Kayaking over the Columbia Bar for salmon

I got down to Cape D and Ilwaco area last week for some buoy 10 action and to push it across the Columbia Bar in search of some ocean fish. I know everyone has their own definition of "big water" but this place set the new upper limit for me. I crossed the bar 3 times in 2 days and did a surf landing at the Cape D State park camp ground. The surf has a lot of reef and rips and is a lot more powerful than it looks from shore. The bar is always dangerous with very strong currents that never seem to slack off. With 3-4 feet of swell the typical bar breakers were twice that high.

The first evening I shot out with the outgoing tide of around 7 knots. It was fun watching the jetty rip by at 12+ knots but I made the Coast Guard nervous and they sent a couple of boats out after me. After a quick chat they let me go back to fishing. I called them the next day and we had a good DE-brief. They said once they caught up to me they realized I had it figured out. For the next couple of days they were always greeting me as the passed by.

Weather turned bad on Saturday with gust to 25 knots so I was stuck inside and it wasn't much fun. The Coast Guard had it's hands full with rescues and calls but they still gave me a wave when they shot past me on the way to save some PBers.

Overall, I caught a few and lost a few. There's better fishing around in safer waters, but I like to test myself in my version of big water conditions. If you do try this bar crossing I'd suggest you try some of the smaller bars in the PNW first and build up to it. Make a mistake and this place won't just hand you your ass, it will serve it to you on a silver platter.

Great report and video.  I do most of my tuna and salmon PB fishing out of Ilwaco, and I've seen the bar go from frog pond to 8' in minutes.   You've got big brass ones for sure and for certain.   

Wtf!!!!!!

Holy shit!!!!

I didn't see anything dangerous in the video.  Not sure I'd do it though.

Kids of the internetz. Do NOT try this at home... er... or at the mouth of the Columbia.

That being said, Wow! Great post! I'm guessing that the thrill comes more from the accomplishment and not so much the exceptional fishing.

I was down at B10 last week in a PB and was thinking how I wouldn't want to get caught in the wrong spot. (However I also hit upriver a bit in the yak on Monday and had a great time.) Glad you checked it off your bucket list; now I'll scratch it off mine as well.

I did some fishing off the Clatsop spit from my Hobie last week. The fishing was great but even there the water was something to take very seriously. Launching at or near slack tide and fishing the incoming tide seemed to be the safest solution. Then of course the is the wind and the unexpected boat wake. All in all it was good fun but safety has to be the highest priority.

What kind of kayak are you paddling? Can you roll reliably? Did you have another yaker nearby. Just wondering what your contingency was in the event of capsize.

What kind of kayak are you paddling? Can you roll reliably? Did you have another yaker nearby. Just wondering what your contingency was in the event of capsize.

Todd runs a 9 foot perception he picked up at Dick's sporting goods, this is actually only the third time he has been out in the ocean.  you know that video that was going around with that guy who couldn't get back in his kayak in 3 feet of water?  yup, that's where his rolling abilities lie. 

in all seriousness Todd was safer out there with his experience than most people are on a calm day on a small pond.  when he isn't doing bar crossings, he is running class 3 rapid for trophy steelhead, taking 3 week solo trips in Alaska and catching 60 lb halibut on 20 lb line.

I'm hoping to move up to a birch bark canoe. But I do like my $300 kayak I got at Dicks. Better to be lucky than good I always say.