Big C from Knappton August 1st and 4th

 

 Went out with my wife and son Friday out of Knappton. Only one other boat trailer there when we arrived at 9:00 am.  Worked around the corner heading west with the out-going tide. Son pulling spinner-- wife dredging salmon eggs-- and me trolling cut plug herring. Thought we had all the bases covered.
 My wife and son are not hard core fishermen.... they are plenty happy just to be out on the water in their kayaks. Myself, on the other hand, is there for a reason.... to catch fish." Fishin' is the mission " in my eyes.
So. that being said------- the water on the Colombia was beautiful.... flat as a lake, some current but not ripping hard at all, just enough to make moving with it very comfortable. Wind was a gentle 5-10 mph breeze. Had all the makings of a perfect day.
 I might have gone overboard telling the wife and son about the potential dangers of fishing the big river. They both seemed nervous getting their gear together and dealing with the little current that was out there. I felt obligated to stay nearby and help them get it together to try to increase our success catching some salmon. Even with my advising them--- they both had their own ideas about how to be fishing -- so I left them to their own devices and kept trolling back and forth across and with the current, coming back to both to check on them frequently.
 We did not use any fish-finders this day. This might have been a handicap -- but none of us really felt like it.
I take the blame for not charging batteries the night before. But I felt pretty comfortable knowing roughly where the channels were from studying charts and maps. And we were seeing fish roll....... lots of big fish rolling. A very encouraging sign. And there were also a few seals cruising in the same area. All good signs.
 By the time we were near the "ship wreck hole" in Humpy Hollow the tide was starting to change to incoming so I thought it prudent to start working back toward Knappton and our put-in. We had been on the water for about 3.5 hours by then. And were only a couple of miles away from the truck. So we turned around and worked our way back.
 I asked the wife how she was doing and how she was fishing. She still had eggs on but had put on a bobber and had her eggs only 3-5 feet deep. Her logic was ---- "I'm going after these fish I keep seeing roll on the surface ". I didn't really think this would work-- but you just never know. Stranger things have happened.
 Next , I check with Chris to see how he is doing. He had hung up his spinner on the bungie cords on the back of his Adventure . So he was just cruising around enjoying being on the water. But not fishing.
 In the meantime I had gotten one strong take-down but missed the connection trolling herring. Next time I am going with a herring helmet to insure I have the right roll on my bait to see if that might make a difference. Some of my plug cutting wasn't getting the best rolling action it should/could have had. My set up was pretty simple-- 3 ounce banana weight with a 3 foot leader with double 4/0 Gami's hard tied. Might go a little heavier next time out to work closer to the bottom. Weeds were not a major problem like they can be out in Willapa Bay which was nice.
 All in all it was a great day out there. Beautiful weather, very little boat traffic (which was a huge surprise), and there were a lot of fish there. Even though we didn't connect with any fish.... it was a good time. The wife and son both enjoyed themselves, no one got hurt, and no gear was lost.
 There were a few lessons I'll take away from the day.....pay more attention to how my protégés are fishing and advise them better with proper techniques, be more precise in my own tackle use and how it is deployed, and try to help others just enjoy their day. And we all did that.
 This Monday (the 4th) I will be out there again. Going earlier to work more of the incoming tide. Will go by myself so I don't feel like I have to "babysit" any body else and can concentrate on catching fish. I'll try some of those new Thomson Thumpers spinners that I didn't do Friday. And I will post up to let others know . If you are thinking of hitting the Colombia River- by my observation--- there are a lot of fish in the river. The run should continue to get bigger and better. The Washington side was a lot calmer than the Oregon side. And the wind did pick up hard just after we got off the water....about 2:30 pm.
 Hope this long rant will help someone else get out there and get into some nice salmon. Thanks for reading this .
             Mark

 

Great report! Thanks, Mark!

+1 thanks for the great report!

Thx Mark. Glad to hear you had a fun trip. I think I may give it a go on Wednesday. I will let you know how it goes.

  Hey Dave.

 I started to reply to your pm but decided this way might be better.

 I might be out there on Wednesday myself with the wife. You gonna put in on the south or north side ?

 We will be putting in at Knappton again. I like an uncrowded launch.

 Will try to post tomorrow night after a few hours out there in the morning.

Thanks for the report mark.  I'm gonna give willow grove area a try in the morning during the flood.  Finally getting enough time off work that I got the energy and desire to fish the river again... Bee since mid spring season since I hit the big C.  If you end up in knappton on a Sunday/Monday pm me - I'll head that way if I can.

Nice report and way to get out there for the opening day.

Nice report Mark, You will get 'em soon!

Nice report Mark.  I hit the Washington side yesterday afternoon on the incomming.  Saw 3 fish caught, heard of a couple others and lost something powerful just before peak high.  One of those rare days where the afternoon winds stayed light and variable.

-Spot-

  Well.........I tried it again today.
  On the water before 5:30 , tide was still coming in, a lot more bumpy than last Friday , and there was already a truck and trailer parked when I arrived. Someone was very early.....
  Started out trolling green label herring in a hood with 4 oz lead on a slider. Around the corner and zig- zagged out with the tide . Looked across the water to the south and there must have been more than 75 boats out about mid-channel. Not being into "crowded/ social " fishing I worked the Ship Wreck Troll along the north side. Most times the water was between 30 and 45' deep. Battery was fully powered and I was using Seahorse's Outback with a Lowrance Elite 5 for the GPS function. Turned on the fish alarm-- and that sucker would not shut up. Meaning there were bait balls and bigger fish all around. By the time I reached the old barge the tide had slacked off and was just starting to go out.
  Switched over to using a Thomas Thumper-- red and white blade--size 6 1/2--- with the same 4 oz. in front. Zig-zagged back up river during the too short slack tide and never got a hit. Changed to a silver and red bladed spinner for a while when the sun came out...nada. When a cloud obscured the sun I'd put the Thumper back on.
  If you have never fished the lower Colombia I offer this advice.....an out-going tide is NOT your friend. And it  was a pretty small exchange today. But there is a lot of moving water in that river. It only took me an hour and a half to go from the launch to the old barge--and that was zigging all the way. It took 3 and a half hours to make it back against the tide. Of course I'm still zigging to try to cover as much water as possible but it was a bit of a workout.
  The rest of this week the tides will be coming in later and later in the day so I can have more hours to fish the in-coming tide after daylight. So I will be out again until I get it right. And then again to prove it wasn't a fluke. And then again just cause I want to. It is a very fishy area. I just have to do my part to make it happen. And happen it will.................

  One more thing-----when I pulled out around 11:30 there were 7 truck and trailer rigs at that Knappton launch. Word must be out......reckon so.....

Am anxiously waiting till you land your first B10, reports so far are a great how to.  I had my eyeball enhancers pointed out my window today but the river rules this area and could not see you.  Word is out everywhere, it took me 47 min from my driveway to the 'beverage store' and back. Less than 5 mile round trip.  Sending a PM on alternate strategies to think about.