Outdoor Report 10/19
The Fishing on the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam has still been quite productive for chinook and coho. Anglers fishing in the lower river have still been finding success with using 360° flashers and small 3.5 spinners or Brad’s Super Baits. One thing to consider, as more and more coho enter the lower Columbia, is to bring along some Wiggle Warts or casting spinners. There are times that you will find a pile of coho, especially at the mouths of tributaries. These fish will, at times, be super aggressive and you can either troll the Wiggle Warts or cast spinners to these fresh pods of fish. Up near Bonneville Dam the fishing has also been consistent for a lot of anglers. The 360° flasher trolling has been the most widely used technique up there, however the anglers that are anchoring or backtrolling Kwikfish and Mag Lips are also doing quite well. Kwikfish in size 15 and 16 are the most popular with Mag Lips in size 4.5 and 5.0 making up the other side of the tackle box. Sturgeon fishing will be open for retention two days this next week, October 21st and October 26th. The retention zone will be from the Wauna powerlines all the way up to the deadline below Bonneville Dam. The slot limit will be from 44-50 inches measuring from the fork length of the tail to the tip of the nose. The folks that have been pre-fishing them this last week reported that the fishing has been great. The most popular baits have been herring, smelt, squid and anchovies. If you need any help getting rigged up for sturgeon, swing by any of our three locations and our tackle staff can help get you dialed in. Tillamook Bay has been productive this week with a decent influx of fish with some very nice chinook weighing 30 pounds plus in the mix. This week’s coming rain will mix things up at the coast, the fish in the bay will surely squirt up into the rivers with more fish sure to follow as middle to late October can be prime time in the bay. Herring and spinners will be the best options for the bay. As for the rivers, backtrolling plugs or back bouncing bait are awesome techniques when the rivers have just come into shape and are running slightly dirty and high. Once the river levels recede a bit and start running clear again, bobber fishing bait or big salmon jigs are a pretty common technique to be using. Always check your local regulations at the coast as certain areas have different regulations than others. With these crisp mornings and cold evenings, the trout fishing has been great! Early morning or late evening trolling has been very productive while trolling small flatfish, Mag Lips, wedding rings or flys. This is the time of year that some very big trout get caught so always be ready for that next personal best to hit the net.
