Outdoor Report 11/2

Locally the coho fishing is starting to slow down, however, there are still bright fish being caught. Most anglers have narrowed down their techniques to either casting twitching jigs or spinners, or bobber fishing eggs. The water has cooled down to the point that these fish will readily bite well-presented offerings. Also, the B run of coho starts to move into the Cowlitz and the North Fork of the Lewis this time of the year. These coho are typically a bit larger than their A run cousins. They also have a willingness to bite! Most anglers like to target them with twitching jigs, side drifting eggs and casting or backtrolling plugs. The rivers will be a little higher, therefore the fish will tend to spread out a bit more. Casting plugs or spinners can be an exciting way to find biting groups of fish. Once you find these groups of fish, switching to jigs, spoons or eggs will all yield bites At the coast fall chinook fishing is in full swing! A vast majority of the north coast bays have seen great fall chinook and coho fishing. Trolling spinners or herring are by far the most widely used baits in most of these bays. Trolling 360° flashers and small spinners has now become a common site in coastal bays. People have figured out that these techniques are deadly almost anywhere a salmon swims. Coastal rivers have also been fishing well. The water is slightly on the low side, consequently a lot of anglers have resorted to bobber fishing eggs and shrimp. Once the water comes back up, backtrolling Kwikfish or Mag Lips will become a very popular technique. Backtrolling plugs is one of the most exciting ways to catch fall chinook. These big, angry salmon seem to hate large plugs and will attack them with reckless abandon. Kwikfish in sizes 14, 15 or 16 and Mag Lips in sizes 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 are among the most popular sizes for tributary fall chinook. Sturgeon fishing on the recent Columbia River retention days could best be described as challenging, though there were some nice fish caught. However, catch and release fishing for sturgeon on the Willamette River continues to improve as sturgeon migrate to the slightly warmer water of the Willamette, providing a great option for some solid action close to home. It’s always a good bet to have at least a couple of different baits when targeting sturgeon, and sand shrimp, smelt, squid, night crawlers and roll mop herring are all good bets for winter sturgeon angling. It’s also smart to bring along a few bottles of your favorite scent to “juice up” your bait from time to time. Clam Digging should be good this weekend. There are some good minus tides in the early evenings. Oregon beaches are open daily now and Washington has approved digs on their popular razor clam beaches for this weekend. To see the approved Washington seasons and proposed seasons go to http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing /shellfish/razorclams/current.html Last weekend, hunters on the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area averaged 1.8 birds per hunter. Hunters are looking for fresh migrating birds and a few more Teal have been showing in the area and in bag limits. Typically, Teal are in front of the migrating flocks. The numbers of fresh birds should increase in the coming weeks. Before heading out always check local regulations. Tight lines, shoot straight and most of all, be safe.