olympic peninsula

Extreme Fish Porn: 30-Pound Steelhead Edition!

by JD on February 2, 2012

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!


Well, sometimes you just need a little fish porn. And man, what a week it’s been for that! I probably should have saved this fish for last because it dwarfs the 20 pounders below, but holy giant rainbow trout, Batman…that is one amazing specimen is it not?

All I know about this leviathan is that it was caught last weekend and measured 44 inches by 24 inches, which using the steelhead weight formula, comes out at 32 freaking pounds! WOW!!!!! My jaw just hit the floor!

And, just for kicks, here are a couple other 20 plus pounders…

This one was taken by Paul LeFebvre of Brookings, OR. He caught and released the fish Feb. 1 on the Chetco River while fishing with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. The steelhead hit a cluster of roe and took a half hour to subdue!

Twenty plus pounds of Perfection!


Our pal Greg McElroy sent in this pic of Tim Obert who fished just south of the Chetco, on California’s Smith River with Mad River Eggs for this low 20′s buck.

Damn, raise your hand if you work day just got totally screwed…

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Steelies so bright, I gotta wear shades (Feb. Hawg of the Month Contest entry)

by JD on February 23, 2010


Young gun Jake Martinson headed for River X on the Olympic Peninsula in mid February for a little suntan and steelie combo action. This big, chrome hen was caught drifting bait and was released after a quick grip and grin. Even for a young buck, Jake knows better than most that big girls like this are much more valuable in the water than on the ‘que.

At the end of the month, you’ll get a chance to vote for Jake in the February Hawg of the Month contest. If you’ve got a photo of a big fish, enter the contest.

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Chasing Steelies in the OP, Part 2

by JD on March 24, 2009

sol-duc-drift-boatOkay, so our first few days on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula didn’t exactly pan out from a steelheading standpoint. Cold rain, sleet, poor fish returns and rising water all conspired against us. But Days 1-3 paled in comparison to what awaited us on our final day…

Mike B. called it the “wost conditions” he’d ever endured on a river. I put it right up there behind the famed “Hunt for Mr. Hogito” day on Oregon’s Elk River many moons ago. Big Worm said…well…he didn’t say a thing but it’s safe to say he’d rather been somewhere else…say in a hot tub with a couple French bikini models, for example.
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20-pound steelhead!

by JD on March 4, 2008

jakes-20.jpg
Jake “The Giant” Martinson is a cool kid I used to work with in Alaska who’s turned into quite the steelhead angler. Here’s a photo of a 20-pounder he caught and released last weekend near Forks, WA on the Olympic Peninsula.

I’ll step aside here and let the kid tell how it all went down…

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