When the Worden Floating Lure Company, now owned by Yakima Bait Company, invented the Spin-N-Glo, little did they know that the lure would become one of the company’s bestselling, let alone top-producing lure.

I always have said that if a person had never heard of a Spin-N-Glo, they need to go out and get an education all over again.

The winged bobber has steelhead magic written all over it as defined by its name.

It had gone through several name changes before the final moniker was chosen.

“The man who actually named this lure the “Spin-N-Glo” was a guy named Leo Ryan,” said Howard Worden in one of his many stories that he told me. Howard marketed and developed the Spin-N-Glo after his father invented it. “We were all trying to give the lure a different name, and Leo just said, ‘Well, it spins and it glows.’ So after that we decided to name the lure the Spin-N-Glo.”

It makes perfect sense, really. A perfect-sense name for a perfectly-spinning steelhead spinner—that just happens to float!

“A Spin-N-Glo really is a buoyant spinner,” says Buzz Ramsey, (former) brand manager of the Yakima Bait Co. “It allows guys, especially plunkers, who are ‘still fishing’ to cast out, and that Spin-N-Glo floats up right off the bottom where the fish are migrating upstream.”

An interview with Zac Kauffman of Sawyer Oars. Zac talks about the origins of Sawyer, the usage of wood, carbon and fiberglass. How the oars react in the water - and how they are designed.

They are a top shelf Oregon product, using Douglas firs. 

The vivacious, and fun-loving Mary Posey is on the phone with Lucas, talking about her experience meeting and befriending Eric Clapton. Although she hasn't spoken to Eric Clapton in many years, since her sons funeral, she has had a wonderful friendship with him over the years. She speaks in depth about some of the struggles Eric had with his road crew, how he enjoyed fishing - how he even visited Woodland Washington and got treated by a doctor! Excellent story about Mary, Dick Posey and Eric Clapton!

A conversation with Keith Johnson and Zoey Johnson about fishing for winter steelhead in high water conditions. Including plugs, bobber-dogging, plunking. Summer steelhead fishing techniques, float fishing shrimp, and even flats fishing for tarpon are discussed. Check out the video coming soon to the STS Youtube channel.

The giants - the steelhead of winter and spring. Keith Johnson, fishing Guide on the Washington Coast, talks about the behavior of big, wild steelhead. He details his simple but effective tactics to fish for these aggressive steelhead optimally. Also discussed is the fishing restrictions and how tactics have had to adjust. 

Keith Johnson talks about his relatively-recent guiding career and how he enjoys getting people into their first, or personal best steelhead - and loves to see them experience it. 

Rowing a driftboat down a river and fishing for small river salmon & steelhead is a challenging task. Keith has worked hard to establish an excellent program over a broad spectrum of rivers to get the best shot at quality fish. From big chinook and coho, to summers and winter steelhead...the trophy fish are targeted!

There is a difference between a hot 6lb steelhead and a brutal 17lb buck. That much should be obvious, but it really becomes evident when you’re 10 feet above a giant rapid and that massive line-burner you just hooked turns towards it.

Then what do you do?

Some big fish will get ever-so-close, and then decide to turn around and stay in the hole you’re in. Others have every intention of heading down that rapid and saying goodbye to the elevation they’d just gained. At that point, you’d better make a power move.

Either way, you’d better be prepared for that. So let’s talk big steelhead.

One of the things I’ve come to find is, a big steelhead controls the conversation. A smaller, hot steelhead will burn line and give an excellent fight, but the minute you can turn its head you can gain some ground on it. With a big, or even giant steelhead, all it takes is laying into that current and it becomes ultra-hard to make any headway on that fish.

The sheer mass, the massive tail, the violent headshakes - those will keep you up at night.

There is a feeling in the rod when you hook one of those steelhead that goes beyond anything you’ve encountered before.

Listen to this article which is is featured in STS Feb-March 2021

An interview with Shane Anderson, a film maker of numerous steelhead films including "Wild Reverence" & "A Rivers Last Chance".

Shane discusses the challenges steelhead face, their life histories, his opinions on fishing opportunity, hatcheries, dams and everything related to steelhead.

Shane has a wealth of information about steelhead and historic populations. Included in the discussion is Klamath Chinook and Steelhead. The pre-dam Cowlitz and North Fork Lewis rivers, the Chehalis, the Olympic Peninsula, Rainbow Trout, the Elwha, and many others.

Jim Teeny is a fly fishing innovator who has caught salmon, trout and steelhead from California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska - to Canada and far beyond. In his quest for more bites he has developed fly fishing techniques that make maximum use of sink lines and small flies. His techniques have been studied by fly anglers the world over. In this episode he is interviewed at the Lamiglas factory while consulting with Tom Posey on their newest line of fly rods.

Spanning back to 1938, Columbia Sportswear was founded by Paul Lamfrom, the father of Gert Boyle, although it was formerly known as the Rosenfeldt Hat Company, and eventually the Columbia Hat Company. Columbia eventually broke away from hats by designing a Columbia Fishing Vest. Tim Boyle, son of the legendary Neal & Gert Boyle, became a part of the company after Neal's death. The company struggled for a few years, until they partnered with early Nike employees to improve their business and marketing management. From there, the company took off in a major fashion. Manufacturing fishing vests, jackets, shirts and a giant catalog of other products, Columbia has solidified itself as the premier outdoor clothing company.

Tim Boyle is a smart and intuitive businessman, interviewed here by Salmon Trout Steelheader founder Frank Amato. They recount the early days of the company, and Frank remembers meeting Tim's father Near. Columbia Sportswear as a brand is known world-wide, but it started in the city of Portland Oregon, where the headquarters remains to this day.

Salmon carcasses are a nutrient rich fertilizer. Beyond simply the nutrients they bring to the stream itself, they have been found to benefit nearby trees, Eagles, Bears, Insects and many other streamside species. 

Salmon, as an ocean-going fish, bring nutrients from the ocean deep into the hills and forests of Coastal areas. 

This article talks about the studies that led up to the practice of placing salmon carcasses streamside intentionally, in order to benefit fry, smolt, insects and other wildlife.

This was originally featured in the 1996 Aug/September issues of Salmon Trout Steelheader.