Andy Martin Fishing & Hunting Articles
Pro guide and charter boat captain Andy Martin is also one of the Northwest's most respected outdoor writers. He is the former editor-in-chief of Fishing & Hunting News and has had thousands of article published in Salmon Trout Steelheader, Game & Fish, Fish Alaska, ESPN Outdoors, Fishing & Hunting News, Fish Alaska, Saltwater Sportsman and other publications. This page is updated regularly with new articles.
Going Rogue for Springers
This article appeared in the May 2010 issue of Washington-Oregon Game & Fish
For years, the upper section of Oregon’s Rogue River was the Northwest’s signature spring Chinook fishery. It was here, near the small town of Shady Cove, where the popular spring and summer season spawned not only some of the best small-stream salmon fishing anywhere, but is also where the aluminum drift boat and the ever-effective back-bouncing technique originated. Feisty king salmon, fat as a football, stack up in the scenic section of river below Lost Creek Lake in the late spring and summer. From the bank or in drift boats, anglers catch the hard-fighting, great-eating salmon from the cool, clear waters of the Rogue.
Click Here For Full StorySimple borax cures for steelhead fishing
This article appeared in the December 2009 issue of Salmon Trout Steelheader
With half a dozen commercial egg cures on tackle shop shelves, selecting the best formula for preserving salmon and steelhead roe can be daunting. They all claim to be the most effective or most powerful, with secret ingredients that fish can’t resist. And for the most part, they all work well.
Yet when it comes to some of the best steelhead guides and anglers, consistently catching fish throughout the season can be attributed in large part to their tried-and-true “old school” borax cures.
Click Here For Full StoryBuzz Ramsey shares 5 tips for plug fishing
This article appeared in the December 2009 issue of Salmon Trout Steelheader
Side-drifting and float fishing have soared in popularity in recent years for steelhead fishing, making pulling plugs an often overlooked, underestimated and increasingly misunderstood method for steelhead.
But for expert Northwest steelhead angler, rod designer and lure inventor Buzz Ramsey, plugs are one of his favorite techniques.
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10 tips to catch more and bigger halibut
This article appeared in the June 2008 issue of Fish Alaska Magazine
Ten minutes after our lines hit the bottom, one of the rods on the left side of the boat began that familiar tap, tap, tap. A few second later the line pulled tight, burying the rod tip. Our first halibut of the day was hooked.
While halibut are abundant throughout Alaska, there are several tricks that can help anglers catch more fish, and bigger halibut as well.
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Chetco River Winter Steelhead
This article appeared in the February 2009 issue of Salmon Trout Steelheader magazine
Some anglers come to Oregon’s Chetco River in hopes of catching one of the storied 20-plus-pound steelhead it produces each winter. Others are attracted by its healthy run of hatchery fish, making it one of the best bets in the state at a multiple-steelhead day. Bank anglers love the vast stretches of public access. And drift boaters who fling a small cluster of eggs into the emerald green waters of the Chetco quickly realize it’s a side-drifter’s dream.
Click Here For Full Story10 Deer Hunting Tips From The Experts
This article appeared in the August 2008 issue of California Game & Fish
Veteran hunting guide Kirk Portocarrero pretty well sums up the difficultly of hunting trophy blacktails. “They call blacktails the gray ghosts, because they turn nocturnal on you,” says Portocarrero, who helps clients bag several big bucks each fall. “The come out the last few minutes of light and go back into the trees and brush before the sun comes up.”
Yet Portocarrero and other top blacktail hunters have learned the secrets to hunting the elusive deer, employing everything from extensive pre-season scouting, using weather conditions to their favor, hiding in tree stands and perfecting glassing techniques to enjoy success each fall.
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10 tips to successful plug-cut herring fishing
This article appeared in the September 2007 issue of Salmon Trout Steelheader
As big Chinook and coho salmon stack up off river mouths and begin to enter bays and estuaries each fall, nothing catches more fish than plug-cut herring. Often the go-to bait for guides and veteran anglers, salmon can’t seem to resist the seductive spin, bright flash and natural scent of fresh herring.
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