Fishing report 8-19
Astoria
Astoria has been kicking out fish for pretty much anybody and everybody this past week. With Chinook and Coho limits being caught daily, you never know what you might hook when your rod folds over.
Fresh anchovies or herring are always great options to have on board, especially when a hard incoming tide brings in schools of baitfish. That way, you are able to match the hatch.
Trolling 360 flashers with size 3.5 spinners or hard-spinning baitsâsuch as SpinFish, stuffed baits, cut plugs, or Super Baitsâhas been one of the predominant choices for anglers who are trolling. However, having rods rigged with triangle flashers is always a great idea. Sometimes the tide will rip so hard that you canât troll 360 flashers.
Ocean Coho
Fishing in the ocean has been downright stellar for Coho. All along the coast, Coho have been hitting the decks of virtually everyoneâs boats. This fishery should stay productive for quite a while, and soon many Chinook will be mixed in as well.
Trolling with anchovies or herring is always a great option. However, many anglers are choosing to use the hard-spinning baits mentioned above.
Columbia River Chinook and Coho
As these Chinook and Coho move up the Columbia River, the fishing is going to get goodâreally good!
These fisheries have started to be dominated by the 360-flasher crowd, and for good reason: they work! Flashers paired with spinners or hard-spinning baits seem to account for a good portion of the catch.
However, during hard-charging outgoing tides, wobbler fishermen begin to outfish everyone. Heavy lead paired with large- to medium-sized wobblers is the ticket!
Summer Steelhead
There are still plenty of Summer Steelhead around this time of year. Many anglers overlook this amazing fishery while focusing on salmon, but many Willamette Valley and Southwest Washington tributaries have good numbers of Summer Steelhead.
Running divers with bait or small plugs is a fun way to target them, as is fishing with a bobber and bait or beads. All these techniques allow you to cover water effectively while searching for biters.
Tuna
Tuna fishing has been good, and anglers havenât had to travel crazy distances to find them either! Pro Ted Teufel has found tuna on his last few trips while jumping back and forth between salmon and tuna fishing.
Live bait and vertical jigs have been working well once you locate the fish. For trolling anglers, plugs, tuna clones, and X-Raps have been producing successful results.
Bottomfishing
Bottomfishing remains an amazing option during late summer and early fall. These fish are busy packing on weight as quickly as possible, so limits can often come quickly.
Anglers have been catching a good variety of rockfish species, as well as Lingcod. Vertical jigs, swimbaits, twin-tailed scampies, and shrimp flies have all been working well.
Lake Merwin Kokanee
Kokanee fishing at Lake Merwin can be good early in the morning, before all the ski boats come out. This fishery tends to be forgotten during the Columbia River salmon seasons, but the fishing can be superb and can often produce boat limits once you find the schools of Kokanee.
Walleye
Walleye fishing in the Columbia River Gorge has also been very good. Bottom walkers with worm-harness rigs remain the most productive technique for most anglers.
Trout
Trout anglers are finding success across the state! With daytime temperatures high and long hours of sunlight, trout tend to move deep and wait out the heat. You can still catch them during that time by fishing bait off the bottom.
Early in the morning at first light, or late in the evening just before dark, trout will come out looking for an easy meal. Thatâs when casting a spinner, spoon, or Kastmaster can pay off big time!