Casey Kelly

The Summer Chinook fishery started off with a bang June 16th!  High water conditions made targeting these fish really easy, in result we had some very stellar days fishing for them.  Steelhead started showing up in the daily catches as well and we’re excited to start targeting Summer Steelhead exclusively as we head into July.  Summer Steelhead are a great eating, hard fighting, and often acrobatic fish that are a blast to catch!  We fish for steelhead with light tackle while casting and feeling the bites with the fishing rods in our hands.  Steelhead fishing will be great the whole month of July!  Looking into the future we have one of the most world renown fisheries coming up in August.  The Buoy 10 fishery is probably the most talked about and anticipated fishery that exists in the lower 48. Buoy 10 is typically great fishing the entire month of August!  September 1st, we return home to our local waters in Woodland Washington where we continue catching Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon clear through later October!  Summer fishing is in full swing and we are excited for the season to get better and better!

Fishing for Spring Chinook has been mostly successful the entire month of May and now into June.  We are still getting 2-5 fish a day most days, and now a few Summer Steelhead are starting to show up in the catch!  The Columbia River will reopen on June 16th for Summer Chinook, Sockeye, and Summer Steelhead (which we catch all species  in the same day)!  We are absolutely  ecstatic to get to fish for all three species for the remainder of June!  Summer Chinook are beautiful fish that are on locally called “June hogs”  they average 20-30lbs and can go upwards of 40lbs! Up next after June we have Summer Steelhead in July on the tributaries of the Columbia.  We target these fish with light gear and an “hands on approach” drifting for them.  I still have some really great dates left for that so email for details.  Despite what you might hear pertaining to how the fishing is, we always have something great to fish for.  Just call and I’ll shoot straight with you on what’s going on.  Looking forward to seeing old faces and new ones as well!

Spring Chinook fishing has been nothing short of spectacular for the first two weeks of May!  High water has slowed the migration of the Spring Chinook run this year making it a much longer season.  Adapting to high water conditions has been the difference between being successful or not this year.  I believe we will have another solid month of great Spring Chinook fishing before transitioning into Summer Chinook in mid June.  The summer fishing season has officially started!

The Columbia River Spring Chinook fishery was off to a slow start for the beginning of April.  Now, finally we are starting to see some great numbers of Spring Chinook being caught and water conditions are coming into shape.  After we get done fishing the Columbia River for Spring Chinook,  we will move into the tributaries and continue to fish for springer’s clear into June!  These salmon are the best of the best!  Currently they are being sold for $50.00 per pound! Don’t worry, there’s still a lot of time left to get out and catch some Spring Chinook!

We are still mainly targeting Kokanee at Merwin Lake for the past few weeks. It’s been really good when conditions have allowed us to get on the water. This winter is starting to be one for the history books.

Winter steel heading has been really tough due to water conditions.  Luckily, we have been targeting Kokanee on the lakes and have been doing very well.  Kokanee are land locked Sockeye Salmon and taste excellent!  It’s hot action fishing, and I highly advise booking a trip for them.  We will be after them for the better part of the spring so there’s lots of time to get out.

We are officially into the winter months!  SW Washington was hit by a major snowstorm that has gripped the area for over a week!   Getting out hasn’t been easy what so ever!  Hurry up spring…

Fishing conditions have been pretty tough this month because major storms have affected our area on a regular basis. Only a few opportunities have popped up this month to get out and try, but we have had some success.  Looks like La Nina is back.

Catching Coho Salmon was really good in the beginning of November!  It was an absolute blast!!  Now, at the end of the month were starting to get a few more steelhead in the mix.  Looking forward to March and April when we will have even more steelhead around, and a few spring chinook to catch too!

Fishing inland for Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon has been spectacular through the month of September and still into October!  We have been averaging six to ten fish a day in the fish box with many more losses and short bites! The PNW rain has finally arrived and the fish are loving it.  Water temperatures have dropped and the fish are biting very well.  We are still targeting the Fall Kings and Coho on the Columbia River for now, but will switch gears in a couple weeks to the tributaries of the Columbia River.  Tributary fishing is a thrill all it’s own!  These rivers are much smaller, and the fish have no where to go besides down!  Salmon seem to fight a little harder in the tributaries because of the cooler water and shallower holes that we fish.  We are still doing very well on the Columbia, and there’s still plenty of dates to fish so don’t miss out on that!  If small river sounds like more your thing we will be in them very soon.  Get on these fish while they’re still around!