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  1. RRSmith

    Chum Strength

    We don't specifically target chum salmon but encounter them not infrequently when targeting chinook in Tillamook Bay tidewaters. We can always tell when we hook a chum vs. a chinook. In our experience, they tend to pull hard and are slow to tire. Here's Chase from a few years ago with a nice...
  2. RRSmith

    Early Signs of Spring

    I heard the osprey pair for the first time this past week at Devils Lake. Catchable trout plants have resumed so the birds must have that figured out.
  3. RRSmith

    Rain

    We've had 3.35" of rain since yesterday am at our place near Lincoln City.
  4. RRSmith

    Annual License fees 2026-2027

    Having been involved with the development of regulations during my career, I find this discussion quite interesting. Can anyone explain what the process is to add a new regulation in Washington? While I was working, there were multiple steps to getting a new regulation on the books. Clearing...
  5. RRSmith

    Rain

    Chilly here too - I thought we might get some snow when a heavy shower passed through earlier this morning and the temperature was 34. It's warmed up to 38 which is still a bit on the chilly side for the Oregon Coast.
  6. RRSmith

    Official Beach Line Thread

    Hover/intermediate is my preferred setup for tidewater salmon as well. I have been using the H/I Outbound Short with the usual durability issues.
  7. RRSmith

    Puget Sound

    Hey Brian - do you know if great white sharks ever come into PS to dine on pinnipeds? I'm guessing killer whales are the primary critter that keeps PS seals and sea lions on edge.
  8. RRSmith

    Annual License fees 2026-2027

    In the olden days, state fish and wildlife agencies were self supporting primarily through license sales and Federal excise tax dollars (Pittman Robertson and DIngell Johnson). I'm sure Washington is facing the same things that California was when I retired. Declining license sales, increase...
  9. RRSmith

    Hot Sauce

    No - the El Torito salsas I am referring to are all refrigerated with a limited shelf life. The fresh salsas they usually have on hand are salsa verde, salsa roja, salsa roja tatemada, salsa habenero and salsa de molcajete.
  10. RRSmith

    Hot Sauce

    Salsa probably is a separate thread but I will bite. In Oregon, we have El Torito Supermarkets. When they opened one in Lincoln City, the town officially became awesome. They have an entire cooler stocked with a half dozen or so varieties of their fresh salsa. I like them all but the salsa...
  11. RRSmith

    Hot Sauce

    I'm also not a fan of the vinegar side of the various hot sauces. I've been using Pico Pica Mexican Style Hot Sauce for fifty plus years - it's been around much longer than that. I also like Pico Pica Extra Hot which has a hotter, chipotle spin on their regular hot sauce. I have to order the...
  12. RRSmith

    A couple '26 goals: fish new spots and catch new species - Pyramid Lake

    My buddies say that boats are required to stay at least 250 feet from shore anglers. Plus once the wind comes up, Pyramid can become jackass in a heartbeat. It's a big lake with its own environment. I saw a few the days were were there - but only 2 or 3.
  13. RRSmith

    A couple '26 goals: fish new spots and catch new species - Pyramid Lake

    I have lots of buddies that fish Pyramid regularly and @ifsteve describes it perfectly. I fished Pyramid a few years ago for the first time. I went with a buddy and my grandson and we fished 2 1/2 days, caught a few, nothing huge. Chase outfished my buddy and I so between that and spending...
  14. RRSmith

    Chinook observed in Klamath River tributary above Iron Gate

    If I recall correctly - the releases were mostly made to see if juvenile springers would be able to move through Upper Klamath Lake to the fish ladder at Link Dam. This occurred in 2023 before the dams were removed. The ladder at Link Dam was not designed to pass juvenile salmonids so it will...
  15. RRSmith

    Chinook observed in Klamath River tributary above Iron Gate

    I pulled this excerpt from the Review of 2025 Ocean Salmon Fisheries document referencing last fall's return of chinook above the old Iron Gate Dam site. The escapement to natural spawning areas within the entire watershed was 39,860 fall chinook adults, which was 205 percent of the preseason...
  16. RRSmith

    Lewis Street Boat Launch Bathroom

    Sorry for the hijacking but this discussion reminds me of a true story. Early in my career, I was the assistant manager of a large state wildlife area in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. We had an outhouse contract which maintained about 15 or so outhouses year around on our property for...
  17. RRSmith

    Awesome Dogs of PNW

    Ripley, our 8 year old goofy springer reminding me that she needs her morning walk.
  18. RRSmith

    Review of 2025 Ocean Salmon Fisheries

    To sort of dovetail with Brian's request - here's a link to the first PFMC document as part of the salmon regulation setting process. There will be three more documents produced between now and the end of the process for 2026 (early April). I found parts of it an interesting read as it does...
  19. RRSmith

    NFR Owens Valley

    Maybe SculpinSwinger can provide a current update on veg - he did mention saltgrass which grows throughout the low, alkali swales in the Owens Valley as well as around Mono Lake. Owens Lake is a saline, closed basin so other than the freshwater deltas, I suspect there isn't much growing around...
  20. RRSmith

    Rain

    We are over 11" for month so far (9" is average for February). This morning's area forecast discussion from NWS Portland suggests that the rain will start tapering off this week.
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