Badger Fishing Show

Send us Fan Mail We discuss the fisheries issues facing Washington sport fishermen and what could be addressed at the state and federal levels, including: • Protecting fishing and hunting rights • Washington salmon hatchery funding and production • Bonneville Power Administration hatchery cuts • Seal and sea lion predation • Reforming the Marine Mammal Protection Act • Bipartisan federal legislati...

Send us Fan Mail Are barbless hooks on the Columbia River actually helping fish, or is this a rule that no longer makes sense? On Episode 9 of the Badger Fishing Show, I sit down with Nello Picinich to talk about the push to change Washington’s barbless hook requirement on the Columbia River. We break down how the barbless hook requirement came out of the Columbia River reforms around 2012 to 2013...

Send us Fan Mail Talking about tribal fisheries, treaty fisheries, conservation, and how salmon are managed shouldn’t automatically be labeled racist. In Episode 8 of the Badger Fishing Show, Phillip Olson and Alex Van Hine tackle one of the most difficult conversations in Washington fisheries. We discuss treaty rights and why they must be respected, while also asking whether conservation standard...

Send us Fan Mail Puget Sound recreational anglers are watching Chinook opportunities disappear, and the impacts go far beyond a day on the water. In Episode 6 of the Badger Fishing Show, we break down what happened to this year’s Chinook season, why fishing opportunities continue to shrink, how fisheries are being managed, and what recreational anglers need to know going forward. We talk about all...

Send us Fan Mail Why does Washington leave thousands of harvestable salmon impacts on the table every year? In Episode 6 of The Badger Fishing Show, Phillip and Alex take a deep dive into one of the biggest problems facing Washington’s recreational salmon fisheries: fishery managers who fail to maximize opportunity. Topics include: • Why Marine Area 5 was projected to leave a significant amount of...

In Episode 5, Phillip Olson and Alex Van Hine take an in depth look at one of the biggest questions facing Washington’s outdoor community: Is it time for leadership change at WDFW? We discuss: • The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and why recreational anglers need to get involved. • Why public comment matters and what happened at the latest Commission meeting. • The electronic catch report...

In this episode, Phillip Olson and Alex Van Hine take a deep dive into some of the most controversial topics facing Washington fisheries today. We discuss the future of salmon fisheries, the role of Voluntary Trip Reports (VTRs), fishery monitoring requirements, and how limited resources and budget challenges may impact data collection and management moving forward. The conversation also covers st...

In Episode 3 of the Badger Fishing Podcast, Phillip & Alex sit down with longtime Puget Sound fishing advocate Art Tatchell to break down the truth behind the North of Falcon process, the Puget Sound Recreational Advisory Group, and why many anglers feel ignored during salmon season negotiations. Art shares decades of firsthand experience inside the WDFW advisory system, discusses how recreati...

In this episode of the Badger Fishing Show, Phillip Olson & Alex Van Hin sit down with Nello Picinich, Executive Director of Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Washington, for an in-depth discussion about one of the most controversial fishing issues in the Pacific Northwest: non-tribal commercial gillnetting. Nello explains how gillnets work, why they are considered non-selective, and what...

Welcome to Episode 1 of The Badger Fishing Show. In this first episode, Alex Van Hine and Phillip Olson sit down to discuss a question that recreational anglers across Washington have been asking for years: Does the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife really listen to fishermen? We share how we first connected, our involvement in the North of Falcon process, and why we believe anglers need...