Coho (Silver) Salmon The Coho salmon (scientifically known as Oncorhynchus kisutch) is a medium-sized member of the salmon family. In Canada we call them “Coho” and down south in the US they call them “Silver Salmon”. They also have a few nicknames like “blueback” or “white mouth”. Coho are my all time favorite eating salmon, typically Sockeye and Chinook are the most covenanted for eating but for me I love their milder and firm Coho salmon taste! Coho hold their silver and blue colors even after entering the freshwater (to spawn). By hold their color I mean they don’t turn grey or dark as fas ..read more

My Kayak Fishing Gear in the Ocean Pacific Northwest In this article I’m outlining all my kayak FISHING gear that I use in the pacific northwest. The focus is on saltwater where I am bottom fishing and trolling. This gear is near identical to ocean boat fishing gear as well. However, I’ve tried to focus the aspects that are important to kayak anglers. Bottom Fishing Gear on Kayak My bottom setups are designed to get my lures/baits to the ocean bottom to jig or simply sit. For this I prefer heavier duty spinning setups. I know many kayak anglers that like their casting reels and rods but I re ..read more

Great Ultralight Spinning Reel & Setup for Trout and Bass This article discusses my ultralight spinning combo that I love to use on trout and bass in my local lakes and ponds. I cover some of the challenges of ultralight fishing tackle that you might not have thought of. And I detail my go-to trout fishing setup as well. First off, you might be asking, “what is an ultralight fishing setup”? The term “Ultralight” is used for the smallest and lightest spinning reels. These reels will have everything dialed down for small presentations (lures) and paired with lighter rods and fishing lines ..read more

It’s July and we’re in the middle of summer and the heat of the Salmon fishing season here on Vancouver Island. Here in Pacific Northwest you can target salmon all year round but the ideal fishing season is May to September. The hottest fishing is June-August where the salmon are fattening up and moving toward their spawning rivers. Here in the Nanaimo area the primary salmon species I’m targeting are Coho (Silver) and Chinook (King). This is journal is from a recent trip on my kayak targeting salmon and bottom fish.   Typically my trips are planned fairly last minute completel ..read more

Best Kayak Gear? Pretty strong title eh, well this is not a Old Town vs. Hobie article. This article is more focused on the accessories of the kayak. I run a Old Town Salty 120 PDL kayak and cover the mandatory and non-mandatory accessories for fishing in the ocean. This gear and setup may not be for everyone as all ocean fishing scenarios are not equal, but I’ll provide all the details of what I’ve found works best for myself and why it works. Also on the bottom of this article, I’ve included some videos from my YouTube channel showing how I put this kayak gear to use in catching Salmon ..read more

Best Bottom Fishing Rod and Reel in Tidal Water This article is focused not only on casting from shore but for setups that pair well in jigging or bottom fishing from a boat or kayak. I plan to better qualify what I mean by “bottom fishing” and how to target fish in tidal waters. These setups are designed for the sporting side of fishing, meaning these are not the short thick rods that are meant for slowly bringing up massive Halibut, instead these rods are designed for jigging, providing a lot of action on your lure on the bottom and of course a  lot more fun to play a fish with. Wha ..read more

It’s the first week of April and my buddy Roy has a beautiful 24′ Kingfisher and calls for an early season fishing trip to Port Hardy. We got 4 guys on this trip, 2 are new friends that are long time Nanaimo boys and both have lots of water and fishing experience. We’re looking to head to the north island and target Halibut and Lingcod. Here is a photo of the 4 of us in Nanaimo before we depart for Port Hardy. We arrived in Port Hardy Thursday late afternoon and eased into the Quarterdeck Hotel. The trip plan was to get out fishing 2.5 days, so we’d fish hard Friday and Saturday, then do ..read more

How to make Chinook Salmon Gravlax I’ve got a ton of Salmon in the freezer from last seasons run. I’ve been making all types of dishes and recently saw a video on how to make Salmon Gravlax, so I wanted to try it out. The results were fantastic that I had to share. Here is the most simple salmon gravlax recipe you’ll ever find. The ingredients are so simple all you need is: Salmon fillet (half or full fish, or whatever amount you want), Kosher Salt, Brown Sugar and fresh Dill Weed. Important Note: The Salmon should have been flash frozen or been in your freezer for at least 12 days. This ensu ..read more

Top 6 Bass Baits There are so many different ways to fish for bass. Because they are a fairly aggressive species, there are a lot of different ploys and strategies that can be used. In turn, the market has supplied a plethora of lures and tackle that can help get the job done.  Today, we will be breaking down some of the best areas of baits that can elevate your fishing experience. The presentations used to catch bass sit along a fairly wide spectrum, so knowing what the options are is key. Here are the top six bass baits! 1. Jigs  One of the best presentations to throw in front o ..read more

Alouette Lake, Golden Ears Provincial Park Region 2, British Columbia This lake is located 13 kms northeast of Maple Ridge. It’s a large and deep lake that’s used a reservoir for hydroelectric power, boating, swimming and some fishing. It’s no longer stocked but does hold Lake Trout and is the only lake in the lower mainland to do so! The most popular fishery on this lake is likely Kokanee and they can be targeted all year round but ideally the best times would be in spring. The lake offers some excellent outdoor activities from camping, horseback riding, hiking and some beautiful high elevat ..read more