area. George Joy has chased Coastal Brown Bears in the Alaska Bristol Bay region - he has had a few close encounters of the bear kind! From hunting the wild Grizzly's of Alaska to Moose hunting in the Alaskan Tundra...guiding Salmon & Commercial Fishing in the Ocean...George is a true outdoorsman who has experienced the wild in a serious way. 

A high-energy guy and the co-owner of Becharof Lodge!

Scott Haugen Interview - Coho Salmon Behavior & Fishing Techniques

A long-time guest of the Becharof Lodge & Egegik River, Scott Haugen (Outdoor TV Personality & Writer) discusses fishing for coho (silver) salmon. Everything from jigs, bait, beads, plugs & more are discussed.

Scott talks about the opportunity to try new things on an especially epic Alaskan River that flows into Bristol Bay. Even though Bristol Bay is known for epic Sockeye Runs...the Coho (Silver) Salmon fishing is World Class!!

Listen as Lucas interviews Scott about the intricacies of fishing coho in the lower 48 and Alaska.

Building A Fishing Lodge on the Best Coho River in the World - Mark Korpi interview

Mark Korpi, co-owner of Becharof lodge, discusses the logisitics of building a fishing lodge in the middle of nowhere, where zero roads and electricity exist. The river has zero habitat interference, and the salmon are ridiculously plentiful. From propane and generators, to hot showers and amazing meals - somehow they make it work!

Listen as Lucas interviews Mark Korpi about the Becharof Lodge on the Egegik River and watch for footage with Scott Haugen on our Youtube channel!

Salmon Temperatures & Triggering Bites w/ Jarod Higginbotham

Big Jarod is a massive resource on salmon and steelhead fishing. In this podcast, we catch Jarod at the NSIA Banquet, talking about salmon fishing and how temperatures affect salmon fishing. All is not lost when temps got too high, you've just got to adjust your program. Listen as Jarod talks about the Yakima Bait Mag Lip and doing R&D fishing with Buzz Ramsey.

Interview w/ Justin Wolff of Angler West TV about Filming Fishing Shows

Justin Wolff has produced close to 500 episodes of Angler West TV - a West Coast fishing favorite on TV and Youtube. His career has brought him all over the world, although he's always loved Salmon, Trout & Steelhead. Listen as Lucas talks to Justin about the opportunities he's had, previous radio shows & what he does behind the scenes to make the show Angler West TV happen.

Check out Justin's store in Woodland Washington - Angler West TV Store which has all sorts of great fishing tackle and bait. Justin is often in the store and you can meet him if you stop by at the right time. Let us know if you enjoy his show!

Nick Amato Interview - Summer Steelhead & Early Fall Salmon

Nick Amato is interviewed about where Summer Steelhead hold in the rivers in early season and dead of summer. Nick discusses his experiences looking for steelhead as well as early Chinook and Coho under low water conditions.

 

Nick is the editor of Salmon Trout Steelheader and Great Lakes Angler Magazine.

Coho & Chinook Movement in Tidewater - Ruben Estavillo Quinault Guide

Ruben Estavillo makes breakfast and talks about the fishing opportunity with Coho and Chinook Salmon on the Quinault Reservation. Ruben has guided the Quinault and Queets for decades and is dialed in on the tidal movements of Coho and Chinook - he discusses those in this short but interesting interview.

Finessing the Spin-N-Glo - A Classic Salmon & Steelhead Lure

Finessing the Spin-Glo by Larry Ellis

When the Worden Floating Lure Company, now owned by Yakima Bait Company, invented the Spin-N-Glo, little did they know that the lure would become one of the company’s bestselling, let alone top-producing lure.

I always have said that if a person had never heard of a Spin-N-Glo, they need to go out and get an education all over again.

The winged bobber has steelhead magic written all over it as defined by its name.

It had gone through several name changes before the final moniker was chosen.

“The man who actually named this lure the “Spin-N-Glo” was a guy named Leo Ryan,” said Howard Worden in one of his many stories that he told me. Howard marketed and developed the Spin-N-Glo after his father invented it. “We were all trying to give the lure a different name, and Leo just said, ‘Well, it spins and it glows.’ So after that we decided to name the lure the Spin-N-Glo.”

It makes perfect sense, really. A perfect-sense name for a perfectly-spinning steelhead spinner—that just happens to float!

“A Spin-N-Glo really is a buoyant spinner,” says Buzz Ramsey, (former) brand manager of the Yakima Bait Co. “It allows guys, especially plunkers, who are ‘still fishing’ to cast out, and that Spin-N-Glo floats up right off the bottom where the fish are migrating upstream.”

Driftboat Oars & How They're Made

An interview with Zac Kauffman of Sawyer Oars. Zac talks about the origins of Sawyer, the usage of wood, carbon and fiberglass. How the oars react in the water - and how they are designed.

They are a top shelf Oregon product, using Douglas firs. 

Eric Clapton Stays Over at Lamiglas Owners House (Mary Posey Interview)

The vivacious, and fun-loving Mary Posey is on the phone with Lucas, talking about her experience meeting and befriending Eric Clapton. Although she hasn't spoken to Eric Clapton in many years, since her sons funeral, she has had a wonderful friendship with him over the years. She speaks in depth about some of the struggles Eric had with his road crew, how he enjoyed fishing - how he even visited Woodland Washington and got treated by a doctor! Excellent story about Mary, Dick Posey and Eric Clapton!

Keith & Zoey Johnson - High Water Steelhead, Summer Steelhead Bait & Inshore Flats Fishing

A conversation with Keith Johnson and Zoey Johnson about fishing for winter steelhead in high water conditions. Including plugs, bobber-dogging, plunking. Summer steelhead fishing techniques, float fishing shrimp, and even flats fishing for tarpon are discussed. Check out the video coming soon to the STS Youtube channel.

Trophy Steelhead Tactics w/ Keith Johnson

The giants - the steelhead of winter and spring. Keith Johnson, fishing Guide on the Washington Coast, talks about the behavior of big, wild steelhead. He details his simple but effective tactics to fish for these aggressive steelhead optimally. Also discussed is the fishing restrictions and how tactics have had to adjust. 

Keith Johnson talks about his relatively-recent guiding career and how he enjoys getting people into their first, or personal best steelhead - and loves to see them experience it. 

Rowing a driftboat down a river and fishing for small river salmon & steelhead is a challenging task. Keith has worked hard to establish an excellent program over a broad spectrum of rivers to get the best shot at quality fish. From big chinook and coho, to summers and winter steelhead...the trophy fish are targeted!

Fighting Big Steelhead - Article by Lucas

There is a difference between a hot 6lb steelhead and a brutal 17lb buck. That much should be obvious, but it really becomes evident when you’re 10 feet above a giant rapid and that massive line-burner you just hooked turns towards it.

 

Then what do you do?

 

Some big fish will get ever-so-close, and then decide to turn around and stay in the hole you’re in. Others have every intention of heading down that rapid and saying goodbye to the elevation they’d just gained. At that point, you’d better make a power move.

 

Either way, you’d better be prepared for that. So let’s talk big steelhead.

 

One of the things I’ve come to find is, a big steelhead controls the conversation. A smaller, hot steelhead will burn line and give an excellent fight, but the minute you can turn its head you can gain some ground on it. With a big, or even giant steelhead, all it takes is laying into that current and it becomes ultra-hard to make any headway on that fish.

 

The sheer mass, the massive tail, the violent headshakes - those will keep you up at night.

 

There is a feeling in the rod when you hook one of those steelhead that goes beyond anything you’ve encountered before.

 

Listen to this article which is is featured in STS Feb-March 2021

Steelhead Fishing Opportunity & Issues, Spring Chinook Genetics with Shane Anderson

An interview with Shane Anderson, a film maker of numerous steelhead films including "Wild Reverence" & "A Rivers Last Chance".

 

Shane discusses the challenges steelhead face, their life histories, his opinions on fishing opportunity, hatcheries, dams and everything related to steelhead.

 

Shane has a wealth of information about steelhead and historic populations. Included in the discussion is Klamath Chinook and Steelhead. The pre-dam Cowlitz and North Fork Lewis rivers, the Chehalis, the Olympic Peninsula, Rainbow Trout, the Elwha, and many others.