Steelies

With the rivers falling it will be prime steelhead time. This time of year sidedrifting and jigs are your best bet

Longview Salmon

Fishing is at its peak for salmon on the columbia near longview/rainer. Anchor up for chinook or troll for coho both are productive

Astoria update 2010

Astoria is taking off. The coho are starting to enter the river on the tide. We have had nice calm days at the bouy and we are still getting chinook in the 30+ pound range. Hardware has not been effective just bait. Only two weeks left on this fishery.

Astoria opening

Sunday was opening day at astoria. Fished both sunday and monday with good success. Fish are still out caught all fish out at the the b10 marker. Warrenton srea still very slow.

Weekend update

Last three days were great we hooked and landed quite a few steelhead. Only a couple of Natives. With the warmer water the fish seem to be in the 17-21 foot range. Oversize are slowing a bit though we did manage a few and landed a few keepers as well.

Peak run and Astoria around the corner

Steelhead is at is peak right now with 5K + a day fish going over the dam. Sturgeon are also doing well below the marker 82. July should finish off fine and it is time to look at Astoria for a great month of Salmon fishing. I will be there starting Sunday August 1st for the whole month.

Summer Steelhead

The summer steelhead season has reached a good peak with strong numbers reported each day. This fishery will continue through August and will be OK in Septemeber. It is also time to prepare for the Astroia Fishery with good numbers predicted for both Chinook and Silvers I exepect another great year of fishing.

Status update

The water temperature is on the rise and that is good for Walleye and Sturgeon. The Shad are slowly dropping in numbers the summer Salmon has been slow to fair you really have to work for them this year. Getting ready for the B10 Astoria fishery should be another great year.

Water improving

The water on both big rivers is improved a lot still running high though. All species are biting good and that should continue. We should have a good Steelhead season as the water temperature and volume will allow for good fishing.

Bite is on

Water clarity has improved drastically and the Sturgeon and Salmon bite went off. Great numbers of both reported and the Shad picked up as well. Steelhead is just starting but should be good this summer as we get into July.

Water Clearing

The water on both the Columbia and Willamette is dropping and clearing which will improve all fisheries, today Salmon season re-opened on the Columbia with a short season. Shad and Sturgoen action is going strong so we have lots of opportunities.

High Water

The Columbia is running very high the current is strong as well. Shad are hugging the bank in about 10-12 feet of water but you will be fishing in among the trees. Color is OK so that is not an issue but you will beed at least 8-10 more ounces to stay on the bottom. The Willamette is not an option it is very high and dark brown.

High Water

The Columbia is running very high the current is strong as well. Shad are hugging the bank in about 10-12 feet of water but you will be fishing in among the trees. Color is OK so that is not an issue but you will beed at least 8-10 more ounces to stay on the bottom. The Willamette is not an option it is very high and dark brown.

RIver update

The willamette river is holding in terms of river level but is mudding up fast a lot of pressure at the falls and in the garbage hole. The gorge has not taken off but steady catches of shad are there and there is a lot of pressure for Sturgeon you need to move around to find the fish..

Shad and Sturgeon

The Shad fishery is going good and getting stronger. Been getting about a dozen per hour and each day is getting better. All types of spoons are and colors are working right now. The Sturgeon fishing below marker 82 is getting packed with people and with heavy pressure it is getting more and more difficult you have to keep moving to locate oversize and keepers are hard to come by.

Reg Changes

The Columbia opened to fishing for Shad last Sunday May 16th. You are still unable to fish for Steelhead or Salmon on the Columbia so be careful when Shad fishing as you may hook one of these fish, you must not take them out of the water to release them. No changes for the Willamette it is still open for Salmon and Steelhead fishing and shad have been caught in Oregon City. Sturgeon is closed until Nov 1 on the Willamette.

Strugeon all the way

Even with the Change the early showing is oversize Sturgeon will be OK. Fished the flats below the falls and picked up a few nice oversize, they seem to be hitting anything caught one on shad and the other on squid. Launching is spread through out as some are using Rooster Rock state park, some Dalton point and some the Fishery. I went out of Chinook Landing. Be careful if you launch at Dalton Pt this is notorious for break ins.

Shad

The shad should be coming in any day now. Oversize are in the river heading to their spawning grounds below the dam and a few are being caught. The Willamette is slowing for Salmon though the channel is still producing a few fish.

Willamette Still producing

The Willamette is still producing springers and should for a few more weeks, waiting on the Shad to arrive which is the start of Oversize. There are oversize in the area caught some before the closure above Marker 82. It will be interesting with no fishing above 82 where everyone will target oversize it may get a bit crowded.

Sturgeon Closure

With the April 30th closure of Sturgeon above marker 82 (Multnomah Falls) that will put a lot of pressure on the Troutdale area for Oversize. I got in a few days of fishing before the closure and it was great. One day we got 47 fish which included 2 keepers and 1 oversize, too bad it closed.

Rains hitting the area

Now that I am back from vacation the rains are hitting the area brining warm water into the system. This should raise the temp of the Willamette, if the temp hits in the upper 50's or greater switch to prawns if your a bait person or hardware like Kwikfish or spinners. There is a lot of pressure on the Willamtte so etiquette is key to making the day fun.

Springers Closed

The Columbia closed Sunday for Springers but the Willamette is still open. Overall it was a decent year the crowds were unbearable and there are still some out there that have no clue how to drive or manage a boat and they need to learn to not troll upriver against the traffic or anchor in the trolling lane oh well.

Red hot springers

The springer season has been in full mode lots of fish in the river and it will close this Sunday. That is so typical right when things get going things close. Willamette will get packed starting Monday how fun.

Winds playing havoc

This past weekend the winds kicked up making it hard to hold the boat steady, walleye fishing was tough in these conditions and trolling for Salmon was difficult as boats were being pushed side to side. Another week left before Salmon closes unless they take a look at he quota marks and determine to keep it open. This is peak time for Salmon.

First Salmon

It was a good weekend for fishing. Had a guy from Colorado who's biggest fish he ever caught was a 4lb trout to watch him fight and land two springers in the 20lb class was a great site. We saw a lot of fish caught the Columbia is holding up well considering the weather water temp was holding in the 47 degree range a bit cool for this time of year.

Columbia Conditions

This latest weather has really affected the both the Columbia and Willamette rivers they are both running really high and really off color. Take special care when anchoring as u will need to let out extra line to make sure you are holding properly. If Salmon fishing really smell up that bait and work shallow water 10-20 feet as Salmon will move closer to the bank during these high water.

Willamette Sturgeon Closes

Saturday was the last chance to keep sturgeon on the Willamette. It will reopen on Nov 1 u can still do catch and release. The only option is the Columbia for Sturgeon and u have until May 1st to work below the dam so April will be key for Sturgeon. Salmon will still be open 7 days a week

Fishing Update

The Willamette slowed for Salmon from Downtown to the falls. However the Multnomah channel has producing right out in front of Freds Marina. Sturgeon closes this Saturday to keeping Sturgeon so I expect a lot of people out this weekend getting their last ditch effort in. The boat ramp at PDX is open to ease pressure off of Freds Marina and Catehdral park for those Salmon fishing the Columbia.

Sturgeon to Close

This Saturday is the last day you can keep sturgeon on the Willamette river. You will be able to do catch and release. The Columbia is still open but the section from Multhomah Falls tot he dam closes on May 1.

Late March Push

There was a late march push of Salmon as the water temp increased. This will continue to build. No word yet on the closure slotted for mid April. Salmon have moved into the deeper water which is wierd when the temp is in the mid 40's we usually find the fish in 12-20 feet of water but a bulk of the fish are being caught in the 30-40 foot depth.

Gill Netters

The last two Tuesdays the Gill Netters have not gone out in the Columbia that is the good news. The bad news maybe they think there are no fish, dont really know I know we are catching fish but dont tell them

Weekend update

Got some Salmon fishing in and was updating the North Cal folks on the Sports Radio show. Springers continue to be doing well. Got some nice small mouth fishing in jigging in 15 feet of water with a white tube and Red jig head. Also picked up Walleye jigging a chartreuse jig head with a worm tail.

Rain stimulating Bite

The rains have stimulate the bite on both the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Water temp is still in the mid forties but we are near the peak of the Springer run and the rains have pushed fresh fish in.

Temp drop on the Columbia

Water temp dropped a few degrees change tactics by looking for salmon in shallower water even 1 degree makes a difference. Move out of the 20-25 feet of water into the 20-15 feet look for small changes in water temp consider hovering or back bouncing to entice fish.

Willamette Springers

With the unpredictable Columbia season the Willamette will get a lot of attention. It is a much different fishery then the Columbia. A lot more prawns and spinners are used then herring. Also understand the depth you are in for the Willamette. Rule is less than 25 feet fish the bottom if greater than 25 feet of water use pulls to get down to the fish. Anchor fishing is also more popular on the Willamette then on the Columbia for Spingers.

Fishing Post

Saw an article about Springers slowing down, we had a day or two that were more difficult then others but being the first of March the fishing is on the upwards peak dont be afraid to experiment when things slow down, change dropper length, anchor and plunk, switch to sand shrimp mix it up.

Launch Courtesy

During the next month as 1 major dock is closed and a short salmon season tensions will run high as people try to get into the water a few key things first dont leave your boat docked impeding others from launching leave the slot open so others can get their boats launched it is best to motor out and wait. When coming in dont leave your boat docked in the take out slot as you go get your boat you will block others who are ahead of you. Just a few notes to make the launch happier.

Herring Rig

When building a Herring two hook rig the distance apart from the two hooks should be 4 fingers for blue label and 3 fingers for green Herring. Tie both hooks with an egg look knot using your fingers to determine the distance apart. Videos can be found on this on my webpage or You Tube.

Springer time

Springers are doing well in both the Willamette and Columbia rivers. Herring and Prawns are the go to bait but watch out the boat launches are packed especially if you want to fish the Columbia as the Gleason boat ramp is closed throughout March. Chinook Landing and Cathedral Park are elbow to elbow.

Troll depths

When looking for Chinook you need to look at the depth you will troll if you are under 25 I would troll right on the bottom if over 25 feet use your fish finder to determine the depth then use the appropriate number of pulls to get down to the fish.

Flashers yes or no

Last springer trip I was asked why we are not using flashers like everyone else. I replied I like to fish right on the bottom and the bouncing of the weight on the bottom causes tangling without the flasher the weight has little to wrap around suddenly his rod went down a nice 20 lb springer did not hear another word that day. It does raise the question to use flashers or not. I dont like them above Rainer a lot of people use them I choose to use the small green wings to add some flash and this reduces the chances of the line tangling.

Springers

Go out this past weekend for springer fishing with early success. I was asked by another boat how many pulls I was doing to catch the fish. I replied no pulls put your bait on the bottom. The past few years all my fish have been caught dragging the bottom even at Astoria (Except for Coho) and Tillamook you need to be near the bottom to catch these fish.

New Regs Released

The fish managment group released the new Spring Salmon and Sturgeon rules for 2010 and it will be an absolute zoo below the 1-205 bridge this year. There will be no boat fishing above the 1-205 bridge pushing everyone down near the port. The also limited days. For Sturgeon they moved the marker another 3.5 miles downstream of marker 85 to marker 82 by skamania island making that area basically off limits this means the troutdale area will be packed with boats for oversize. I will post all the details in my E-Newsletter. sign up now. gofishnw@comcast.net

Spring Salmon

We are seeing increasing numbers of Spring Salmon on the Columbia the past few days we have hooked 4 landed 3 this will continue to grow and get better I am looking for a great salmon seaons this spring

New Regs

We should be seeing the new regs for Sturgeon and Salmon come out this week. We have already seen the complete closure of Sturgeon from Bonnevill to the The Dalles dams I am expecting many more closures as well for below Bonneville Dam as well.

Springers

Springers are showing up on the Columbia though a bit early it is a perfect time for a split day Salmon and Sturgeon since there are great opportunities for both in the same area.

New Web Site

Just uploaded my new site still a few bugs but is much more desgined around what I wanted. Feel free to check it out. www.gofishnw.com

Sturgeon Heating up

The sturgeon are heating up all over the willamette is prodcuing from oregon city to the columbia and the mouth of the cowlitz is doing equally as well. Shrimp and anchovies are catching the most fish on the willamette while smelt and anchovies are what is need on the columbia.

Weekend Fishing

This past weekend I fished for Steelhead and Sturgeon both on the Willamette we had one day we hooked and lost three Steelhead and another day we landed one. Sturgeon fishing was good capped off with a 45 incher. The rainer area is hot right now for Sturgeon and that will be the focus for the next few weeks.

Strugeon Bait

You see a lot of postings about Sturgeon bait - Squid, Smelt, Sandshrimp etc. but what to use when. When the water is warm 60+ there are these crabs that will eat the guts out of Smelt so during summer I avoid Smelt. Usually it is trial and error recently I was fishing with Squid and Shrimp the bite was slow so I put on an Anchovie and 1 hour later we had 3 keepers in the boat. I have come to realize I will put a different bait on each rod and see what they like. One thing to keep in mind, from the fishery to St. Helens the Columbia is one big clam bed so try adding Clam scent from May - Sept when the clams are active.

Sandy River Steelhead

Picked up two Steelhead side drifting eggs on the Sandy water was just starting to rise and a bit off color, fish are biting pretty hard. Had one hit backtrolling plugs really slow we were in the same spot holding still for about 5 minutes when the rod buried but we missed the hook set.

Steelhead

Feb and March are tradionally the best months for winter steelhead, the tricky part is watching water levels and putting in your time. In high water fish close to shore or look for breask in water due to rocks, trees etc. When water is dropping look for water in that 3-5 foot range with a little break on the top. Be sure to cover all the water dont be in a hurry. This past weekend we hooked 6 fish most hooked on the 10th plus cast into a hole.

Snow Level effecting river levels

Snow level is at 4500 feet that means there will be run off from the Mt. So even though there is only 30-60% chance of rain water will melt the lower snow rising the water levels. Rule of thumb if snow level is below 3500 ft rivers will not be effected by run off and if above 3500 ft rivers will stay constant or rise.

Water Levels on the rise

Water levels are on the rise and expected storms coming. Backtrolling or Backbouncing will be the key to Steelhead in any high or off colored water. It will be hard to use a driftboat so the sled will come in handy holding the boat in the faster water.

Tide Water Sturgeon

With the upcoming smelt run for the Cowlitz tide will come into play. Most will targe an outgoing tide to keep the boat steady and pointing down river. But when the tide switches target the soft water and let the boat point upriver. Dial down the weight and dont be afraid to fish upriver in the shallows

River levels

With the water levels rising and dropping what is the best time to fish. When the water is dropping is the best time. Look to the snow level if the snow level is above 3500 feet the river will hold or drop, if below that level the river will rise and come off color. The option is to type into search engines and find websites with river levels and track closely.

Plug Colors

In my previous blog post I talked about pulling plugs but what color to use. A rule of thumb is if overcast or water visibility is low try darker colors like "Cop Car", "Michael Jackson" and use flat painted colors. As the after noon hits and thre is more light switch to metallic and brighter colors.

Pulling Plugs

This time of year pulling plugs for Steelhead becomes very popular especially in high water. Here are a few tips that will work for a sled or driftboatd. First be sure you have a rod with a sensitive tip but strong butt section. Rods should be pointing at a very slight angle (If the back of the boat is 12 oclock the rod on the left should be at 11am and the rod on the right should be 1pm)and almost parallel to the water. The plug should make the rod tip vibrate if not there is a problem and recheck. Back down as slow as you can there is no such thing as too slow. Strikes are violent.

Sturgeon regs will be available through the end of Jan at the minimum then we will see the 2010 changes come out I am expecting from what I hear is the days may not change but there will be more closures. If they do change Feb 1 it may put a hamper on the Sturgeon fishery in front of the Cowlitz in February when the smelt come in. I will keep up and post the changes as needed

Clackamas Steelhead

The Clackamas was running high used the driftboat today not many fish saw caught but we hooked one. Water clarity was decent lots of boats on the water. Water was rising if it gets above 14 might be too much or switch to plugs.