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I was really just kidding about the secrets, maybe. I don't fish winter steelhead anymore, so this is an exciting time for me.......I'll start in early March, earliest catch for me was 3/6 a few years ago at 22lbs. I like the Willamette over the Columbia, and I stay away from the crowds. I'll troll herring and spinners, with and without prawns.

Asking for secrets here means you got kicked off ILie ( IFish) for asking for secrets.

Don't go fishing when the water is clear.

There used to be some good folks on ifish. Used to be a lot more good folks on the water! Now guys won't hardly tell you what they're using for fear you might catch one of their fish.

I'm looking forward to the possibilities this year of the Willamette staying fishable more of the time due to the lack of precip and snow. We shall see.
 
Got my bulk frozen herring in today.
Learned a hard lesson last year, don't store frozen bait in a frost free freezer.
It will semi defrost it, then refreeze the bait, which will ruin it for fishing.
 
Got my bulk frozen herring in today.
Learned a hard lesson last year, don't store frozen bait in a frost free freezer.
It will semi defrost it, then refreeze the bait, which will ruin it for fishing.

??

I've got some three year old red label in a frost free, that I never got around to using, that looks the same as it did when I put it in there.

I just don't get to fish the springers that much due to work, usually work out to about eight trips is all. I'm to much of a fair weather guy I guess. My boat is outside, I don't care to fish in wind and rain, with the top on it will push me around too much to troll, and I don't like covering a soaking wet boat for days.

I might get out a bit more this year though. A retired former neighbor got an 18' Hewes last year, with a nice top. I helped him get all rigged for salmon..... Spring, summer and fall. He's chompin' at the bit to get out too.
 
Here are some facts regarding the defrosting cycles.
Salmon have an incredible sense of smell.
Would you eat three year old herring that's been thawed and refrozen a couple of thousand times?


Disadvantages

  • A safety device is required to be connected with the heating element, due to the high instant-power values that can be reached.
  • Increased electrical and mechanical complexity compared to a basic upright freezer or freezer chest, making it more prone to component failure.
  • The temperature of the freezer contents rises during the defrosting cycles, especially if there is a light load in the freezer. This can cause "freezer burn" on articles placed in the freezer, from partially defrosting, then re-freezing
  • Defrosting may not be completed by the time the defrost timer cycles back into normal operation (esp. In Hot, humid conditions with frequent door openings), leaving ice/frost on the evaporator coils. This condition can lead to "icing up" which will interfere with the operation of the refrigerator.
In laboratories, self-defrosting freezers must not be used to store certain delicate reagents such as enzymes, because the temperature cycling can degrade them. In addition, water can evaporate out of containers that do not have a very tight seal, altering the concentration of the reagents. Self-defrosting freezers should never be used to store flammable chemicals.
 
I'm going to finish my favorite streams late steelhead run then head south for the Springers. I always spent a week at Drano around my B-day 5-5 but the last few years have been a bust so I will head to the Columbia around the Kalama river area. Still have the truck camper for now so it will work great.;)
 
This ain't no springer, BUT this is a 23", 4lbs. rainbow trout that I caught on Lake Merwin last Saturday on a non-resident day license while trawling on my buddy's boat using Ford Fenders and night crawlers on a 6' leader...


image.jpg image.jpg
 
There were three of us with two-pole endorsements, the 7th rod (on the motor housing) was a spare in case one got broken or something and never got rigged up.

We had three on each side, (one on a down rigger at 10'-15' deep, one on side plane at about 40' off the boat and 2-3' deep, and one straight off the corner of the stern at about 3-5'). It made quite a decent trawling array, and we trawled almost non-stop from 8am-3:30pm, but all we had to show for it was that trout and a 10" Kokanee. It was pretty much the same for everyone else we talked to at the dock (fishing results sucked) but EVERYONE was "peanut butter and jealous" over that hog-trout.... LOL!

We've slain a LOT of ducks on that sled, too :D
 
Yep with all the nice weather this year there has been a ton of pressure on Merwin & MANY kokes already taken from the lake.
I was going to go and try it but I think the good fishin is gone.
Good going in the sunshine but it sucks for the catchinh.....;)
 
First "Official" springer trip this Thursday! Myself, Wifey and a buddy in his 18' Hewes will be dragging herring with flashers between the Broadway Bridge and Cathedral Park. As clear as the water is might even skip the flasher.
 

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