Winter walleye Social. Nov 18th Irrigon fish hatchery

I’ll be having the winter walleye social this year on Nov.18th 2023 8 am till 3pm. We launch at the Irrigon Oregon fish hatchery.   This has been an absolute blast the past years.  I can put campers up at my place and even have room for cots or people in the house. I live in Kennewick about 40 minutes from the hatchery area.  We usually end up with about 20 folks at my place.  There is a pretty good sized group of folks that come up Thursday evening and we fish Friday as well as Saturday.   Please have all the required safety gear for cold weather.  If you have any questions please ask.  It’s a pretty easy fishery.  We don’t kill anything over 22 inches.  The fish usually run from 12 to 20 inches where we fish.   Once in a while a bigger fish will be caught.   This is a winter fishery. Fun for everyone. 

I'll probably be able to make it. If anyone is looking to learn Winter walleye fishing on the Columbia, Jim is the guy to learn from. There should be lots of new anglers as well as some guys that have been doing it for a couple seasons to help out on the water if you are having trouble getting fish. It's mainly a blade bait fishery with the Heddon;s Sonic blade bait being most popular but other brand blades and rip 'n glide baits work well too. Lure weights are mostly 1/2 to 3/4 ounce depending on flow and depth. Depth is 40-80 fow. Light, thin diameter braid and 10-15# flouro leader will help keep the scope out of your drift. Light action rods with a fast tip works well for snapping the blades and detecting bites on the fall. Hope to see you out there.

Perfect explanation!  Thanks Jed!

Looking forward to it! I think I can make it this year.

I am hoping to make it.
I might be elk hunting that week. If the past 2 years are the same as this year, I will done and headed home.

I dont know how to catch walleye in the 12-20" range... Jed watched me all day last time i went... only caught one...

I dont know how to catch walleye in the 12-20" range... Jed watched me all day last time i went... only caught one...

That's true but I've also seen you land huge 30+ inch fish one after another all night. You have a unique relationship with walleye

Time off requested.
Do we need a Washington license or will an Oregon license work?

Time off requested.
Do we need a Washington license or will an Oregon license work?

Launching from Irrigon area so Oregon license is fine. Shared water so Washington lic will also work.