There’s no better food than food that you eat seconds after you harvest it. The other day, I took some friends to Dosewallips State Park for a day of clamming and oyster shucking. After a quick lesson in oyster shucking, we able to fill a plate full of fresh Pacific oysters. A little cocktail sauce [...]
A few days ago, I took advantage of the recent nice sunny weather in Seattle to do some lake fishing on Beaver Lake near Issaquah. The lake, recently stocked with larger than normal rainbows, provided some nice action and a welcomed break from work. With only a few others on the lake that day, it [...]
Last week, I was on Bainbridge Island for business when I had some unexpected free time to kill before boarding the ferry back to Seattle. I suddenly recalled that a fishing buddy told me about the factory tour at Sage Manufacturing on Bainbridge. Sage is a highly respected manufacturer of fly fishing equipment, especially [...]
During the first week of the new year, I took my daughters for an overnight trip to the Kitsap Peninsula just to get away for a couple of days. Every so often, it’s nice for them to spend some time together without their brother. We had some good weather and favorable tides during our trip [...]
The other day, I was returning to the mainland from Whidbey Island on the Mukilteo-Clinton Ferry and was treated to an overcast sunset looking southwest. The Brothers in the Olympic Mountains can be seen coming into view over south Whidbey Island. The waters of Puget Sound were dead calm as I took in the amazing [...]
This has been a great season for catching Puget Sound squid off the piers in downtown Seattle. In previous years, I have been lucky to catch a handful of squid each outing. This year, however, I’ve managed to catch several dozen on certain nights (squid fishing is usually done with lights at night). And the [...]
I was at a small creek that feeds the Puget Sound the other day to check out the chum salmon run. It was quite a sight to see hundreds of “dog” salmon running up the creek to spawn. When they are in spawning mode, chum salmon develop their characteristic purple and black bars and the [...]
I was working on my rental house on Whidbey Island a few weeks ago when I noticed a huge paper nest hanging from a low tree limb next to the house. I didn’t want to get too close to the nest to identify the insects since it was being patrolled by a half dozen wasp-like [...]
After an unusually long dry spell this summer, the rains have finally arrived in the Seattle area. The leaves, as if in synch, are starting to turn to their deep reds and yellows. The fleece jackets are out in full display. This has been a phenomenal summer and early fall weather-wise. Seattle’s has recorded only [...]
It has been an excellent season fishing for coho salmon on the Olympic Peninsula. On a recent trip, I hooked into a coho that was especially strong and fought well so I knew that it was going to be a big fish. When I landed it, I immediately knew that this was going to be [...]