Laegreid Outdoors

It's that time of year again. Baby salmon are swimming out of the rivers en mass, the days are getting longer, and Sea-Run Cutthroat trout (SRC) are reappearing in Puget Sound. This past weekend I was able to connect with one of these feisty fish on a beach in Marine Area 13 , also known as the magical South Sound. There are a few great things about this fishery; the first of which is the quarry. The SRC's are amazing trout, powerful for their size, aggressive, gorgeous, and elusive. They provide one of the Northwest's most unique fishing experiences, and oh man am I glad to be able to take advantage of it. Image borrowed from the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife , since I have yet to take a good picture of one. The second great thing about the SRC fishery is the location. I love Puget Sound, from Deception Pass to Budd Inlet, but good SRC beaches are my absolute favorite. They are full of life, from weird little crawling things scooting between barnacle-cove...

So wow, it's been a while! I apologize for my absence, dear readers, but I will say that it has been for a good reason. I have been busy and sick and busy, but was able to land the most amazing catch of my life recently at Westport, WA. My girlfriend and I had decided to do a little getaway to the sleepy town at the edge of everything. I like to fish off the jetty there; it has a variety of fun and unusual fish like rockfish, ling-cod, surf-perch and greenling. In the days running up to our trip it was a little disheartening when the weather report said wind and rain for the whole weekend, and it was downright depressing when we got there and the forecast was correct. The wind was pretty intense, which made the rain rather unpleasant, but we had the hotel booked and were going to make the best of it. If you've never been to Westport, it is a small fishing town on the Washington coastline, right at the mouth of Greys Harbor. During the salmon season, Westport is a busy place, ...