Fishing Reports

The time has come! Spring time!  The fishing season begins now, and from what the season forecasts look like for every species,  it’s going to be an awesome fishing in 2021!  Starting off we’ve been doing fishing trips for hatchery and wild steelhead on the tributaries of the Columbia and have been having a blast! Now we are gearing up for the most prized salmon of the Northwest. Spring Chinook.

This years Spring Chinook season is looking much better than last years as we are allowed to fish a little lower in the Columbia than the past couple years.  Being able to fish lower in the Columbia puts us below the Willamette River which is expected to get 50,000 + springers this season!  Not only will we be fishing for Columbia bound Spring Chinook, we will have our chances double by getting in front of Willemette springers as well.

After the Columbia River season shuts down on April 4th, we will move directly into the Willamette the remainder of the season.  Fishing on the Willamette can be red hot until early June.  This years spring chinook season is looking very exciting so don’t miss out.

I’d like to thank everyone who came out last season and every season before. This has been a challenging year for all of us and I’m so thankful for being able to keep my sanity in check and go fishing!  We are finally on the upswing of our fishing runs across the board and I feel like it’s going to be an epic season this year!  Looking forward to seeing old faces and meeting new ones. See you on the water!

Fall Chinook fishing has been nothing short of phenomenal this year!  We started our season in Astoria Oregon for the world class fishery known as “Buoy 10” and it started off with fantastic fishing from start to finish.  Our season projections for fall chinook and coho salmon were just decent, but dam counts and fishing success has proved to be above the original predictions.

Many Columbia fishing guides agree that catch rates, and Bonneville Dam counts are proving the fact that we are in for a big season for catching our prized Fall Chinook.  Fishery managers have been very cautious this year with season setting, but now they are seeing the light that this is truly a big run of fall fish!  Tomorrow a compact meeting is set to take place discussing reopening the Columbia River till the end of the year.

Due to dam counts, I predict the Columbia will most likely reopen this Friday the 17th.  Despite what happens on the compact meeting though, the season on the Columbia is set to reopen on September 23rd.  Being able to fish on the Columbia for Chinook and Coho is always a real treat anytime  during mid September- Mid October.  Historically, fishing has always been best out there from September 12 onward, and with the dam couns remaining strong, we all predict a major beat down when the Columbia reopens.

This has definitely been the best fishing we have seen since 2014 when 1.2 million Fall Chinook passed over Bonneville Dam!  We are so excited to get have the opportunity to fish on these Fall Chinook during the peak of the season!  The good news also is we are still early in our season as it will be good through early November.

When fishing on the Columbia slows down, fishing on the tributaries of the Columbia heats up!  We will target Fall Chinook and Coho salmon on Sw Washington’s small rivers with great success every day!

This is a season of fishing you don’t want to miss! With the fires getting put out and the smoke clearing from SW Washington, now is the time to get out and catch some Chinook.  We still have a great season ahead of us, but don’t wait to long to book. See you on the water! Continue Reading

This year’s Fall Chinook season started out with a bang!  The first day of the season through the last day in Astoria Oregon was lights out fishing!  Fishing got a little tougher on the bigger tides, but we always found them and got our fish!

The original run forcast set by the Washington department of fish and wildlife was slightly below the ten year average.  Now, numbers are showing that they were wrong.  We already have 15-18 thousand fish crossing over Bonneville dam as of the 1st of September, which usually doesn’t happen until around the 12th!

This years season was set to go through the 6th of September, Fri Sat and Sun only, but we are all fairly confident that the when the run update happens It will reopen through the end of the year! The Chinook season plans to reopen regardless on the 23rd of Sept.  This is very exciting news to NW anglers as it stays good on the Columbia River through mid October.

In the meantime,  there are plenty of opportunities to catch Chinook Salmon on the tributaries of the Columbia as we wait for the reopening on the 23rd of September or sooner.  On Oct 1st the salmon limit goes to 2 adult Chinook.  Hatchery or wild may be retained on some of the tributaries of the Columbia that we fish!

We have a very exciting Fall Chinook and Coho season ahead of us and it’s far from over.  It’s not too late to get out and do some catching, so book your seats asap for the best dates. See you on the water!

Fishing on the Columbia River has been pretty darn good the past couple weeks for Summer Steelhead and Summer Chinook! Luckily the Summer Chinook and Summer Steelhead season reopened after it was closed for a period of time, but after enough fish went over Bonneville Dam, they opened the season for us and it’s been game on!

Recently, we’ve been switching back and forth between Chinook/Steelhead and Kokanee. Finally,  after a short hiatus, Lake Merwin is kicking out limits of the nicest Kokanee we will see all year!  The Fish we’ve been seeing have been 14 -18 inches and are super fat!  There’s still time to get out and  do some catching, but my Kokanee  season will officially end Aug 6th when it’s time to hit the ocean for Fall Chinook and Coho salmon.

On August 15, our Buoy 10 season out of Astoria Oregon will begin, and from there through mid November, it will be non stop fish killing action everyday!  I just had a cancellation for Aug 26th which is a day before that season ends and it WILL be fantastic fishing.  If inquiring for that date, just know that the boat will be full very soon so you’ll need a group of 6 to secure the boat for yourselves.

Immediately after the 27th, we will be heading back to our home port of Woodland Washington which is where the Fall Chinook fishing headquarters will be for the remainder of the year.  I still have some great dates left for September and October and fishing will be great then too!

Fishing season is in full swing and I’m so glad that we are able to get out and enjoy our PNW fisheries to the fullest.   After being in covid lockdown I can safely say that there’s no better way to soothe the soul than a great day on the water!  Looking forward to fishing with you all! Continue Reading

Great news! We are finally back into full operation to take out clients to the best fishing destinations in the lower 48!  Fishing has been very good for Kokanee salmon the past few weeks! Merwin Lake, and Yale Lake have been consistently producing limits of Kokanee on a daily basis and will continue for the next few weeks.

Kokanee are a landlocked Sockeye Salmon that range from 12-18 inches and are very delicious!  Kokanee fishing is one of the best ways to get the younger generation into fishing due to its constant action throughout day.  We have been taking lots of kids fishing for Kokanee lately and we always appreciate how much they enjoy this fishery as much as adults.

We will start to change things up a bit throughout the month of June as we are starting to see Sockeye and  Summer Steelhead start to enter the Columbia River.  This years forcast for Sockeye Salmon is very good and in the next few weeks I forsee some really good opportunities to catch Sockeye  on the Columbia River. As June comes to an end,  we will start hooking more and more Summer Steelhead and finally in July it’s full on Summer Steelhead hunting season.

The entire month of July provides Steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries.  Once we enter the tributaries towards the middle of the month our tactics change on how we fish for Summer Steelhead.  While targeting Summer Steelhead in the tributaries of the Columbia, we begin using lighter tackle and drift the whole river casting at specific spots using salmon eggs to entice the steelhead to bite.  This method is known as sidedrifting.

Sidedrifting is without a doubt my favorite way to fish!  The feeling of the fishing rod in your hand when steelhead bite is exhilarating to say the least! Steelhead are known for their hard fights and often acrobatic maneuvers when they get hooked.  Many times after setting the hook on one, the will come screaming at the boat and then jump through the air shaking their head!  You just never know what a steelhead will do after you hook them, and that’s why they are so much fun to fish for!

As we enter into fall, we will have what we call the super bowl of the fishing season.  Buoy 10 in Astoria Oregon and upstream on the Columbia and its tributaries provides the hottest fishing of the year. We will talk more about this fishery in future posts but for now it’s a good time to contact me and get on the books before the dates are gone.

We are very excited to be back in full operation now that covid has passed for the most part. Looking forward to seeing you all in the near future to catch some fish and have a really good time doing it!

Great news! Washington has given fishing guides the green light to take customers fishing!  I’m so very excited to get back on the water with all of you and get back to catching some fish after a long hiatus.  Right now we are in full blown Kokanee salmon beat down mode on a daily basis.

Kokanee are landlocked sockeye salmon that reside in many Washington and Oregon lakes that are both stocked and naturally produced.   Two of the best lakes in either state are right in my backyard. Lake Merwin, and Yale Lake.  Limits of kokanee are caught on both these lakes on a daily basis and we are so fortunate to have them.

  Both lakes have beautiful scenery, and Yale has a great view of Mt. St. Helens!  The daily limit of kokanee are 10 per person, which adds up to quite a bit of delicious fatty sockeye salmon meat.  If you’ve ever eaten a kokanee, you know that they are some of the richest, oily and hearty fish for their size.  Kokanee on merwin average 12 inches, but in late spring we find fish that are pushing 15-17 inches daily.

  It’s tough to contemplate going fishing for such a small fish, but what they lack in size, they make up for in flavor and constant action.  Kokanee fishing is a great fishery for kids as well.  Kokanee fishing is definitely one of the best ways to get those kids out to enjoy fishing without getting bored.

  After we’re done kokanee fishing, it will be time to start targeting sockeye salmon and steelhead on the Columbia River.  Sockeye fishing will start heating up in the first week of June and will last through the end of the month.  Their will be a ton of fishing opportunities coming  this summer so get ahold of me asap to discuss what else there will be to do this year and when.  Fishing season is finally in full swing, let’s go catch some!

First off,  I must confess that I have lagged on posting updates on fishing since the fall of 2019. It was a very busy and also a very successful season to say the least. I will definently make a greater effort in keeping updated on all the info that will be happening for the remainder of the 2020 season.

As we all know, things have been put on pause in Washington and Oregon since March due to the Corona virus outbreak.  We all stayed in our homes to stop the spread of covid 19 and it appears it is working.  This has been a very challenging time for all of us and definitely the longest month and a half of my life!  As restrictions are starting to slowly relax, it’s time for me to let you guys know what’s going on with the upcoming seasons.   The guiding community has been hit extremely hard by these shut downs and we are very eager to get our customers back on the water asap.

Fishing in Washington has been closed since March,  but on May 5th recreational fishing will reaume to household members only for now. I anticipate guiding will resume sometime between late May – late June.  Unfortunately the Spring Chinook season will have came and gone by then but other opportunities will be plenty for the rest of the summer through winter.

The first species  of fish we will be targeting when guiding reopens are Kokanee salmon. Aka landlocked sockeye salmon.   This is one of my favorite fisheries we have!  Limits are the norm and the action is non stop until the boats limit is obtained.  We typically catch Kokanee through early July before we move on to summer steelhead. Summer steelhead fishing is a blast in the tributaries of the Columbia River year after year!  We target summer steelhead with light tackle while drifting down the river fishing from one spot to the next. Summer steelhead are hard fighters and often are very acrobatic making the fight that much more exciting when they get hooked.

After summer steelheading slows down, I plan on moving my operation to Astoria Oregon to start targeting bottom fish such as Ling Cod and Black bass among many other species that we typically hook while bottom fishing. Bottom fishing is a great way to fill the freezer with delicious white meated fish and limits are very typical during this fishery.

Our Salmon season in Astoria will be a bit different this year regarding when we start fishing, and when the season ends.  This year we will start our Fall Chinook season on August 15th and it will run until August 27th.  The Astoria fishery is also known worldwide as the Buoy 10 fishery.  People travel from far reaches to participate in this fishery year after year due to it’s high probability of catching their limits of both Coho and Fall Chinook.

Fall Chinook and Coho salmon are coming fresh out of the ocean to start their migration up the Columbia River to the final destination to spawn.  We follow these fish from the ocean all the way to the tributaries of the Columbia every year catching great numbers of fish on the daily.  Another season  we will participate in will be catch and release and also catch and keep Sturgeon fishing.  The Columbia River sturgeon are some of the meatiest fish in the entire US and we are so lucky to have them.

After the August Buoy 10 fishery is over, fishing for salmon remains strong all the way into November making for a very long season to get the opportunity to catch them.  September and October are dynamite for fall chinook fishing on the Columbia and its tributaries with nice weather and tons of fish to catch!

As we fight through this virus that has gripped our country, one thing has remained true through the entire thing. We as humans need to recreate and connect with the great outdoors and fishing is one of the best ways to do so.  I’m so very looking forward to seeing all my old customers and meet new ones into 2020.  If you have any questions or just want to talk fishing please give me a call and we’ll chat about what’s going on in the great northwest fishing scene. 360 910 0612. Looking forward to a great fishing season with you! Continue Reading

Fishing the past few weeks has been nothing short of amazing! The forecast for Chinook salmon was originally not that great this year, but it’s proving to be a phenomenal with tons of chinook in the Columbia and its tributaries. On another positive note, the Coho salmon forecast was set to be massive, and its proving to be exactly what the predicted! The next three months is my favorite time of year. Once the Coho and Chinook salmon enter the tributaries of the Columbia, our tactics of catching them completely changes. We will be using a much more “hands on” approach to fishing for these salmon with light tackle while casting on our small SW Washington rivers. It’s such a blast targeting salmon on smaller rivers because the constant action and moving around to find them, and with this years catch rates, it won’t be too hard catching high numbers of fish daily. After seeing how many fish were getting caught in the ocean and the lower Columbia this year, I can’t wait for the rest of our fishing salmon fishing season in the tributaries! Get out while the fishing is hot and don’t forget steelhead is up next!

The Columbia River Fishing Season for Spring Chinook has been an up and down ride for most the most part. Some days we had fantastic fishing and other’s not so much. That’s how fishing can be sometimes unfortunately. Today was the last day of the set season but the good news is we will have an extension for this Sat and Sun. We are only at half of our quota so far so I fairly confident there will be another extension as well. Feel free to give me a call to see when the future openings will be. In the mean time, we are going to start fishing kokanee on Merwin and Yale lake. Kokanee fishing is an absolute blast and I feel fortunate that we have such beautiful lakes stuffed with one of the finest eating fish on the planet in them! Columbia River Fishing season is upon us so let’s get out and catch some!