Today we had beautiful weather, awesome guests, and a really pretty early Columbia River Spring Chinook on the boat! While we couldn't get fish for everyone (spring chinook is hard after all), this beauty made it on board.

As far as Spring Chinook Fishing goes, today was a good one. My buddies at High Class Tackle made the trip down and we accomplished our mission of getting a first of the year Springer for Ryan in the boat. With an early departure for one of my favorite spots we put the plugs to work and work they did with multiple takedowns. These guys work for a great company and I was more than happy to help their boss reward them with a great trip.

This year's Columbia River Salmon Season is finally kicking off. The water is clearing up and the Spring Chinook are coming upriver! This little guy decided to fully hook this morning around 10AM. These guys are a special treat and this one is all mine!

What a crabby day! The weather was near perfect and three limits of beautiful dungeness crab came in on the first pull. The harbor porpoises played nearby and we all had a good time. Sometimes waiting an extra day pays off. Thanks to Gezellig Seafoods and European Groceries for packing everything up and getting it shipped back to Wisconsin for my clients! We even got Talon Rods in on the action with some crab snares for a little fun while we waited for the pots to soak. It got me wondering if there's a market out there for crab snare rods

We snuck out in between the rainstorms yesterday and I may now have one my favorite Tongue Point sunrise pictures of the year. This guy jumped on the rod just after I had finished showing how to put out the gear. We had my client's limit and another fish released by 9:30, not bad for mid October Coho in the estuary! I have plenty of seats open for Coho and crab still. The top is going on the boat and the heater is going back in so we're now getting ready for winter mode!

With an uncertain weather forecast, we headed out early. Fortunately we landed on the coho fairly quickly for an early limit by 8:30 a.m.. We took advantage of the extra time and a break in the weather to take a scenic tour around Astoria and the Estuary including a few areas that I don't normally get to go. What a great way to spend a break in between the rains and the wind! The new Talon Rods did an awesome job of keeping the fish on a well. Awesome morning!