Fisherman's customer Dan AKA the Salmon Sniper caught this toad this past week. He encountered the beast in 40ft of water and his gear placed at 20ft of water. Dan saw the fish on the bottom of his live scope, and he said it shot up like a missile to take his bait. Two seconds later, it almost broke his rod in half! However, this beast was no match for the Salmon Sniper and his expert tactics. Congrats Dan on your amazing catch!
Fishing Report:
The Columbia this past week has been good, however fisheries managers have decided to shut down the Salmon and Steelhead fishery. Anglers have been finding great success targeting Chinook using spinners, Kwikfish, Mag Lips, KillerFish, and FlatFish while sitting on an anchor. The fish being caught are primarily Summer Chinook now and they are making their initial push all the way up to the headwaters of the Columbia, so they are moving fast. That means finding some good travel lanes is a must. Sockeye fishing has been good as well with anglers finding great success sitting on an anchor with a small diver and bait or a traditional Spin-N-Glo and coon stripe shrimp. Steelhead have been mixed in with Sockeye as well so you never know what you might hook.
Columbia River estuary Sturgeon fishing was good this past week. Fisherman’s Pro, Chris Vertopoulos, has been giving these prehistoric creatures a good workout. He suspects that as the tides start to get bigger the fishing should continue to improve. Squid, herring, anchovies, and sand shrimp are the most popular bait options.
Ocean Salmon fishermen are chomping at the bit for some nice weather conditions to go and chase some Coho/Chinook. Trolling is always the go-to technique with herring, anchovies, SpinFish, Spin Dawgs, Brad’s Cut Plugs and Super Baits. These fish should start showing up in bigger numbers as we move further into the summer.
Surf Perch fishing has been good with anglers finding some good success on last week’s incoming tides. These delicious fish tend to really show up during an incoming tide as the waves kick up new treats that the Perch will dart in and out of waves looking for. Sand shrimp, clam necks, and Gulp Sandworms have all been working well.
Bottom fishing remains excellent with Fisherman’s Pro, Ted Teufel, finding success on all species of bottom fish while fishing out of Garibaldi. They have also seen a mix of some nice halibut as well.
Fishing off the many jetties that line the Oregon coast has been good and is a super fun way to spend a sunny coastal day. Greenling, Seabass, Perch, and Lingcod are the usual fish hanging around jetties. Spinners, swimbaits, jigs, curly tail grubs and sometimes a bobber and herring or anchovy will work. Having different bait options with you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are knocking on the door of the Albacore Tuna season here in the Pacific Northwest. These hard fighting, great tasting fish will follow the warm ocean currents as they push closer to the Oregon/Washington Coast. Trolling is typically the first technique that starts to produce as you are able to cover a ton of water in short order. Tuna clones, cedar plugs, X-raps and even swimbaits all work well.
Walleye fishing remains a stellar option in the Columbia River Gorge. These delicious fish are scattered all throughout the river, although once you find them the fishing can get red hot. It seems like when you find one or two Walleye, you will usually find a pile of other ones nearby. Trolling worm harness rigs has been the go-to technique says Fisherman’s Pro, Steve Leonard.
Trout fishing has still been a great option all around the state. ODFW has continued their planting efforts with many lakes receiving healthy plants of legal rainbows. Locally, Estacada Lake and North Fork Reservoir both received just under 2,000 Trout. On the East side of the state, Wallowa Lake has just got a huge plant of over 10,000 legal Trout! Needless to say, there are lots of opportunities at the moment. Fishing bait off the bottom or under a bobber is always a go-to while casting a bubble and fly, spinner or Kastmasters can be another deadly technique. Boat anglers will find great success trolling along shorelines using Mag Lips, FlatFish, and Hotshots.
