It’s about that time! As we’ve been tusseling with winter steelhead the past few weeks, it’s been tougher and tougher not to start thinking about the next best thing, Spring Chinook! Just the thought of catching my first Spring Chinook of the year to put on the dinner plate gives me goosebumps. They are that good!
Springer’s start showing up mid-March, but we won’t start catching them well until the beginning of April. These fish are so very special to the anglers of the northwest and honestly nationwide. Simply put, springers are the best eating salmon on the planet.
The whole month of April and May provides great fishing for these fish on several local rivers. The Columbia, Lewis, Cowlitz, Willamette, Wind River, and Drano Lake all provide great fishing during those two months. Of course, wherever is best at the time is where we will target these awesome fish.
Spring Chinook are known for their tender fatty meat because they have very long life journey’s. When these spring salmon come in from the ocean, they travel hundreds of miles to get to their spawning grounds. Once they get into these tributaries where they spawn, they will hang out for another 6 months, waiting for their reproductive organs to grow. Since they take so long to spawn, they are loaded with tons of omega 3 fat. That’s why so delicious, especially when we catch them straight out of the ocean.
The Spring Chiook season is a long one, so there’s plenty of good dates to get out and fill your freezer. The absolute best times to fish is the first week of April, through the first 3 weeks of May.
Now is the time to get on the books for these epic fish fish the northwest rivers provide. Feel free to send me an email or call and chat about getting out anytime. Looking forward to seeing you on the water!
