Fishing report 10-16
Fall Chinook and Coho fishing in the Columbia River is still going on and while the majority of the Chinook run has entered unit he Columbia already, there are still a few thousand Chinook and Coho going over Bonneville dam daily. Folks have been successful trolling 360 flashers with spinners, Spinfish-n-Fish, Spindawgs and Brad’s Super baits. Some folks have found success flatline trolling wiggle warts for Coho near the mouths of the tributaries that litter the lower Columbia River below Bonneville dam.
In Southwest Washington, rivers like the Lewis, Cowlitz, Kalama and Washougal have seen an influx of Coho and should continue to get fresh push’s of B Run Coho for a few more weeks. These Coho are typically chrome bright, larger than the average A Run Coho and great biters. Throwing twitching jigs, plugs, spinners, spoons, bait or beads will all be productive options. But also be aware, there are still plenty of Chinook in the mix. So you never know if a chrome bright 30lb late returning Fall Chinook might grab your bait and take you for a ride!
Summer Steelhead are being caught in many local rivers and often times by folks chasing Salmon. The anglers in the know, understand that fall is really one of the best times to chase summers. They are not spawning for several more months and have just lived through the warmest water temps of the year. Fall is when they become very good biters. Jigs, pink worms, beads, bait, spinners and spoons will all be great options when picking out your Summer Steelhead arsenal. Rivers like the Deschutes, Klickitat, John Day and even the Clackamas all have fishable numbers of Steelhead in them and typically have less angling pressure as many folks are still focusing on Salmon.
Along the coast we are going to see a good surge of Fall Chinook and Coho entering most river systems as we continue to get this much needed rain. Once rivers are able to really bump up and empty themselves of all of the fall leaves, the fishing should be very good. Backtrolling kwikfish, Maglips and Killerfish is a very fun way to target these fish. Backbouncing eggs is also super effective as is the ever popular bobber and egg fishery. These Fall Chinook are on a one way mission upstream so if you can get infront of them, they are typically quite aggressive. When planning tributary trips in the fall it’s always good to have a back up plan b or c as river levels will typically raise quickly with the heavy rains that can be associated with Fall Salmon fishing. So having another option in the back of your mind is a great idea.
Fall Crabbing has been good and again, should get even better as October presses on. Make sure to have some great oily bait options on board to get the Crab flocking to your pots.
Razor Clamming opened up again along many Washington beaches and this time it’s for 7 days! The last opener was quite good and all signs are leading to this opener being just as good!
Bottom fishing remains a stellar option for folks. Pro, Andy Martin, has still been poking around the bottomfish grounds and finding killer results. Limits of big Lingcod have been the norm for his clients along with tons of other bottomfish species.
Mushroom hunting has been really good for a lot of people and with this week’s rain the woods should be full of new mushrooms! Chanterelles have been fairly prolific in many areas and again with the rain and lack of very cold weather, they should continue to sprout up.
Fall time Trout fishing is again one of those fisheries the tends to get overlooked, but shouldn’t. The bigger Trout that have spent the summer eluding anglers and living in the depths of lakes are now out and trying to fatten up before Winter. They were smart enough to make it through summer and now know they need to build up their fat stores to outlast winter. Fishing bait like Powerbait, Salmon Eggs, Nightcrawlers, salad shrimp and any number of Gulp baits. Fishing them off of the bottom will work all day long and bobber fishing bait early in the morning and late in the evening will also be a great idea as Trout will be up and cruising the shallows. Locally Henry Hagg Lake just got stocked with over 4,000 Trout and just adds onto the thousands of Trout that have already been stocked.
