NorthWest Kayak Anglers
Regional Discussions => The Mighty Columbia => Topic started by: BigFishy on August 18, 2022, 09:57:41 AM
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Do any of you fellow kayakers fish Buoy 10? I am well aware of the weather reputation it has earned but have seen kayakers in the past on that stretch of river and feel this is a time to try that spot. What are the good launch spots? I was thinking to possibly go Saturday and fish under the bridge on incoming tide. Basically it will be a first trip and I will be on a cautious side hanging close to a launch spot. Will quickly dart back if weather deteriorate. I will be grateful for any shared knowledge.
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Update. "Search" function on this web site revealed some helpful material. Admin, please feel free to delete my post as I can't delete it myself.
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Do any of you fellow kayakers fish Buoy 10? I am well aware of the weather reputation it has earned but have seen kayakers in the past on that stretch of river and feel this is a time to try that spot. What are the good launch spots? I was thinking to possibly go Saturday and fish under the bridge on incoming tide. Basically it will be a first trip and I will be on a cautious side hanging close to a launch spot. Will quickly dart back if weather deteriorate. I will be grateful for any shared knowledge.
It's the current that you need to worry about. Make sure you are fishing above your launch spot so you aren't working against the current and the tide.
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I’ve hit Buoy 10 4 times in the past 2 weeks. I launch out of Hammond or the the West Mooring Basin in Astoria, depending on the tides. On Monday, I launched out of Hammond just after low slack, and the ebb current was still ripping. I trolled against it, but still ended up 1-2 miles downriver before it slowed and started to turn. I ended up back at Hammond around noon, and actually ducked back into the harbor due to the deteriorating conditions. After about 45 minutes, things seemed to settle down a bit, as the tide turned, and the wind waves out of the west weren’t smacking head on into the ebb current. I ended up riding the flood up to the bridge, and then the outgoing back to Hammond. I finally hooked up and netted a nice hatchery chinook about 1/2 mile above Hammond.
Yesterday, I launched out of the West Mooring Basin just before high slack. I trolled almost to where the big ships are moored, then trolled the ebb down to Hammond. I had to duck into Hammond for and hour or so, as even though it was a smallish ebb tide, the current was still ripping. I spent 10 1/2 hours in the kayak, and covered 18 miles. All I ended up with was a single takedown and brief fight before I lost him.
If launching out of the West Basin, I park in the west parking lot, then push my PA14 to the east gangway down to the harbor. I’m usually able to just slide it off the dock at the bottom of the gangway, but sometimes I have to get a bit creative. I’m not really sure if you’re supposed to launch kayaks there, but I go out of my way to be friendly, and stay out of the way.
Most days I can work around the tides, but you don’t want to out there on a large ebb. The other factor is the wind. I look for days with a forecast of 10-12 MPH or less. It almost always kicks up out of the west in the afternoons, and a strong west wind meeting and outgoing tide turns into a huge roiling mess.
It’s big water, there are huge ocean-going vessels, commercial fishing trawlers, guide boats, yachts, etc. I fly a fairly large American flag, and wear a blaze orange ball cap to try and make myself visible. My fallback plan is to take an Uber or taxi back to my vehicle if I get pinned in somewhere due to conditions. Make sure you have good electronics with GPS mapping, and take a really good look in both directions when crossing the shipping lane. Also, make sure you understand where the Youngs Bay Control Zone is. It extends from the sawdust pile, to the green buoys, all the way to the 101 bridge. I usually follow the “green line” (green buoys) to the sawdust pile, then stay close to the shore above Hammond. Be careful of the pilings and potential strainers along the way.
Man, that got really long!
Good luck!
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Wow! Thanks Adrift! This is exactly the type of response I was hoping for. This will be my Buoy 10 Bible for awhile. Very detailed and educational! Thanks for sharing the West Mooring launch spot as I did not notice it initially when I was google map scouting. I ended up going to PC on Saturday but will probably hit B10 in a week or two!
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Do any of you fellow kayakers fish Buoy 10? I am well aware of the weather reputation it has earned but have seen kayakers in the past on that stretch of river and feel this is a time to try that spot. What are the good launch spots? I was thinking to possibly go Saturday and fish under the bridge on incoming tide. Basically it will be a first trip and I will be on a cautious side hanging close to a launch spot. Will quickly dart back if weather deteriorate. I will be grateful for any shared knowledge.
It's the current that you need to worry about. Make sure you are fishing above your launch spot so you aren't working against the current and the tide.
Very solid advice. I've been stuck in high current before and its no fun and sometimes can be dangerous.
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I've launched from Ft. Steven's Sate Park (lot F I think) just inland from the jetty on the Oregon side. You will need to shuffle your boat down a 6 ft sand cliff - relatively easy if you've got decent upper body strength. Its a nice place to launch, free, toilet nearby, and close to good fishing water. I agree about being careful with tides. Until you're very comfortable with fishing in the Columbia estuary, make sure the tide is going to push you towards your take out point and that you're highly visible. If there is even a remote possibility of fog you need to have GPS.
Good luck out there!
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I’m looking at launching out of the West Mooring Basin early Thursday morning. It opens up for both wild and hatchery chinook that day, and I’ve been hearing reports of coho in the system. It may be one of those days where I have to duck into Hammond as the tide turns, but I’m planning to to stay rigidly flexible. With the large flood tide, I should be back up around the WMB by early afternoon, and will have to make a decision on-the-fly about trolling past the 101 bridge, the ship mooring, and possibly up to Tongue Point.
After that, it’s most likely going to be the Columbia above Warrior Rock, and the early Western Oregon archery deer hunt.
I’ll probably sleep in my rig Wednesday night, and launch as close as possible to 1st light on Thursday.
The high temp is forecast to be in the upper 60’s, and the water temp has been averaging 68-73, so I’m planning on just wearing shorts and sandals, with some warmies stashed just in case.
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I've launched from Ft. Steven's Sate Park (lot F I think) just inland from the jetty on the Oregon side. You will need to shuffle your boat down a 6 ft sand cliff - relatively easy if you've got decent upper body strength. Its a nice place to launch, free, toilet nearby, and close to good fishing water. I agree about being careful with tides. Until you're very comfortable with fishing in the Columbia estuary, make sure the tide is going to push you towards your take out point and that you're highly visible. If there is even a remote possibility of fog you need to have GPS.
Good luck out there!
I have a Garmin unit that performed well in dense fog multiple times so I am pretty comfortable with that part. Now I just need to get over there and give it a try.
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I’m looking at launching out of the West Mooring Basin early Thursday morning. It opens up for both wild and hatchery chinook that day, and I’ve been hearing reports of coho in the system. It may be one of those days where I have to duck into Hammond as the tide turns, but I’m planning to to stay rigidly flexible. With the large flood tide, I should be back up around the WMB by early afternoon, and will have to make a decision on-the-fly about trolling past the 101 bridge, the ship mooring, and possibly up to Tongue Point.
After that, it’s most likely going to be the Columbia above Warrior Rock, and the early Western Oregon archery deer hunt.
I’ll probably sleep in my rig Wednesday night, and launch as close as possible to 1st light on Thursday.
The high temp is forecast to be in the upper 60’s, and the water temp has been averaging 68-73, so I’m planning on just wearing shorts and sandals, with some warmies stashed just in case.
I heard reports that yesterday was very good at B10. I work this week but next week should be a go, unless I hear of a very good bite higher up the river.
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Was out today (Wed) early. Fished the shipwreck from 6:45 til noon. Went 3 for 5. Two were smaller (10-12#) and the last one was a solid fish that covered my net. All had that one last nasty fin. Fun day hooking 5 and getting 3 to the boat.
Conditions went from spectacular to completely horrible in about 20 minutes once the clouds burned off.