OUTDOORS: Matt Schubert’s five best bets to do this weekend

• Sol Duc steelhead — The river couldn’t be in much better condition.

And lucky enough for us, there’s also plenty of fish swimming around it waiting to snap at whatever hits the front of their face.

• Area 9 blackmouth — The looking to get a jump on the rest of the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby field have but one option: Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet).

A few positive reports have begun to surface in recent weeks.

Ignore the pathetic fish counts. For some reason, those are almost always bad in Port Townsend.

• Steelhead class — Not sure how to go after those steelies?

Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim will offer a free steelhead fishing class this Tuesday night and Feb. 22 to get anglers acquainted.

The classes will meet from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. both nights and will cover gear, techniques and locations pertaining to steelhead fishing on the Peninsula.

• African Safari — Dr. Jim Karr will give a presentation on his African safari during the Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers monthly meeting Monday.

An emeritus professor of biology from UW, Karr is an expert in fish habitat as well as a super fly fisherman. His presentation begins shortly after the meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Loomis Log Cabin at Port Angeles’ Lincoln Park.

• Cheese vs. Steel — I think we all know by now that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a creep.

Discounting his poor performance in Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks — trust me, it was disastrous — it’s apparent he’s a gamer as well.

Combine that with the best run defense in the NFL, and it’s awfully hard to pick against Pittsburgh in Sunday’s Super Bowl against Green Bay.

Still, I find myself leaning toward the Packers. Not just because Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers is so much more likeable than Big Ben, but also because the Packers have a pretty good defense themselves.

Given that Green Bay is a 2 ½-point favorite, the public seems to agree as well. I say take the Pack.

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