Outdoor Report 9/27
The Columbia has remained great this week. Folks fishing from Astoria all the way up into the gorge have been experiencing great fishing. The coho fishing has still been good down in Astoria. A lot of people seem to forget about the amazing coho fishery that we have there all through September, but with a run of nearly 500,000 forecasted coho, this fishery can be awesome! These fish will bite virtually anything when the schools move through, though typically, spinners and bait make up the majority of the bites down there. Target these fish suspended in the water column, as they will typically push in on big incoming tides and flush up river up off of the bottom. Once you get above Warrior Rock the chinook fishing remains steady, with people doing extremely well with trolling spinners and Brad’s Super Baits. Most fishermen are still trolling Shortbus Super Series or 11" Pro-Troll flashers on the incoming and outgoing tides. Fishing below Bonneville Dam has still been good as well. The fishermen are split down the middle with half of the fleet trolling 360° flashers and the other half fishing Kwikfish. The Kwikfish guys are then split in half again, with half sitting on anchor and the other half backtrolling them with jumbo divers. The good part is that everyone seems to be doing equally well, so pick your favorite technique and get after it. There have been a lot of nice fish caught this last week so bring your “A” game. Tillamook has still been slower to start than usual, however, there are still fish being caught. Most of the fish are still being taken down in the lower bay, Ghost Hole to the jaws. Although, last week there was a push of fish that made it into the upper bay, and the few fishermen that fished there, ended up being rewarded with chrome results. The vast majority of fishermen are still trolling around herring, but keeping some spinners on hand is a must, you never know when the bite might switch. Locally, coho have been making their way into the rivers and some fishermen have been experiencing good fishing. These coho can be caught using a multitude of techniques including, jigs, eggs, spinners, plugs and beads. Keeping a few techniques on hand when targeting coho can definitely be helpful as these fish are super finicky at times. Starting with eggs is a great choice, and if they won't snap when seeing eggs, sometimes a spinner or plug can get a reaction. Once we get some rain these fish will definitely go on the bite as they are on a one way mission to their hatcheries. Smallmouth bass angling on both the Willamette and Columbia Rivers has perked up recently with the cooler weather, as the fish are feeling the urgency to fatten up for winter. While drop-shotting plastics is a go-to method, the fish are also starting to hit crankbaits and spinnerbaits again. Trout fishing has been excellent lately at the Mt. Hood Lakes with the onset of autumn. Timothy Lake in particular has been putting out some large rainbows in the 2-5lb range. Try fishing a nightcrawler 3-6ft under a float in water 6-12ft deep along the shoreline. Washington has tentatively scheduled razor clam digs for the end of next week, Friday and Saturday. They are also looking to open four days in November and five days in December. You can check the dates on the WDFW website by going to http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/ shellfish/razorclams/current.html Crabbing has been outstanding. Oregon’s general buck season and many of the controlled hunts open this weekend. The forecast for more rain is ideal for the hunters heading out opening weekend. As always, be sure to check local regulations before heading out. Tight lines, shoot straight and be careful out there.
