Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:10:00 -1200

Fishing the 2012 "Iron Man" Derby!

On Presidents Day Weekend, we got to see... firsthand... why the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby was nicknamed “The Iron Man”.

Personally, until this year, I had never competed in this event, I simply admired the guys who worked the water for those days in February when the winds can whip the Straits of Juan de Fuca into an unholy froth. These conditions  test the mettle of derby anglers in a day. Two days? That's tough. Three days? well, now you're talkin' true "Iron Man" status.

"Tough" is a relative term and when you're talking about the accommodations we experienced in Port Townsend, "posh" is a better description!

Here's a shot of the Harborside Inn which is adjacent to the Port of Port Townsend. It's a short walk from your slip to your room at the Harborside Inn and makes Midchannel Bank a small boat accessable fishery!

The Harborside Inn served as our broadcast location last Saturday and we had a chance to visit with those angling teams up to the challenge of Small Craft Advisory winds threatening to build to Gale force. After we got off the air, I was really looking forward to getting some gear down despite the winds!

My fishing pards for the weekend were Tommy Donlin of Defiance Boats and John Hansen of the soon to open Tulalip Cabela's. Both experienced, passionate anglers with lots of derby experience!

 

It did not take Penninsula ace John Hansen long to get on the board! Here he is with our first derby entry of the weekend. Not huge, but it's always great to break the ice and get on the board!

 

The winds never really relented and with the scale closing at noon on Monday, Team Outdoor Line had some serious ground to make up. Luckily, we did find some fish in the last hours of the event. John slips the net under this blackmouth...

 

...which turned out to be our largest fish we landed for the weekend. It weighed 9.50 on the certified scale (it looked like a ten pounder to me...) Chalk up another chinook to the QCove flasher!

 

I say it was our largest fish "landed" because yours truly managed to lose a BIG FISH, right as the last minutes of the 2012 Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby ticked away. Whatever you do, don't let Tommy Donlin near your chartplotter when you lose a fish... he has a talent for "naming" waypoints in a hurtful manner...

 

As we pulled into the Derby award ceremony the crowd was gathering to claim their prizes and grab a burger courtesy of the Derby committee!

 

After the numbers are compiled, Derby Chairman Dan Tatum addresses the crowd of nearly 500 derby competitors!

Despite marine weather advisories and challenging conditions, fishing results were good. 217 winter blackmouth chinook salmon were submitted, with an average weight of 8.44 pounds. Anglers were in competition for a tremendous prize list worth $25,089 – including a $10,000 first prize. The final prize ladder had 52 winning fish; the smallest prize-winner was 10.25 pounds, and the winners had an average prize-winning weight of 12.32 pounds. Approximately 700 derby tickets were sold for this event

The first prize of $10,000 went to John Otness of Tacoma, for a 17.60 pound chinook that looked way more like a springer than a feeder blackmouth!

 

The $5,000 second place winner was Steven Sevilla of Discovery Bay with a 15.50 pound fish. In third place, for $1,500, was David Hansen of Port Angeles with a 15.30 pound salmon. Fourth place ($500, donated by 7 Cedars Casino of Blyn) went to John Calkins of Shelton with a 15.0 pound fish. All prizes except the large cash prizes were donated by area residents and businesses. The large prizes are funded through ticket sales. Net proceeds from each annual derby support local emergency services and other important community needs, in accordance with the charter of Gardiner Salmon Derby Association, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that runs this ongoing annual event.

It's great to see the fishing community coming out to support this event and we had a top notch experience in this derby! I'm looking forward to hitting this event next year...and every year!!! 

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:12:00 -1200

How to Cure Shrimp

Fishing coon shrimp for salmon and steelhead isn't a new technique. Pacific Northwest Anglers have been employing the procedure for decades. Nonetheless, in the last few years the application has seen an influx in interest, likely a reflection of modern formulas that make brining the shrimp easier and more efficient than in the past.

There have been many recipes out there, but most of them that have been written about are on a massive scale literally requiring a guy to brine a five-gallon bucket of shrimp and your everyday angler doesn't need to brine that many shrimp. The recipe I use makes it easy for the average angler, whether one at guide's level or a newbie, to add shrimp to their arsenal. Now I don't want people to think that I've discovered something incredible here, because I haven't, but I've refined some older formulas that work for me and I know they are going to work for others.

An alternative to fishing eggs, sand shrimp or store bought tiger prawns, a well-brined coon shrimp gives anglers an edge by showing the fish something different and also appeals their senses. My formula is quick, easy to follow and creates durable, colorful and well-scented shrimp.

When fishing salmon or steelhead in the Pacific Northwest, you can run bait divers with eggs on them and you end up with a bait that's pecked apart by cutthroat, whitefish and smolts or, you can fish a tiger prawn with a Spin-N-Glo and catch steelhead. For some reason, we've found that a fish responds to a coon shrimp on a diver because it looks like a shrimp naturally drifting downriver. The nice thing about a coon shrimp is you don't hit as many small fish.

Coon shrimp have gained popularly throughout  Washington, Oregon, Idaho and into British Columbia. The trend is likely here to stay.

It's become popular because it works. There's a lot of people that fish Ray's Baits, but there's also a lot of people that want to do it themselves because if everyone is using Ray's Baits there's a saturation of scent in these systems. You need to do things to your shrimp that will make them different from what everyone else is using. The brine I use can be used for any shrimp. Basically, we are trying to add color, scent and durability to the coon shrimp so that they fish well.



Unlike some shrimp species, a coon shrimp requires care and needs preparation prior to being fished. How well each angler performs these duties tends to reflect in their catch rates.

A coon shrimp is somewhat fragile, especially where the body and head are connected. Ideally, you'd like to find shrimp that are pre-cooked or flash boiled because it toughens the meat, ultimately producing a shrimp that's more durable. The process I use with Pautzke’s Nectar makes sure the bait is going to last the length of any drift when fishing them on a bait diver. The last thing you want to do is go through a drift, pull your lines and find out your bait is gone. The shrimp can have really good color and good scent, but if you put it in the water and it falls apart you are wasting your time. Color and scent don't mean anything if your bait falls apart just from dropping them down the river. Toughening them up is the key.

How To Brine Shrimp Properly



First and foremost, locating quality shrimp is imperative. Even when curing or brining them, if you start with poor quality shrimp you'll have bad results. Unfortunately, finding quality shrimp can be a chore. I recommend ordering from wholesale distributors or online. Another option is Asian fish markets, which normally sell various sizes of prawn with heads on. Most tackle shops don't sell uncured shrimp.

What To Buy: Look for head on shrimp 1.5-3 inches in length for steelhead and 3-4 inches for springers. As a parameter, in the recommended quart jar the recipe will cure roughly 60 shrimp.

Keep in mind, if you purchase one-pound of shrimp, you'll likely end up with a couple hundred shrimp. Consider 60 fitting in each quart jar, you could create five colors with Nectar and use about 300 shrimp. If you don't cure all the shrimp you purchased don't throw them away. Instead, freeze them in distilled water. I suggests not freezing them in tap water because of the chemicals/additives put in by water companies during the purification process. To freeze; place excess shrimp in a Tupperware container with a snap tight lid and pour in the distilled water, leaving enough room for expansion. Upon freezing they'll last several years.

Supplies for Brining Shrimp:
A Quart Jar
One Gallon of Distilled Water
Fine Granular White Sugar
Raw Sugar
Non-Iodized Sea Salt
Rock Salt
Pautzke Fire Power
Pautzke Nectar
Pautzke BoraX O Fire
Any Added Scents (Anise, Vanilla, Crawdad Juice, Sand Shrimp Oil)

Step 1

Mix the following contents into a one-quart glass mason jar:
1 full bottle of Pautzke Nectar (whichever color you choose)
1/4 cup BorX O Fire (match your color)
1/4 cup fine white granular sugar
1/4 cup of raw sugar
1/4 cup of non iodized sea salt
1/4 cup rock salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of Fire Power
Top off with distilled water

I suggest that anglers choose to use glass rather than plastic. Glass mason jars are far more effective, I believe, because with plastic you can potentially leech some of the plastic components into the brine, which can infuse a non-natural odor into the shrimp. We may not be able to detect that, but fish potentially can.

After placing the above-mentioned contents in the jar, I often add more scent.
There's already krill in the jar, yet I usually introduce one more scent into the brine.

You don't want to add three or four scents, but adding one more to the krill can be beneficial. For example, krill and anise, krill and crawdad, krill and vanilla can be good, but adding krill, crawdad and vanilla is too much. To sum it up, too much scent makes no sense.  

Tip 1:

If you want to create a bolder bait, skip the distilled water and use two bottles of Pautzke’s Nectar. This is only for your red, orange or yellow. Purple and blue are dark enough.

Tip 2:

When placing contents in the jar, add the Fire Power after the water. It dissolves more fluently this way. When adding Fire Power last, it can be tough to mix. The Fire Power floats, clumps up and can be a chore to mix.

Step 2:

Sorting Shrimp

Not all shrimp are created equal. Picking out the finest shrimp from the batch will improve their effectiveness.

Any that are in fragile state, as in the head is soft or appears hollow, or if the head is separating from the body, it does no good to cure those shrimp. They won't fish well."  "As you sort, look for firm, shrimp that are in tact.

Once you've sorted the shrimp in piles of 50 or 60, they are ready to be placed in the brine. Prior to adding the shrimp, use a long spoon and mix the contents well. Then, add up to 60 shrimp into the jar. Put the lid on. Seal it.

Step 3

Gently tumble jar, lightly shaking it to get all the contents off the bottom. Practice this for five minutes or less, simply to ensure proper mixing.

Tip 3: Once shrimp are placed in the brine, don't use a long spoon to try to mix contents further. Doing so has the potential to crush, damage and break them.

Step 4

Storage

For the first several weeks, store the jars on their side, rather than standing tall. Store it in a refrigerator on it's side, not at room temperature. These do better cold.

This is where you take ownership in it to ensure you are making a good product. A couple times a day, for the first two weeks, you have to pull your jar of shrimp out of your bait fridge, rotating it end to end and side to side to aid your brine in its' mixing process, ensuring that all the shrimp are being cured together.  

There's reasons why I have different sizes of the granular product in the brine. The fine granular sugar and sea salt begin to break down early because of their size. They break down easier and are absorbed into the shrimp early on, initiating their curing process. The larger granular raw sugar and rock salt take more time to dissolve, or break down, thus sustaining the ability of the cure over time. As the salts and sugars break down and mix your brine it becomes thicker, almost like, but not as thick as a syrup. Seeing this is a good indicator that the brine is working.

Tip 4: One good indicator is after two to three weeks the shrimp will take on the color of the Nectar you used in your brine.

Step 5

Patience

This isn't a do-and-use process. A perfect shrimp isn't made overnight. Maturing can take several weeks. After two to three weeks they are ready to fish.

Fine shrimp takes time. This is like making wine. The longer it sits in the jar the better it works. The salts and sugars need time to break down and be absorbed by the meat of the shrimp.

Tip 5: When the shrimp have turned the color you choose based on the color of Nectar you used, they are ready to fish.

Tip 6: Alter for springers: The above specified brine is designed for steelhead. If you opt to cure shrimp for springers, remove 1/4 cup of sugar from the recipe and add 1/4 cup of salt. You can also add one teaspoon of sodium sulfite.

 

Whether you are in pursuit of Salmon or Steelhead, with just a few modifications to this recipe you can create one of the best bates around. Design it specific to the species of fish you are targeting and you will enjoy the results.

Good Fishing….

Duane Inglin
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:52:00 -1200

It's Oyster:30 in G-Town!

It didn't take long to polish off 6 dozen oysters at my good buddy Geoff's going away party last night here in Gig Harbor. Geoff just got called up for 400 days of active duty in Afghanistan and what better way to send him off than with a bunch of fresh Hood Canal oysters cooked up Endsley-style on the barbecue. Oh, and a little 15 year Glenlevit scotch didn't hurt either!

My aunt and uncle have a waterfront cabin on the Hood Canal with a beach that is literally polluted with oysters. When the tide goes out the filter feeders are 18 inches think and it's nothing to pluck a couple of 5 gallon bucket-fulls for a feast. And before you accuse me of poaching oysters it's perfectly legal to take them shell-and-all from a private beach. On public beaches, however, you must shuck your limit of 15 oysters and leaves the shells on the beach to reseed the area. Not to worry, these shells will also end up back on the Endsley oyster beach where they belong.

I rustled up all the ingredients for a killer batch'a barbecued oysters before heading off to Smyth's house last night. I posted the Endsley family oyster recipe here on my Outdoor Line blog a couple of years ago and it's to die for. If you're looking for a new way to barbecue oysters...this is da bomb!  

Geoff got first dibs on the tastey oysters as soon as batch numero uno was finished. Uncle Pete called to tell Geoff thanks for his service to our country as we were gorging our bad selves on his oysters. That goes for all of us Geoff...thanks man!

These oysters usually don't make it off the barbecue. Just grab a fork and put the hammer down! If you cue up a bunch'o oysters on your barbecue make a big aluminum tray like you see in the photo below to cook them on, as the oysters juice will destroy the barbecue in a short amount of time. Oyster juice is 14,000 times more salty then reg'lur old saltwater, or so it seems.  

Montana transplant Justin and his girlfriend Bob diggin' in. Halfway thru the feast I ran out of Tillamook butter and we switched over to olive oil, which is ten times more healthy and just as tastey.

A couple of rounds of oysters actually made it past all of us vultures and into the house where the other party-goers could enjoy them.  

This is the absolute best time of year to eat oysters from the Hood Canal, as they are firm, cold, and clean during the winter months. With this recipe in your cooking quiver you can grab a cheapo portable barbecue and some local micro brews and impress your friends or family with one heckuva cookout at one of the public beaches on the Hood Canal.

And to my friend Geoff who is heading to the middle east as we speak...godspeed my friend! We'll have some oysters waiting for you when you get home safe and sound.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com 

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:36:00 -1200

Northwest Outdoor Report

The Passing of a Great Shooter
Northwest trap shooting legend Charles Dryke of Sequim recently passed away at the age of 85. Dryke operated the Sunnydell Shooting Range since 1945, where he trained trap and skeet shooters. Dryke’s students included his son, Matthew Dryke, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1984 for skeet shooting and several world championships. Matthew and his sister Ellen Dryke, also a national champion, were the only champion brother-sister shooting team of their time. A celebration of Dryke’s life will be held at 11 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Sunnydell Shooting Grounds in Sequim.

Boat U.S. Releases Top Boat Names for 2011
Boat U.S. has over 500,000 members and has been tallying a list of the top ten boat names for over two decades now. The top ten boat names just released on its 22nd annual list are “Seas The Day”, “Nauti Buoy”, “Aquaholic”, “Dream Weaver”, “Pegasus”, “Serenity Now”, “Second Wind”, “Liquid Asset”, “Miss Behavin”, and “Blew ByYou”.

Final Evening Razor Dig Tonight
The last evening razor-clam dig of the season will take place tonight on Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks beaches. After tonight’s dig, clam diggers can look forward to a series of digs on morning tides.

Sol Duc River Getting Crowded
Reports of multiple steelhead over 20 pounds in the last two weeks from the Sol Duc River haven’t helped the crowding there. Anglers from Seattle and Tacoma are flushing to the Sol Duc, which has been providing excellent winter steelheading lately. The closure of all the Puget Sound rivers to steelheading has put even more pressure on coastal streams lately, where steelhead fishing has remained very good.

2012 Bassmaster Classic
The 2012 Bassmaster Classic kicks off next Friday February 24th on the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana. 49 competitors will compete for the $500,000 first place purse in the three day long event. Louisiana native Greg Hackney is a favorite in the Classic, but don’t count out 4 time champion Kevin Van Dam who seems to find a way to win nearly every time he hits the water. The Classic won’t air until March 3rd and 4th on ESPN 2, but you can follow the action with live updates at Bassmaster.com next weekend.

Derelict Gear Bill Passes Senate
SB 5661, which calls for mandatory reporting of lost gill nets, passed the Senate this past week  with a vote of 47-1. In the past reporting of lost gill nets has been voluntary and thus only two nets have been reported since 2002. It’s estimated that 11 to 20 nets are lost each year killing up to 850,000 fish, including endangered salmon and bottomfish. The bill now goes to the House where it will be referred to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The NSIA, CCA, PSA, and Fish NW are all encouraging anglers to contact their House members and encourage them to pass this bill.

EPA Shoots Down Lead Ban
The Environmental Protection Agency denied a petition this past week by the environmental group, Center for Biological Diversity, that would have banned anglers from using traditional lead sinkers and other tackle containing lead. As in past attempts by the same group to ban fishing leads the petition failed to demonstrate why federal action is necessary.

Chilean Officials Taking Aim at Sea Lions
The country of Chile is arguing that their large sea lion population is partly responsible for a severe drop in fish stocks. Senator Camilo Escalona of Chile’s Lakes Region claimed that sea lion overpopulation is responsible for losses of US$140 million in the fishing sector every year. The initiative will allow the hunting of sea lions with nets and firearms, using their flesh for dog food and selling their bones and reproductive organs to Asia for medicinal purposes. Sea lions that are caught live will be sold to zoos, animal shows, and circuses.

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:08:00 -1200

One Day in February

It's no secret that I get the steelhead bug bad, real bad in February. This is the time of year when those big bruiser wild steelhead enter the rivers in Washington and for some reason I absolutely geek out when that happens.

It could be that they have a reputation as being the hardest fighting fish in North America, or maybe I'm just a geek. Probably the latter. Whatever the reason...I geek in the spring for wild steelhead. I guided for 15 years on the Skagit river system, known for it's run of brawny wild steelhead, and no matter how big or small the run forecast was for the Skagit system folks knew where to find me every spring. Right there where I wanted to be...geeking out on wild steelhead!

So, when my buddy Darin called on February 1st to invite me for a day of steelheading with guide Bret Ferris of Ferris Northwest Guide Service on one of the Southwest Washington rivers, well, I geeked.

There was only one problem though. My wife was a week overdue with our baby girl and she was headed for a much-needed ultrasound the next day. 

And now for one of the many reasons why I married this Alaskan woman. When I axed her about fishing the next day she completely, wholeheartedly thought I should get out on the river with the guys. She had her mom in town and going to the doctor without me for what would probably be her last ultrasound didn't even turn up on her feminine radar, if she possesses such a thing. I didn't hesitate to whisk the hall pass from her hand and 7:00 a.m. the next morning I was racing up a river with Greg Ashton from Contour cameras, Darin Koob from Outer Escape, and guide Bret Ferris. 

It was the first nice day we had seen in over a week, the river was on the drop and greening up nicely, and the sun was just starting to glimmer over the trees to the east. The perfect conditions for a day of terminal schwackocity! 

As we cruised up river I got to chat with Greg about Contour cameras, their features, and some of the different mounts you could get for these awesome point-of-view video cameras. Contour is one of the fastest growing companies in America right now because their cameras kick ass.  

Sho'nuf...we get to our first stop and Greg hooks up within ten seconds of his bait hitting the water. The dime bright chromey hatchery steelhead raced all over the river before succombing to Bret's Folbe net, destined for Ashton's smoker. 

A short while later I slapped the hook into another dimer of about 8 pounds, but this time it was a wild steelhead and we quickly kicked it back to spawn and produce even more steelhead for my daughter to catch. Greg happened to have his Contour camera rolling for the hookset and the fight on this particular steelie and you can check it our HERE on the Contour website. I'm looking forward to strapping a couple of these puppies onto my Alaskan charter boat this summer for some truly epic Alaskan fishing, wildlife, and scenery footage. 

Another innovative product that's hit the scene here in the Pacific Northwest is the KAST Steelheader's glove. I've brought these gloves along on multiple trips this winter and they've never let me down. They are fully waterproof, they have a thin but warm and fuzzy liner, a rubber palm area that's great for tailing fish, and a totally awesome soft nose wipe zone on the index fingers for those frigid days when your schnauz just won't quit running. These gloves pass the Robbo test with flying colors!

After a solid morning of steelheading Ferris pulled us into a back channel to take a break and grab some lunch. I quickly passed out some Punch cigars and made a pre-emptive strike by lighting up my own cigar rather quickly. A few puffs into this tastey lunch stogey my cell phone rings and it's my wife, "Honey, the doctor says we have to go to the hospital today. Don't worry...it's not until 9:00 p.m. tonight and you can finish your day of fishing. I really think it's important you fish all day with the guys." Reason #2 why I married this woman. She knows how important fishing is to me and after all, it's my job! 

Ten minutes later my Droid buzzes with a new text from my wife and it reads:

I'm so excited honey. We're going to be great parents and our daughter is going to be beautiful. What an amazing day! Please don't rush home though. You need to finish up your day on the river. 9:00 will come soon enough and I'm doing great. I love you!

Unless this was a trick of some sort I understood that I should keep fishing, or at least I'm pretty sure that's what she wanted me to do. You never know with these sort of things and after all I am a big dumb animal. I read the text to the guys and we did just that...we went back to fishing! 

Before long 4:00 p.m. came and we were at the launch cleaning the hatchery brats that we had kept after an amazing day of fishing. If you're looking for a great guide on any of the Southwest Washington rivers I wouldn't hesitate to give Bret Ferris a call. He's an all around good guy, he's funny, and he catches fish.

I raced home, washed off as much of the cured egg goo and cigar smoke as I could, and off we raced for the hospital.

On Saturday morning at 11:50 a.m. my wonderful wife brought little Ava Marie Endsley into the world and our lives would change forever for the better. She weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was as cute as a bug. 

One of the great nurses at Harrison Hospital in Silverdale set us up with an incredible bassinet called the Momma Roo, which seemed to be about the only thing that would keep little Ava from fussing. That's the 6 foot long couch I parked my 6'6" frame on for four nights in the hospital. Very, very worth it I would say! 

I quickly poured thru the motion menu on the electric kiddo buggy until I found the "Ocean Wave" setting. Might as well begin the brainwashing in the first 24 hours. Wouldn't want her getting seasick on daddy's boat or anything.

My wife Nicole and I with Ava Marie before leaving Harrison to head back to the Endsley chateau. We were cleared for take off and excited to head home to start our family. The staff at Harrison were second to none!

It's been a great couple of weeks since this momentous day and guess what? I geeked out yesterday and went steelheading again with Darin Koob and Bret Ferris and we found some more chrome steelhead to make our reels scream. Baby Endsley is doing great and I'm looking forward to introducing her to steelhead fishing when she's of the age. I've got some Contour cameras on order for the spring and summer fishing seasons too, but don't worry I won't wear one for any diaper changings. Lets just keep this to steelhead fishing shall we. Life is good!

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com