Its been down right frigid out on the rivers…, but there is nothing like a little winter steel to warm a fellow right up!  The winter run steelhead season is in full swing.  The Bogy/Calawah hatchery brats are there for the taking.  The Chehalis system is kicking out late run coho and fresh winter steelhead.  The Sky and Snoqualmie river have picked up in recent days with the “warmer” weather.  The Cowlitz and Lewis are getting a shot of Steelies, as well.  Also, lots of other “NO Name” rivers are kicking out fish.

With the upcoming rains expect a big surge of Steelhead to all the hatchery sections of our Western, WA and  Coastal, WA Rivers.  The tributaries off the main stem rivers should also see a push of fresh, chrome fish.  Basically now is the time to go fish your favorite spots for winter steel.   The fish are in the river right now…, go catch them.

If your one of those guys who is fishing the shore and your looking to score a few more fish and learn more of the river system…, give me a call and lets go catching.  I have been doing very well of late with limits being the norm.  Get your favorite 3-4 close friends, or family members and lets do it.  Fish-ON!…, that is.  Merry Christmas to all.  Quit wish’n and let’s go fishing.

Below are a few pics from this weeks trips

Merry Christmas and Tight lines,

Bonner Daniels

bdfishon.com

Ps    ****Check the website for our X-mas gift certificate special****

Mother Nature sure has made the river fisherman’s life tough of late with flucuating water levels.  In for half a day and out for another. Chums are definitely here…, also with all this cold weather and higher water, brings signs of Winter Steelhead back into our local Puget Sound Rivers.   We even landed a few winter runs this week on the Snohomish system.  I sure hope these first fish are a sign of good things to come!    Whom ever does the fish return predictions has this winter run predicated to be very good!  I am already almost fully booked up for the month of December.  Get a date before its to late.

OH…,and I got tired of the weather around here messing up the river clarity, so a few of us packed up and headed east for a shot at the record return of steelhead over lower granite dam.  To say the least…, the fishing was off the HOOK!  We managed to hook a fish every thirty minutes and it was my first time over there  in my own boat.  Not to bad. 

Enjoy the pics from last week

Sincerely,

Bonner Daniels

bonnerfishon.com

425-281-8772

Ps  !!!!Save the Snoqualmie River Summer Run Steelhead, Write your congressman!!!!

Here we go again…, with mother nature and her rain’s.  The rivers are up one day and down the next…, at least the free flowing rivers anyways.  Cowlitz river will be the place to be this weekend if your itching to go fishing.  I fully expect the rivers to blow out this weekend, but we will see. 

With all this water comes the fish!  Remember high water…, fish high in the river system.  The Silvers are on the move.  As you can see from the below pictures…, lots of  happy faces and some damp, happy faces.  When the going gets tough…, the tough get going ( Rain gear makes me tough).  Coho are here and if you would like to catch one before the season ends give me a call ASAP.  Looking at the calendar …, Winter Steelhead season is almost upon us…, don’t be late to get a prime date!     

Enjoy the pics

Sincerely,

Bonner Daniels

bonnerfishon.com

425-281-8772

Ps   **** Save Tokul Creek’s Summer Run Steelhead Plants ****  Write Your Congressman ****

The Snohomish system continues to keep on, keeping on.  The Coho are  here and with this upcoming rain the Humpzillas’ should get a good flushing out…, hopefully.  The water temperature has dropped dramatically down into the low 50′s.  Casting spinners and plugs has been the preferred method for my boat.  The Game Wardens’ have been out ticketing snaggers and illegal flossing of late…, which is quite nice.  Now we can actually get these fish to bite.  If you are getting frustrated with the finicky Silver Salmon give me a call and I will show you a trick or two.  Patience is a virtue in this fishery, but those who put in their time…, WILL be rewarded.  Just look at the pictures below…, the results will speak for themselves.

A quick shout out to the crew at Wooldridge Boats…, thanks a bunch for the boat work in such short notice (electrical problem, dropped off boat, and was back out on the water that same day)!  Wooldridge Boat Company really and truly is a class act!   When it comes to K.F.C  (Keep, F—ing, Casting) Fetha Styx Rods are unbeatable !  Try the 963 or 962 model, 9′ 1/2″, spinning rod, with a 2500 series reel for casting plugs and spinners to Salmon/Steelhead.  I will bet.., you will be very pleased with your investment

Sincerely,

Bonner Daniels

bonnerfishon.com

Ps. **Save The Snoqualmie River Summer Steelhead!**

***Write your congressman!!***

Well…, this week I decided to let the pictures below speak for themselves for the weeks fishing report.  Fishing and catching is absolutely fantastic at the moment…, all over WA State.

As for the future….,  I can not wait for the next BIG rain/river rise to come…, as I fully expect the Coho to come right along with it.  Rain will only help thin out the massive Pink Salmon invasion, as well.  If you are looking to fish for Silver/Coho Salmon locally on the Snohomish River System…, NOW is the time to book.  Todd and I are filling our Prime calender dates fast.  With all the Salmon being caught in the ocean this year, the river forecast looks very promising…, DON’T miss out on river caught, big, bright, chrome,  Silver Salmon right in your backyard Seattleites!   

Sincerely,

Bonner Daniels

Fishonguideservices.com

Ps.       ***SAVE  The Tokul Creek Fish Hatchery’s Summer Run Steelhead!***

                                           Write Your Congressman!

My good friend got married in Idaho over the weekend, so I was out of town for a bit…, but you all know the Potholes Reservoir is right off of I-90 east.  I ended up fishing a little and our luck was good.  We landed several Big Bass and managed to locate some Panfish schools as well. 

The Dunes are getting really low.  I saw more than one boat stuck on a submerged sand dune.  The water is still warm, in the mid to upper 70′s and the main lake fishing is getting very concentrated, which is nice for the Walleye and Rainbow Trout gig, along with the Bass.  On a side note the predatory birds ie Cormorants and Pelicans are taking over the Potholes Reservoir.  From a fisherman’s point of view this is a very bad thing.  I hope to get the Game Department involved to eradicate these birds, which are not native to the area.  The Pelicans and Cormorants are eating up huge amounts of fry.  After all work with the habit boxes being put into the Reservoir what a tragedy to have the birds literally eat up all the hard work.

I also poked around the Snohomish for a bit late Sunday afternoon…, basically scouting we hooked into a few Pink Salmon, but overall the fishery is just beginning.   The fish were not really showing themselves (jumping).  They are there just don’t expect to limit out quickly.  Also…, the Snohomish system is at very low water levels, so just be aware of that.  I am booking Pink and Coho salmon trips on the Snohomish system from now through October, along with that comes my local water’s discount…, of book 4 and pay for 3!  Give me a call and lets go catching!

Sincerely,

Bonner Daniels

fishonguideservices.com

Ps.   *** Save the Tokul Creek Fish Hatchery, Specifically Summer-Run Steelhead! ***

        write your congressman the Summer Steelhead plants have been discontinued

The recent change in weather sure has been nice, I had forgotten what it was like to be able to fish all day with out suffering from heat exhaustion.  The floaters/tubers have moved off the rivers allowing the Salmon/Steelhead to get back to their normal haunts.   With the overcast weather we have been able to hook fish throughout the day.  The summer time flows are definetly upon us.  Be patient and sneaky…, you will be rewared sooner, or later. 

The Cowlitz is a low river show at the moment…,  Blue Creek is slow at press time.  A rise in CFS will bring in more fish, but unit then focus your summer run fishing on Columbia river tributaries and there confluences with the Columbia.  Mathematically speaking the Columbia is the place to be.  Run spinners and  flat fish at the mouth of the cowlitz, or pull bait divers from Blue Creek to I-5.  

This Sunday has river Pink Salmon fishing opening on the Snohomish and Skagit systems and I can only think this freshet of rain helped things a bit.  I will be offering a book for 4 pay for 3 deal on the Snohomish system starting August 16th for the Pink Salmon fishery.  If the fishing is anywhere close to years past…, we are in for a blood bath.  The Sky took a slight rise today and should have its first Humpy Salmon entering the river.  There are still plenty of Steelhead around in the upper river, you just have to beat trail and be willing to put in your time. 

Sincerely,

Bonner Daniels

fishonguideservices.com

       Ps.      ***Save Tokul Creek Summer Run Steelhead***  write your congressman

The King of Kings 41 1/2" length by 23" girth

Fished the Potholes Reservoir early in the week and what a difference 100 degree weather and an open spill way make,  the  Dunes had dropped around 4ft in a weeks time!   The bass continue to be aggressive early and late and they are averaging around 3lbs a fish.  We had our first panfish quest and we lit them up.  Some of the bigger Bluegill were around 1lb.  For those of you with prop boats be on the look out for submerged sand dunes especially around the west arm and crab creek.  Surface temps were in the 80′s.

Locally the Sky River is seeing very light pressure and the fish seem to be happy about that.  Kings are there for catch and release and the Steelhead are around as well.  Less pressure means more aggressive fish, no doubt about it.  We were using eggs, along with casting spinners.  Bring along a good pair of polarized glasses and you can see the fish in some of the holes.  The floaters and bathers come out around noon, so set your clock accordingly. 

 The first Humpy Salmon should be entering the river any time now.   Which means its time to break out everything and anything that’s pink.  I will be scouting the Snohomish river here very shortly. 

The Cowlitz had its flows increased over the past week and a half and the fish catching increased as well.  The bait divers are probably the best bet, but side-drifting is still catching its share of the fish.  It is just too bad that the fish race to barrier dam now instead of holding around Blue creek.  I just hope they can turn this once off the hook fishery back to what is was…, OFF the HOOK!  Give me a call and lets go do some fish catching…,

see you on the water.

Bonner Daniels

fishonguideservices.com

Ps    *** Save the Tokul Creek Fish Hatchery Summer Run Steelhead***  write your congressman!

Well the dog days of summer heat are definitely here…, which corresponds with low and clear river levels.  Time to break out the drift boat until we see the rivers rise again (not including the Columbia, Skagit, Cowlitz, Lewis).  When the water gets low and clear forget about the kicker and big motor, especially on the small streams.  Noise is a no, no!  If you want to put fish in the box that is. 

The overall report for the Sky and Cowlitz  rivers is fair at best on the overall scheme of things.  Those who know and put in their time are doing much better than the part timers, as the fish are spread through out the river systems.  Patience and mental toughness are a virtue at the moment.  Go explore the rivers especially with the low water so you will know where the Steelhead and Kings are hiding when the high water comes back.

If you have not yet heard…, Reiter’s is open!!  The Steelhead are there and so are the fisherman.  Fish small and subtle baits, or show them something different, the Reiter Steelhead are notorious for putting on their hard hats once they start to feel the angling pressure.  The lower river is still holding fish, but beware if you run your jet sled, as the Sky is getting low.

The Potholes reservoir is kicking out some extremely nice bass and the panfish are starting to show as well.  The water is dropping around 4inches a day back in the dunes and the water temperature is reaching into the 80′s by days end.  Summer patterns are definitely in affect.  Fish early and late for the Bass and Walleye and mid-day for the Panfish.

Sincerely,

Bonner Daniels 

Fishonguideservices.com

Ps        ***Save Tokul Creek Fish Hatchery, specifically the Summer Run Steelhead***

                                            Contact your local congressman!!

A few pics from this last week

The Rivers are getting low  specifically the Sky, Cowlitz, Green, Lewis, Snoqualmie, Kalama, Pennisula Rivers, and on, and on and on.   The fish are getting pressured, the overcast weather brought out the fish and the fisherman.  Which is a good thing…, the hatchery fish are there to be harvetsed and they were! 

I continue to sidedrift bait with success for Steelhead and King Salmon on the Skykomish River.  I have had very few positive reports from the Cowlitz of late…, which is a complete bummer!!  If you missed the Skagit opener…, don’t sweat it, reports of only 4 adult King Salmon caught…, Total!  Rivers dropped in temperature over the week and with  the freshet of rain, look for some new arrivals ie. Summer Run Steelhead.  

The ocean report over the past week has been great from everyone I talked with…, from Coho, to Kings, to Pinks.  I sure hope this translates into a strong run of Salmon into our Rivers!  I will keep one finger crossed, as signs are there, so far…, for a fabulous Fall Salmon Fishery. 

  I am running a  Skykomish River Special  *book 4 for the price of 3* good through September 2009

Bonner Daniels

Fishonguideservices.com

 Save the Tokul Creek Fish Hatchery**Specifically the Summer Run Steelhead** write your congressman!