Well, it has been a while since my last blog and report — sorry about that, but we have just been fishing everyday as the weather, the fish, and river conditions have created the perfect storm of steelhead catching! We can’t miss a day as you never know when it will change. You can always “like” our Facebook page for more information also.

Right now, the weather is chilly in the mornings, but warming up and sunny in the afternoons and the fishing and river pressure are great as well! We have been spending most of our days floating the Wenatchee River in our raft with an occasional day or two on the Methow River also, as both are fishing very well as we are averaging four to eight fish a day.

We are using mostly jigs right now in blacks and pinks and some oranges under a bobber (or float for some of you guys) to get some bright nice fish that are hanging out for the catching. We have many days open if you are interested in catching some of these prized fish and also we have gift certificates available on our website for all of your Christmas shopping needs! Lets go fish!

Brad Wagner
Bobber Down Guide Service
509 670 3095
email Brad

Originally published on Brad’s Fish Wenatchee blog — check it out for his latest updates.

I’m Baaaaaaaacck…! I just arrived back home on 11/1/11 from my month-long guiding adventure at Heller Bar, WA on the Snake River. I was able to guide 27 of those 30 days with some great people on my boat. The scenery was epic and the weather, except for three rainy days, was fabulous. Summer-run steelhead were the fish of choice, but we caught many Chinook adults and jacks, plus catfish, squaw fish, white fish, sturgeon, bass, and suckers — all side-drifting good eggs. The Snake is a very healthy river system to say the least.

If you missed this fishery in 2011, not to worry: I am already working on my 2012 season on the Snake River at Heller Bar, WA. I will start around 9/15/2012 and finish up around 10/10/2012. I would recommend two days on the water, if at all possible. This year was wall tent central and I’m looking to rent a house next year. If nothing is available, I will run my trips through the Red Lion in Lewiston, ID which is 45 minutes from the boat launch and is surrounded by restaurants and stores for your convenience. Otherwise, you’re more than welcome to camp out at Heller Bar right at the mouth of the Grande Ronde River with me. Fish, big horn sheep, turkeys, chukar, deer, fires, glo corkies and spinners from the bank, drinks, and that day’s fish stories are all a part of the Heller Bar experience.

I was looking over my fish log for the month of October and my boat landed over 250 steelhead, not including king salmon and jacks! You can expect double-digit fish days on this river. We did have a couple of slower days where we caught 5-8 steelhead and kings. But, again, only a couple of slow days. The water was at a 20-year high for that time of year, which definitely changed the fish holding locations a bit … it took me a day to re-figure it out. But after that day it was on. Our best days were 25-30 hook-ups on salmon and steelhead — NO joke! Below are some of the fish that we caught. FYI those un-clipped fish (you will see in the pictures below) are legal to pull out of the Water with an Idaho fishing license. Get a hold of me with any questions regarding my favorite Jet Sled steelhead fishery, hands down!

I am now booking winter-run steelhead trips on the Cowlitz, Skykomish and Snoqualmie Rivers starting 11/29/11 through 12/30/11. Get your date before you’re too late! Fish ON! and see you on the water.

Bonner’s FishON! Guide Service
Website bonnerfishon.com
Cell 425-281-8772
Email bonnerdaniels@live.com

Also, don’t forget to check out Steelhead University’s fishing report as I put up a fresh weekly report there, you can go directly there through the links section on my website’s home page. Mention Salmon/Steelhead University and take 10% off of your next fully guided trip from now through December!

Well, with the first frost of the year here, and some high water in our river systems, don’t be afraid to move around to find some chrome coho in our local rivers. We have been on the Snohomish River System and will continue to be there as we are having one of the better seasons in a long time with limits of coho the norm. Chum are also definitely showing up in our catches (must be released) as well….

Last year we got our first winter-run steelhead Nov 15 so it’s a very fun time of year to be out on the river. If you want to get out in a heated boat, give a call. Prime dates still available.

Todd
Tall Tails Guide Service
(206) 437-8766
email

Originally published on Steelhead University’s weekly fishing reports.

I was very excited to make it down to the Bass Pro Shops in Nashville, TN last weekend. I went primarily for Culprit Lures, but took along my two Fetha Styx Homewater rods. After each demo, I was able to let customers hold them for themselves and they were amazed by both the light weight and feel of the rods; many people also seemed to have a lot of good questions about the rods and where they could be found and purchased. Beforehand , I got to get a little fishing in at Watts Bar and caught all my fish on topwater baits with a 7′ 2” MH Fetha Styx Homewater Bass rod. The fall bite is at its peak here in East Tennessee and I cannot wait to get back out and put more fish in the boat with my Fetha Styx rods!

Andy Montgomery talks Fall Dock Fishing with Wired2Fish.

FishON and see you on the water.

Bonner’s FishON! Guide Service
Website bonnerfishon.com
Cell 425-281-8772
Email bonnerdaniels@live.com

Here are a few pics from the last few days:

Originally published at Steelhead University.

Hello all!

Well it’s time again, steelhead is open on the Wenatchee and Methow Rivers! We have been fishing and already have had some great days catching lots of fish in the sunshine! We have over 17,000 fish in the system between the two rivers and it is shaping up to be another great season!

Bobber Down Guide Service

Brad Wagner

509 670 3095

www.fishwenatchee.com

Also, there are still plenty of pinks around to get your rod bent and if you pick through your catch, there are still bright pinks coming in on the tides.

Then I’m off to the Snake River to chase around feisty summer-run steelhead and up-river bright chinook salmon! I still have one open date left (10/26/11). I’ve been in touch with my local buddies and fishing has been pretty good, so far. Give me a call if you want in on this slayfest of a salmon/steelhead fishery!

There should be close to 150,000 steelies over lower Granite Dam by mid-October . . . not including the 50,000-plus chinook salmon! See you on the water and FISH ON!

Bonner’s FishON! Guide Service
Website bonnerfishon.com
Cell 425-281-8772
Email bonnerdaniels@live.com

Here are a few pics from the past week’s guided adventures:

Originally published on Steelhead University (Sept. 27, 2011).

Originally published at Steelhead University.

I recently had the privilege of fishing with a good friend of mine, Captain Linda Cavitt, this past September. She is the premier inshore kayak fishing guide in Panama City, FL. I was down in Panama City on business for the week and had a morning off, so I booked a trip with her to check out the new kayak fishing craze. Let me tell you, it is one of the most rewarding fishing you can do. I had an absolute blast. There was just something special about paddling out on your own and tracking down redfish and trout on the flats.

I can’t say enough about the level of professionalism Captain Linda had. She truly is on top of her game. We were on good-sized reds and trout the entire trip. I managed to find my stability on my kayak and stand up so I could sight fish some. The new Hobie Outbacks are incredibly stable by the way! This proved to be my most productive move of the day. After I stood up, the fish seem to be at the end of every dock we hit. My bait of choice was yet again, a white Slayer Inc 1/8 oz jig head paired up with a smoke color Z-Man Minnowz and it proved to be the only productive lure of the day.

If you’re ever interested in doing some kayak fishing, I highly recommend Captain Linda. She is a true professional and provides everything you need to fish with except a fishing license. Go check out her website CaptLinda.com, she has a bunch of awesome fishing videos and all of her guide information listed on her site. I definitely plan to do this again.

Tight Lines,

Chris W.
Team Fish Happens

While the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series wrapped up just months ago, it’s not too early to focus on the 2012 edition of the competition, for which Andy Montgomery qualified by finishing 41st in the Angler of the Year standings for 2011. The top 73 in the AoY standings, plus those anglers who have won an Elite Series tournament qualify. See the entire qualifying structure here. The 2012 Elite Series schedule has been released and can be viewed here.

Angler’s Channel has a two-part interview series with Andy Montgomery where he re-caps his first season competing on the Bassmaster Elite Series:

2011 End of Year Wrap Up with Fetha Styx Pro Andy Montgomery-Part One | AnglersChannel.com.

2011 End of Year Wrap Up with Fetha Styx Pro Andy Montgomery-Part Two | AnglersChannel.com.

Which event are you most looking forward to on the 2012 schedule? Do you feel Montgomery’s first year will be a spring-board to a successful second year on the tour, or will he have his work cut out to maintain strong results against the experienced field?