Field Notes & Rigging Tips

Why I started Elliott's Tackle & Rigging
Why I started Elliott's Tackle & Rigging
Forty years on the salt taught me one thing: most online tackle shops are run by people who've never set a downrigger. Here's why that needed to change. Read more...
5 Outrigger Mistakes That Cost Me Real Money
5 Outrigger Mistakes That Cost Me Real Money
Outriggers double your fishing spread but they're unforgiving. Here are five mistakes I made early on — and what each one cost me before I figured it out. Read more...
Salt Kills Everything: A 5-Minute Post-Trip Routine
Salt Kills Everything: A 5-Minute Post-Trip Routine
If you're not doing this when you back into the driveway, you're buying new reels every two seasons. The fix takes a hose and 300 seconds. Read more...
Cannon vs Scotty: A Captain's Honest Take
Cannon vs Scotty: A Captain's Honest Take
Both brands have earned their reputations. After running both on my boat for years, here's the honest breakdown — strengths, weaknesses, and which one fits your kind of fishing Read more...
Coho Speed: Why 2.8 Knots Is the Magic Number
Coho Speed: Why 2.8 Knots Is the Magic Number
Twenty seasons of GPS data, one stubborn lesson. Here's the trolling speed curve that turns a slow morning into a four-fish limit by 9am. Read more...
Setting Up Your First Downrigger Guide
Setting Up Your First Downrigger Guide
A no-BS walkthrough of the seven things every new troller gets wrong on day one — and how to fix them before you blow $400 in cannonballs. Read more...
Spring Chinook in the Strait — A Gear List
Spring Chinook in the Strait — A Gear List
Spring kings in the Strait of Juan de Fuca are some of the best fishing in the Pacific Northwest — if you've got the right gear. Here's exactly what I... Read more...