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| Pic: Steelhead Outfitters - Sam Sickles |
Fishing Report
This could be a tough week in the region for steelheaders,
but last week was on the verge of epic from what we’ve heard.
Chinook
Salmon are definitely declining in quantity and quality as we are
seeing post-spawn fish washing down the river.
The bulk of the spawn is still a week or two out, but this week’s “high
water” should help push some of them out of the system and get the latecomers
into the rivers. We have a really good
chance at breaking the all-time fall Chinook record through Bonneville Dam, and
we have already broken the all time Chinook count for the year (Spring, Summer
and Fall Chinook combined).
This also marks the time of year that Chinook start to “bed
up” on their spawning gravel, otherwise known as redds. Please respect the incredibly long and
difficult journey that these fish have made and avoid walking through spawning
areas or fishing at spawning salmon.
They have made it this far, so let’s allow them to spawn and die in
peace so that we can have more salmon in a couple of years. If you see dark colored salmon in shallow
water, they are likely trying to spawn.
A spawning Chinook does not put up much of a fight and you are taking
away the last reserves of energy that it has left for its final act. If you see someone fishing at spawning
salmon, please respectfully say something and suggest that they move on to
better water. We don’t need any
confrontation, just education. Thank you
so much and fish on!
Coho Salmon are really not showing up as predicted. The following article is a good explanation
of the state of the runs. I suggest
signing up for the Columbia Basin Bulletin newsletter if you are interested in
keeping track of the ins and outs of the management of salmon and steelhead in
the
Columbia Basin.
https://www.cbbulletin.com/435193.aspx Always a wealth of good information.
Although numbers are far, far below the pre-season
predictions, and I suggested last week that the run was late due to the lack of
rain, we should still have far more fish than our current counts show.
Summer Steelhead are definitely spread throughout the Columbia Basin.
The Grande Ronde, Clearwater, Salmon, Deschutes
and Klickitat are all fishing
well right now. As of Sunday, the
Klickitat and the Hood are mud, and we haven’t heard about the Deschutes, but it’s a pretty good bet that the White is
puking mud into the river. We are never
sure how long it will take to clear up, but you can’t always wait for perfect
conditions to go fishing. Give it a few
days and I would be that the D and the Klick will be fishable by mid week. If you really need to get out before
mid-week, head up to the Deschutes above the White River
confluence, it is in good shape.
The Hood River
has been very muddy. I went down on
Thursday to cast the OPST Commando Heads on my old Sage XP 8100. Finally I can spey fish effectively with a
single hand rod! Anyways, there was
about three inches of visibility at best.
By Friday, it had cleared to about 6 inches, but by Saturday afternoon,
it had dropped back down to zero… There
is very little access on the Hood and there are a lot of Chinook spawning in
the accessible areas. Please refrain
from fishing at them. More than one local
angler has spotted filleted salmon carcasses on the river. Targeting
Chinook in the Hood
River is prohibited after
June 15.
Lost Lake and Laurence Lake are still fishing really well right
now. We do get very few reports from the
lakes in the fall because most people are fishing for salmon or steelhead, but
it can be wicked awesome this time of year with very little (no) pressure. Laurence Lake closes on October 31, so get
out while you can.
Smallmouth Bass fishing
has been good… Not one report in the last few weeks, but conditions
have been good on the Columbia. Ryan needs to get back from Chicago so I can break in my new Sage ONE 690-4,
aka, the smallie slayer. I lined it up
with a Rio Outbound Short WF6F/I, and it has been sitting in the corner of my
tying room getting neglected… Friends
with bass boats are always good friends.
As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time. Give us a call if you have any specific
questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some
encouragement to get out of the office.
"Fly Fish the World with Us"
