Fishing Reports

Columbia River fishing report: The past few weeks we have been targeting Kokanee Salmon on the lakes of SW Washington. Now, its time to switch our gears to steelhead and salmon! We will targeting steelhead throughout the month of July, and then we move on to the world famous Buoy 10 fishery in Astoria Oregon. This year, the Chinook forecast is equal to last years, which even with a smaller than average return it was still very good. The bright spot of this years fishing forecast is we are expected to get nearly a million Coho Salmon back to the Columbia River! And with that, we will be expecting to see limits increase due to that large forecast! Once we move into the tributaries, the limit on Coho could be as many as 6 fish per person! In August, we will target salmon with fresh anchovy’s and herring while trolling. Trolling is a technique that allows us to cover a lot of ground looking for schools of fish willing to bite. The ticket to being successful while trolling is using the freshest bait possible while rigging that bait in a matter that makes the bait resemble a wounded fish. In order to make our baits appear to be wounded, we rig our hooks into the fish in a fashion that puts a bend in them. This makes the fish spin in tight circle while being trolled enticing a feeding fish to strike. Trolling speed is the second most important part of success in any troll fishery. If baits or lures are spinning too fast, salmon have a harder time getting a good look at them, and many times salmon don’t want to chase them down. Trolling too slow is also not good because it doesn’t give the bait a proper spin that salmon just don’t like. There are many more factors that make for a successful day on the water including tides, currents, weather and obviously the amount of fish that are around. Being dialed in on all these things is what it takes to be consistent at any Northwest fishery. We are ecstatic that we are expecting such a large return this year! Don’t miss out on this summer’s steelhead and Fall Salmon fishing season! It will be one to remember!

After a short winter break it’s time to start making plans for this year’s upcoming fisheries.  First on the list, we have our Spring Chinook run starting soon in mid March.  This year we get the rare opportunity to fish all the way till April 10th!  Not only that, but the lower Columbia River will be closed all the way to Woodland Washington which just so happens to be my home waters.  These fish will have not seen any gear all the way from the ocean, which will make for some fantastic fishing despite a little smaller forecasted run.  Spring Chinook are the most sought after salmon in the world and with one bite you will know why.  When these fish hit the market they are typically 52-57 dollars a pound!  Get ahold of me soon to get your seats booked because they will go fast.  Next up and probably one of my favorite fisheries is Kokanee Salmon on Lake Merwin and Yale lake in SW Washington.  We are already catching good numbers of Kokanee which indicates this years fishing will be dynamite.  Kokanee, although not large they are the best eating fish next to Spring Chinook that we have.  When things really heat up late March -July it’s nearly every day occurrence to catch the whole boat worth of limits.  The limit on Kokanee is 10 fish per person so when all is said and done you’ll leave with a pretty darn good haul of meat.  It’s that time of year again to start thinking about getting out on the rivers and lakes and start catching dinner and even possibly a memory that will last forever.

It was a great season on the Columbia this year but unfortunately it was cut a bit short due to lower than predicted Bonneville Dam counts.  The good news is the counts have really went up the last few days and things are looking promising for future runs of fall chinook.   Recently, we have been targeting the tributaries of the Columbia the past couple weeks with great success! There’s a lot to look forward to in the next couple months of fishing.  First, we are able to keep any Chinook after Oct 1st on local tributary we are fishing.  These fish are big, bright, and a blast to catch!  Still have some great dates left for that fishery.  Next up will be Coho salmon fishing in Late October, early November.  This fishery is one of my favorites due to a hands on approach casting and catching a lot of fish.  You can’t go wrong in the months of Oct and Nov so get on board before we all go into hypernation for the winter.

Fishing for Fall Chinook at Astoria this year ended up being much better than expected.  Many times run projections given by the state are not correct.  This year seems to be that way.  Each day we caught our fish without too much trouble which is the way Buoy 10 should be.  Now we have moved inland to my home area Woodland Washington.  We are already catching limits of nice kings daily with a a few Coho salmon around too!  I still have a few really good dates left due to some cancelations so it’s not too late to get on board!  Contact me asap before these seats fill up because they will.  In October we will have Coho Salmon coming through the Columbia and we will be catching great numbers of those as well.  Late October we will switch gears and move into the tributaries of the Columbia to target coho and chinook with light tackle and different and fun presentations.. Later October and early November are a blast!  I highly suggest one of those trips! Check out our Facebook page and give it a like to see the latest catches.  See you soon!

The Summer Steelhead season this year on the Columbia River and its tributaries were much better than expected!  Many times, run predictions are not always accurate from the Washington Department of fish and Wildlife.  For instance, the run prediction for Sockeye Salmon this year was only 60,000 and we have received 194,000 over Bonneville Dam so far.  The run prediction for Fall Chinook is also low this year but catch rates in the ocean are proving that that could be wrong as well.  We have now wrapped up our Summer Steelhead season and are gearing up for the upcoming world famous Buoy 10 fishery for the month of August and into September.   The Fall Chinook and Coho season is our longest and best fishing of the year hands down!  There’s tons of opportunity out there until clear into mid November for both species.  This year, we’re running a brand new 26ft Allumaweld Columbia that’s built for big water for you to enjoy your day even more!  Now’s the time to book your trip so let’s get out and do some catching!  See you soon!

Fishing on the Columbia River for Summer Chinook and Summer Steelhead has been good to great depending on the day..  The Summer Chinook season closes on Saturday the 30th, but Summer Steelhead and Sockeye will remain open! I have some great dates available for July for Steelhead, so call soon to get in on the action.  Next up we have the world famous Buoy 10 fishery.  Run predictions are slightly lower than the past few but still plenty to have a ton of great days on the water!  I’m starting to book Buoy 10, but there is still a lot of great dates left.  I will have a new boat this year for the upcoming fishery which will make ride comfortability and room much nicer!  Don’t miss out on one of the best fishery’s of the year.  Call today!

Fishing on the Columbia is picking up fast for Summer Chinook.  Within a week we’ve gone from one or two fish days to double digit opportunities.  The water height on the Columbia has dropped and now the fish are on the move!  Our seasons have been frustrating to say the least, but opportunity is definitely good.  Right now we can fish for Summer Chinook until June 15th. It will reopen on the 22nd and go until July 4th.  Thankfully Summer Steelhead will keep us busy in the meantime.  The weather is nice and the fish are in so come on out and get your fish on!

Fishing on the tributaries of the Columbia is finally getting good!  It’s been a overall slow start to springer fishing on the tribs, but things have ramped up considerably the last few days.  Bonneville Dam counts have jumped in numbers big time as well!  Cold water temps, and high water have slowed the fish down this year. Finally, temps are rising and fish are on the move!  We will start targeting Wind River and Drano Lake this week which is already kicking out good numbers of catch rates.  May and June are hot months to fish!  Get on board while the fish are here and the weather is perfect!

Fishing for Spring Chinook on the Columbia river has came to a temporary end.  The season ended on the 8th, but as soon as more fish move over Bonneville Dam we will get another crack at them towards the end of the month!  In the mean time, we’ll be targeting fish in the tributaries of the Columbia below Bonneville. Thankfully, some of the tribs  are expecting great runs this year!  We are very lucky to have the opportunity here in SW Washington to fish small rivers that have awesome scenery and great fishing!  Spring Chinook are arguably the best eating salmon on the planet and my personal favorite.  There’s still some great dates available this spring, so book soon for the best seats. Time to get out and catch some fish!