Why Spring Salmon are the Best A giant black cloud pulled over Gladstone, Oregon. To those of us on the riverbank, it had been visible for an hour or so, getting closer each passing minute. We watched the golden afternoon sky disappear behind the monstrous curtain. As the sky went black there were grumblings of thunder from the west. Then a flash. One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, BOOOOOOOM! Then the hail came down. The kind that hurts. more> Wild Chinook, Oregon Style We've all heard lots of crazy salmon fishing stories--remote Alaskan rivers full of rabid Chinook boiling like piranhas. But I live in northwest Oregon. I grew up hearing ominous warnings of impending fish doom. I always figured I would have to go somewhere exotic for the really good stuff. That is, until it happened right here in my backyard. more>