“Fishing from Washington to Alaska with Mister Twister and Mepps Lures with Steve Burress”

Part 4: River Fishing with the Top Prop and the Aglia

Editor’s Note: Steve Burress of Winlock, Washington, a member of the Mister Twister pro staff, fishes from Canada to Arizona and even in Alaska using Mister Twister and Mepps lures. This week, Burress will tell us where and how he fishes in his home state of Washington and in Alaska.

Question: Steve, I know you like to fish rivers. What rivers do you fish in Washington?

Burress: The Cowlitz River in Washington is a tributary of the Columbia River that historically has been the number-one salmon and steelhead producer in the State of Washington. You can use every salmon and steelhead lure Mepps and Mister Twister makes and be successful in this river.

I like the Mepps Aglia and the Mister Twister Top Prop, especially the smaller sizes of Top Prop, when I’m fishing the Cowlitz. I’ll put a small piece of fluorescent yarn on the back of the Top Prop and a bead on the line ahead of the Top Prop to get a good spin out of the bait as it comes through the water. I prefer the perch and midnight-colored Top Props. During winter months, when the water’s up and running hard, I’ll fish heavier lines than I do in the summer months.

During the summer months, when the water’s low, 6- or 8-pound-test line seems to the most productive. I like either a medium or a heavy-action 8-foot Tica rod and Shimano Torsa reel.

Question: How big are the steelhead you catch?

Burress: My biggest steelhead weighed 20 pounds, and I caught it several years ago in the Lewis River, which is 45-minutes south of where I live. This river is one of the top-10 Washington rivers for catching steelhead.

Question: What kind of salmon do you catch?

Burress: Chinook and coho salmon.

Question: On what do you catch your salmon?

Burress: I’ve found that I get hung-up less on the bottom and don’t miss salmon using the Mepps Aglia with a single hook instead of a treble hook. Many lakes in Washington ban treble-hook fishing, so I use a single hook. If I lose a salmon, it’s my fault and not the hook’s because I either haven’t given enough slack when the salmon run or I pull the hook out of the salmon’s mouth. I prefer a No. 3 Aglia with the blue blade, which will catch steelhead, coho and chinook. I’ll also use the Mister Twister Top Prop with the fluorescent yarn or salmon eggs on the back of it.