Going to the Columbia in sept need some tips all around fishing from my yak..

I'm a kayak angler from Boise I'm gonna be planing a trip  the Columbia river week after Labor Day for some salmon fishing maybe some steelhead it this a good time to go? I have fish the river before from the town of Klickitat but never from the Columbia River. I plan on fishing in the area of twin bridges or the mouth of the Klickitat somewhere in that area. Is this a good general area to be in ?How should I fish should I pull plugs what plugs should I use? Should I use flashers, bait should I anchor up troll?  How deep should I be ? If I paddling would need less weight I would be going slower ?Your folks help would make my trip perfect. If you have pics of the set ups you use that would be awesome. If you're ever in the Boise area on an outdoor trip glad to give you all the helpfull info you need how to and where shoot I'll probley even take u I want to go to.. Thanks

Bienvenido Outdoorguy, I moved here from Boise quite sometime ago & it has been a steep learning curve over the last decade transitioning from Idaho trout fishing to Oregon salmon & steelhead. It's a lot of fun researching & learning new techniques & methods of fishing for these prize catches & I encourage you to put in the time.
What kind of kayak do you have & what is your experience fishing in it? Have you done any salmon fishing before & if so what methods are you familiar or comfortable with?
You're on the right track, as there are good numbers of fish in the system in September & you can watch the numbers rise at Bonnaville before making your trip to the Klickitat. I encourage you to check out Some of the guides "how to" videos & articles & maybe even book a day of fishing with one to curb some of that steep learning curve. Some of us on this site are often chasing salmon during this time so don't hesitate to give a shout out prior to your trip & maybe we will see you on the water!

Would you folk pl pm me some of ur useful info I would really appreciate it

80 views no tips?

What do you want the tip of??

It's only been twelve hours, on a work day!

MurseStrong asked you some questions so he or we can give you the best advice based on your prior experience.  Could we get some more info, please?   

I viewed it but didn't think you wanted Tillamook Bay rock fish or crabbing advise .... But don't launch till 2 hrs or so before low tide so you don't get flushed out to sea, gulp minnows on crappie rigs with a jig on the bottom. Crab bait I use rock fish carcasses... Does that help

Ps I'm a smartass cuz the other option is just being a dumdass 

  looking for more information about fishing from a  kayak  . I would be trolling out in front of the mouth of the Klickitat area  on the Columbia I was wondering on how much lead  to use while trolling or an idea and how'd deep can I expect the fish to be. Pl with sugar on it😀

There are many ways to fish the mouth of the Klickitat. In the big river itself nearly everybody trolls. The variety of gear employed at the mouth of Klickitat is highly varied and it seems that the "hot" setup varies from year to year. Your best bet for this fishery is to bring a suite of setups and observe what others are catching their fish on (monkey see monkey do technique).

The most popular & productive methods I've employed include:

1. Trolling Magwarts or Maglips 4.5 55' behind the kayak with 20 lb braid and a 5' bumper of mono. Troll speed should be 1.5-2.5 mph. Troll in 15-30' of water.

2. Inline flashers with prawn spinners. Troll in 15-40' of water at 1.5-1.8 mph. Use a dropper and 6 oz lead. Generally I am usually running this setup with my line counter at 23-32' of line out. Rigging prawn spinners is pretty easy.



3. Pro-trolls & Superbait - A great way to target suspended fish. Again trolling in 15-40' of water at higher troll speeds 1.7-2.8 mph. Run 8 oz of lead to compensate for greater blowback due to the larger flasher.



In general I troll from the mouth downstream to about 200 yards past the marker. Downstream troll people stay to the outside and those trolling uphill are inshore. Make space for folks with a fish on and let others know you have a fish on to so that you don't tangle gear.

4. A fourth option is to hover eggs in the canyon up the Klickitat itself. This is a Goldilocks's fishery. You need your eggs near the bottom but not on the bottom. If you are catching sturgeon you are too deep. If you are not catching salmon you are either not deep enough or your egg cure isn't up to par.

Thank you so much for the information your a life saver😄  I appreciate it .

  Otdoorguy,

 Tyler has given you some great wisdom. Listen and learn. You will be fine.

  Otdoorguy,

 Tyler has given you some great wisdom. Listen and learn. You will be fine.

What you didn't like my advise? ............ It's because I'm not a salmon fishermen isn't it?

You do have good info if I was crab fishing.

  Otdoorguy,

 Tyler has given you some great wisdom. Listen and learn. You will be fine.

What you didn't like my advise? ............ It's because I'm not a salmon fishermen isn't it?

  Great advice for Tillymook......and I think you might have caught a salmon (once or twice )...
 
  "PS ... I;m a smartas cuz the other option is being a dumbass"
   
   do you really want a comment about this one   Just messin' with ya bro' ... but that is pretty open.

First thing you gotta do when salmon fishing is figure out if it's a WD-40 or Preparation-H day.