2022 Willamette/Columbia Spring Chinook Reports

Got a chance to fish in Oregon City off of exit 9 on Saturday. This was one of the options besides Sellwood. I've been to Sellwood once so decided to try this spot. Tons of boats but only two kayaks. Does anyone know the reason for this or it's  the rain that scared kayakers off. My buddy and I did get pulled into a very strong current past the bridge where the river narrows and bends; it took forever to get out. After that we proceeded towards falls and I landed a nice springer. Overall I saw about 15 fish landing the boats which is a pretty good day in my opinion. Just wondering why we didn't see more kayakers out there.

Great job on the springer!

What kind of setup were you using?

We’re kind of in the middle of a week or so of sub-optimal tidal flows, which I know will discourage me from going out: all other things being equal.  There is currently quite a bit of flow in the Willamette, so that isn’t making me want to rush out there.  Springers are low-percentage fishing under the best conditions, so I tend to wait for favorable weather/tide/water clarity days before I commit to getting out on the water.  I like to launch somewhere near low slack, work my way up river, then ride the ebb flow back.  Planning to launch out of Fred’s Marina tomorrow early in the a.m., but as high slack is around 8:30 a.m., there will be a lot of current to contend with throughout the rest of the day. 

I may just drop anchor at some point, and throw out a couple “plunking” rigs, depending on the conditions.  The weather forecast is just too nice not to get out there. 

I was fishing with Spinfish attached to a triangle flasher with 8oz cannon ball (definitely not enough, but that's what I had) Most of the people in boats were using Jet divers and prawns. Closer to the falls several boats were jigging and I saw one boat catch two fish in short period of time on P-line 2-3oz jigs.