Casey Kelly

Fishing for Winter Steelhead thus far in 2015 has been a great one so far! This is the time of year Columbia River fishing guides focus on the tributaries of the Columbia River to catch the awesome Winter Steelhead that return from the Pacific Ocean. Fishing for Hatchery steelhead was very good on the Cowlitz River in December, as was on other rivers as well. The Winter Steelhead have ran a few pounds larger this year due to the great ocean conditions we have had the past several years. We will get one more shot at the hatchery winter steelhead in early March, and for the past few years March has begun to out produce December and January combined! Not only will we have a lot of hatchery fish returning, we will also have a lot of native fish to return as well! Native steelhead are a sacred creature of the NW, and from what we have seen size wise from the hatchery steelhead, the native steelhead should be exceptionally nice fish. Generally we see one or two fish a day pushing the 15 plus pound class which is a real treat for anyone who likes to catch steelhead! This year I can’t stress enough to potential clients that if you want the best dates for any fishery you might choose, it is important to book early. NOAA has forecasted all fish returns across the board to be excellent this year! Whether it be Spring Kokanee, the world famous Columbia River Spring Chinook, the locally known June hogs (Summer Chinook), the awesome eating feisty Summer Steelhead, or the high paced action of Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon, don’t miss your chance to get out for another fabulous year of fishing!

What a year for fishing for salmon and steelhead has been! 2014 went down in the record books for the best returns on record for sockeye, fall chinook, and coho salmon! 2015 projections are already in and we are expecting the same if not a greater run of fall chinook this upcoming year. As the coho and chinook run dwindle on the tributaries of the Columbia River, the winter run steelhead is starting to pick up nicely. As a bonus, the Pacific Northwest is receiving an El Niño weather pattern this winter and the weather has been very nice thus far. Not too often do we get to fish for these awesome winter steelhead in 55 degree weather. We have a long way to go before the winter steelhead are not available for catch in local NW rivers. Typically we will be fishing for them clear to the end of March with good success. Christmas is upon us once again, and there is no better gift than a fishing trip on one of our great NW rivers. Gift certificates are available for such purchases. If you’re itching to get out and catch some steelhead this year, I still have some prime dates available. Hoping everyone has a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! See you soon!

Fishing for Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon has been unreal in the tributaries of the Columbia in the month of October thus far! Finally, very good numbers have returned to the Cowlitz and other tributaries after being somewhat lack luster the past few years! The projections of all time record breaking runs have come true! After a hot long dry summer in the northwest, temperatures are starting to fall to more (IMO) “comfortable” conditions. With cooler temps the water has also cooled down a bit making fish bite much better as well. As we enter the end of October, we will start seeing more and more “B” run Coho Salmon entering the tributaries. We are expecting large numbers of these fish this year and will be catching them clear into mid-November! Another fishery many of my clients are excited about is the upcoming Winter Chinook fishery. The November and December King Salmon are BIG! When you add high water and big fish, the fight after catching these Winter Chinook is ferocious! I still have some very good dates left on the late Coho and Winter Chinook. Even though temperatures are cool, fishing is hot!! Don’t think it’s too cold too fish because I do carry a 40,000 btu heater and hot water to warm your hands in case they get a little chilly in these winter months. I want to thank all my customers that came out with me this year and am looking forward to seeing you all again!

Fishing on the Columbia River in Astoria Oregon was exactly what we expected with the run forecast we received earlier in the year. Unbelievable! There were absolutely unreal amounts of fish getting caught on a daily basis there! Now the bulk of the fish have entered the Columbia River, and we have already broke two all-time records for the most Fall Chinook over Bonneville Dam. Over 67,000 Fall Chinook went over Bonneville two days in a row! With only 359,000 fish over the dam we still have a long way to go to meet the expectations of the 1.6 million Chinook expected to return. This means we have some even better fishing yet to come! In addition we only have 39,000 of the 900,000 Coho Salmon over Bonneville that will be returning. If you think you too late on getting out and catching high numbers of fish, you’re not. Even more exciting news, is that when the Columbia River slows down, its tributaries heat up. Last year we were blessed with huge fish runs in the tributaries of the Columbia, and this year, their are even more expected to return! The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here, and we still have three more months of the best fishing anyone has ever seen! Call or email asap to participate in this all-time best fishing we are having this year!

Fishing for Summer Steelhead has ended with a bang! We have had a large final push of fish up the Columbia River year due to what I believe is all the Chinook and Coho that are starting to enter the mouth of the Columbia. Targeting these Steelhead in deep water, or the cold water run off of the tributaries of the Columbia has been key to the great days we have been having. Now we have started to focus our attention to the upcoming run of Fall Chinook and Silver Salmon that are about to enter the river from the ocean. The ocean has proved to be thus far full of fish beyond our wildest dreams! I cannot wait until they start entering the river down in Astoria Oregon. I still have a few days open for this fishery, and it WILL be the one we will all talk about for years to come! Don’t miss out!

Fishing for Summer Steel head has been very good thus far this year. Water temperatures are a little warmer than normal so the fish have been a little finicky when they bite. They have been biting just now holding on for very long. We have been combating this with quick hook sets and it seems to be paying off! We have a few more good weeks of Summer Steelhead fishing left so don’t miss out and get out here while the getting’s good. Let me remind you all of the Fall Salmon run we are expecting, 1.6 million Chinook and nearly 1 million Coho Salmon are expected to return just over Bonneville Dam this year. These counts are not even what we will expect in the tributaries of the Columbia this year! Call or email to reserve your seats to participate in the largest salmon run on record since there has been a record! Hope to hear from you all soon!

Fishing for Spring Chinook ended with a bang this month! WDFW gave us all through the month of April to fish for the chinook and what a great time it has been! For the last 5 years boats have not been allowed to fish all the way to Bonneville Dam until this year. I will just say I sure hope they let us fish there again next year cause it was fantastic fishing! Now the summer fishing season has begun and I can honestly say the month of June and July are my favorite time of the year. Summer Chinook have started to show in good numbers in the first week of June, and there are a whole lot more to come! You can’t beat the quality and size of salmon the month of June provides! The locally named “June hogs” average 20lbs and can get up to 45lbs+. These fish have a very long journey, which makes them loaded with healthy omega 3 fatty acids which are the reason they also taste so good. Also in the month of June, and especially July, the Summer Steelhead are also making their way through the Columbia River. The same goes for the Summer Steelhead; they have a very long journey to their spawning grounds which also makes these fish very oily and delicious. One more fish to not forget is the Columbia River Sockeye. The season opens for the Sockeye on June 16th, and with high forecast numbers it should be really good fishing for a couple of weeks. Make this summer one to remember, come out and catch a lot of fish and have a great time on the Columbia River and its tributaries. There are still some fantastic dates left on my calendar for catching high numbers of salmon or steelhead. Don’t miss out on this year’s upcoming summer fishing it is going to be one for the record books! I am looking forward to hearing from you and fishing with you in the very near future!

Fishing for Spring Chinook at the Wind River and Drano has been excellent this year and remains good even now! Even better news from the fishing front is the WDFW has exteneded the season for spring chinook from May 15th to June 15th! There are plenty of fish around still to have some stellar days of chinook fishing. On June 16th our attention turns to Summer Chinook. The Summer Chinook are like the Spring Chinooks bigger brothers. Locally they are known as “June hogs” and for good reason. On average, the summer fish are much larger than the Spring Chinook. Usually we will catch one or two a day that are 25 to 35 pounds and sometimes up to 40 plus pounds! The Summer Chinook are just as good eating as the springs in my opinion, but you can get a lot more meat out of these fish. The season is set from June 16th, to June 30th, but we catch a lot before then and salmon will be open for retention! I have been booking seats rapidly for this fishery lately but I still have some really awesome dates available. Looking forward to catching fish with all of you this summer!

Fishing on the Columbia River for Spring Chinook this year has been an interesting one to say the least. Fish were in no hurry to show this year due to ever changing water conditions. Finally, around the last week in March, they started showing in good numbers. Luckily, Washington department of fish and wildlife extended the season to April 14, and then one more day on the 19th. This finally provided some excellent fishing! Now that the lower Columbia River has been closed the attention has been shifted to the Willamette River in Portland Oregon. The Willamette has been producing some great days the last couple weeks and should remain good until the middle of May. Also coming up is the Wind River and Drano Lake fishery! These are my favorite fisheries for Spring Chinook! When Bonneville fish counts go on the rise to three thousand and better, it’s time to hit the Wind or Drano. I still have some great dates available for these rivers. From the last week in April, till the last week in May, we will be catching good numbers of the highest quality spring chinook available. There will be a 2 fish limit this year at Wind River and Drano Lake! If you were lucky to find these fish in a fish market, you would pay top dollar per pound. It is definitely worth the money, to not just get fish for the freezer, but have a lot of fun catching them! This fall, if you haven’t heard is forecasted to be the largest ever on record run of Fall Chinook, (1.6 million) and near all-time record breaking run of Coho Salmon! If you ever have ever wanted to catch a lot of fish in one day, this is your year! Don’t miss out on this one! I am very excited to fish with all of you on our upcoming fisheries for salmon and steelhead this year! This is going to be one to remember!

Fishing for Spring Chinook is starting to pick up on the Columbia River finally! Lately we have been fishing for sturgeon on the Columbia River, and kokanee (land locked sockeye) on Merwin Lake with great success! Sturgeon fishing is catch and release only as of now, but it sure has been fun catching keeper size and a few oversized sturgeon by the dozens. Sturgeon fishing will remain fantastic for the rest of the year no doubt. At Merwin Lake the kokanee have been biting very well with averages of 30 to 50 fish per trip. The Kokanee are one of the tastiest fish that we have here in the PNW. Although not very large, a limit of ten per person adds up quickly. This is a great fishery to get your children or grandchildren hooked on fishing due to the high catch rates. The Spring Chinook are starting to show up slowly but when they start coming, they come in large groups. I still have some a few prime days left on my calendar to get out and catch one of these world renowned fish. If you don’t get the chance to get out on the Columbia River before the 7th of April, fear not, the Willamette River will be pumping them out in great numbers all through the month and into May. When the Bonneville dam counts start to rapidly climb around the beginning of May, we will start fishing the Wind River and Drano Lake in the Columbia River Gorge. I am very excited for the long upcoming season of Spring Chinook fishing! It is going to be a stellar year for catching them! As of now I still have March 28th and 29th as well as April 2nd open. These are awesome dates to fish, so get them while you can. I’m looking forward to fishing with all of you!