Columbia river

[fishin_fool]

Does anyone that is reading this know there way around the Columbia? I will be headed out there in another month and was hoping that someone could tell what to expect for fishing. I will be staying around Pendleton so I belive the nearest place will be Mcnary dam. Where is the best bait store? How are the landings? Any info would be appreciated! Thanks!

[WAeyes]

I dont have alot of specifics, but I do know it is a good time of year for a pre-spawn piggy. The water level should be low and this will decrease the current for easier fishing. Please consider catch and release as the Fish and Wildlife Dept. out here doesnt recognize a closed spawning season. I wonder where all the Salmon and Steelhead went? The "nets" are out here too, and they catch everything before it has a chance to spawn.

[dan (OR)]

In one month I would be fishing in Irrigon area for big pigs and releasing them! Irrigon is 7 miles west of Umatilla, Oregon. McNary Dam is at Umatilla. The ramps will be fine, there are two at Umatilla. One on the Oregon side , @ Umatilla Marina, and it is free and open all night :-) Across the river in Plymouth, Washington is another Corp of Engineer landing cost $2.00.

Irrigon has a ramp and so does Boardman which is another 8 miles west. Both are fine ramps, open year around. The only thing that could happen is a cold snap and ice on the ramp, or snow. Very Rare. but the mornings will be a little colder.

Best bait store is in Hermiston, about five miles from Umatilla. The name is High Desert Marine, Rod runs the place and also sponsors three tourneys throughout the year. The first is late March out of Irrigon. That should tell you a little something.... mid July is Boardman and the Governor's cup
is out of Umatilla during the labor day weekend.

THERE WILL BE NO MINNOWS! They are illegal in Oregon and the Columbia River! Big shift for spring fishing for me.

Typical to be Jigging, blading. some will troll, some will pull spinners.

Pendleton is a ways......



Email any further questions

dan

out in Oregon Land where the Walleyes grow bigger and nobody fishes for them
:-)

[fishin_fool]

Thanks for the info. I will hit that bait store first thing. Should I get a Washington or Oregon Lic?? Or both?? No minnows? That bites! Can you use frozen ones? I can't wait to get there and dump the boat in some open water. Thanks agian for the info!!!

[fishin_fool]

Thanks for the info. I will hit that bait store first thing. Should I get a Washington or Oregon Lic?? Or both?? No minnows? That bites! Can you use frozen ones? I can't wait to get there and dump the boat in some open water. Thanks agian for the info!!!

[dan (OR)]

Either state's lis. will work. frozen are ok. nitecrawlers are a big bait,

dan

[tinboat]

Get a Washington license if you can, Oregon does nothing for warmwater fish, they would rather see the walleyes and the smallies gone. Washington has a legitamate program for warm water fish, support their department rather than the salmon kisses....and release those big spanners, after a pic of course

[tinboat]

Get a Washington license if you can, Oregon does nothing for warmwater fish, they would rather see the walleyes and the smallies gone. Washington has a legitamate program for warm water fish, support their department rather than the salmon kisses....and release those big spanners, after a pic of course

[Starfish]

Dan's right-- High Desert Marine in Hermiston is the best place near McNary. Rod's number is (541)567-8419. Also a good place if you need boat or motor work done.

If you're here early in February, make sure you also bring along some steelhead tackle if you're so inclined. We get a lot of nice steelhead through about Presidents Day. But of course it's prime time for the big eyes...tough choice.

Good luck, have a nice trip.

[fishin_fool]

This works very good. More info then I have been able to find anyother way. Since you guys are obvoiusly from that area would you know of a place that stores boats in a safe area?? I will be working part of the week when I am out there and will want to store the boat some where that is safe. If anyone knows please give me the number and I will call them ahead of time and make arrangments. What would you recoment for the steelhead out there? cranks?? It would be fun to catch some of them but I really want to see one of your pig walleyes for my camera. Thanks again guys!

[dan (OR)]

Umatilla Marina stores boats in a large parking lot with a gate. The people who run the Marina are housed right on top of the parking lot, by the campground, and lock the gate to the lot at night. You’ll need to cover the boat and take valuables with you, at least that's what I did and I never had a problem. The other option is to leave it at High Desert; they have a locked fenced area behind the shop. Yet another option is to leave the boat in the water at the marina. They have covered slips with elect for a bock or so a night with keyed gated access to the slips.

I don't have the number of High Desert (Hermiston) or the Marina (Umatilla) for you they are in the book.

I expect a post on how you did!

dan

[fishin_fool]

Thanks Dan. I will call High desert tommorow and make sure that they have a place to store my boat while I am at work. I write a post as soon as I get some action. To bad we cant post pictures. Do you live out there? If you do you should e-mail me and we could try to get together and fish while I am out there. Deos anyone use leeches out there? Thanks!

[WAeyes]

Yes, leeches do work very well out here, but they are hard to find. I think the leeches come from MN. and you wont see them until around June. I think your best bet would be nightcrawlers on spinner harness, trolling cranks, and vertical jigging soft plastics.

[Starfish]

The preferred tackle here seems to vary seasonally, with more jigging this time of year and more cranks and spinners in the summer. Usually the preferred winter "pig" presentation is a really slow drag along the bottom with a jig, plastic, and nightcrawler. Current varies greatly-- river flow can change from ~100,000 cubic feet per second to over 200,000 -- so you'll need anywhere from 1/8 to 1/2 oz. jigs or even heavier. Also watch for winds; if the waves get too big, retreat and regroup above the dam for steelhead.

If you want to target the steelhead below the dam, I'd recommend drifting along a current break (12-25') with a shrimp (dyed dark purple) or egg cluster and pencil lead. It's pretty dependable right now, but you'll catch (and have to release) a fairly high percentage of wild steelhead. You can keep only hatchery raised, adipose fin-clipped steelhead. Plugs are also catching both steelhead and probably a few walleye below the dam; try Hot Lips and Hawg Boss in the current.

Above the dam, you won't see much walleye but the steelheading can be great either pulling plugs (wiggle wart or hot-n-tot are my favorites) or anchoring or drifting with a slip bobber, jig, and shrimp 6-15' deep. Black and purple is my favorite jig color.

Good luck. I'll try to get down there steelheading this weekend, so if I see some walleyes I'll post.

[fishin_fool]

Is there any hook regulations out there? Barbs? If any of you guys that are out there need any leechs come may I will have a good supply out there. My friend here in Minnesota overnights bait that I cant get were ever I am at. I had leeches sent to albuquerque New Mexico last summer. They worked well there too. I will be on the columbia from the first of febuary probaly until next christmas. Will the bait store in hermiston that you guys talked about have good charts of the river? If not is there a good source for them? Wish that I was leaving today. Its snowing here and the lakes dont look like they will thaw out for some time. Looks like minnesota is in for a long winter. Thanks for all the info guys!

[tinboat]

High Desert has charts, they are about 30 bucks last time i looked. There are no hook restrictions on the river for walleyes, what kind of rig are you bringing out?

[tinboat]

I live in Umatilla, when you get out here I'd be more than happy to mark your chart for you.

[WAeyes]

If you want to get a jump on studying the river, you can order a topographic water level map from www.fishnmap.com that shows general depths and bottom structure along with a few hints on where to find fish....maybe. It also shows roads, boat launches, camping areas and even has a few phone #s for resorts or marinas and other stuff. Once you get to the website, click on the catalog icon and scroll down to WA and OR. They are worth the money, I think $5.95 each.

[aar7]

White's Outdoor in Spokane has leeches in stock all year. They also have salted fathead minnows that work quite well in the winter. It's an awesome store that is worth the trip if you're going to be in that area.

[fishin_fool]

The fishnmap.com site is a good site. Pretty big river compared to rivers that I fish here in Minnesota. What type of minnows are native to the columbia? I started to inventory the remains of last years tackle so that I can get stocked up. Only two weeks before the boat gets loaded and heads out. I feel like a kid waiting on Christmas. Hey tinboat, you asked what kind of rig I am bringing out. I have a 2000 tuffy ospre with a 200 d-opti-max. What kind of rigs are you guys running out there? You'll have to take mine for a test drive while I am out there. Im sure that we could get a couple out there if you liked it.

[dan (OR)]

What kind of boat, well a midwest lund of course! I pulled it out from the midwest, a old ws16 w/ 50 merc tiller. You'll see all kinds of boats out, they tend to be built to break through ice out west (thick alum) and several jets hooked up to outboards or inboards.

As mentioned earlier, the wind is the biggest factor. it blows from the west and stacks the waves up and with a very short distance from crest to crest. Often if you hit them straight on(not advised) you'll have the bow in the next one just as the stern is clearing the last one. Running with the wind is wise. But be careful, it is a big river and quite a ways from one boat landing to the next.

Current won't be a huge factor up on Lake Umatilla, but below the John Day Dam and to the ocean it can really fly.

You'll have a great time! but it is different out here lots and lots of rocks!

dan

[WAeyes]

No kiddin Dan, rocks,rocks,rocks! Sometimes if you can find a small muddy bottom without rocks, it can be a little jewel for fish because its a change from the standard bottom. Just the opposite in the flat plains of the midwest.

[WAeyes]

No kiddin Dan, rocks,rocks,rocks! Sometimes if you can find a small muddy bottom without rocks, it can be a little jewel for fish because its a change from the standard bottom. Just the opposite in the flat plains of the midwest.

[Starfish]

In addition to the maps, you might want to check out a book called Columbia River Walleye II, by Ron Boggs. They'll have a copy at High Desert.

If you're staying for a while, you'll definitely also want to check out the sturgeon fishing (excellent right below McNary, barbless hooks and bait only, can keep only 4-5 footers but will catch fish from 3-8 feet long) and especially the chinook salmon. Springer run is projected to be the best in recorded history this year (>300,000 chinook, April-May, open only in limited areas) and the fall chinook are excellent (August-October, open just about everywhere, 15-40+ pounders, best up in the Hanford Reach near the Tri-Cities). Sorry to keep distracting from the 'eyes, but that's the biggest problem out here... deciding what to fish for.

[tinboat]

fishing...the main forage base for walleyes here appear to be squawfish monnows, perch, sculpins, sucker minnows, etc...I run a Lund 1900 Pro-V. While your out here you should be sure to make a couple side trips up into Washington, Potholes, Moses Lake and Banks, all within 150 miles of Umatilla. These lakes dont have the really huge fish, but are great fisheries. I'll keep an eye out for you here in Umatilla in a couple of weeks.

Love to make a test run in that Tuffy, we dont see them out here for some reason, YarCraft either. You'll see alot of Lunds, Smokercraft, and various welded jet sleds here.

[fishin_fool]

How is the river for navigation? Are the hazards marked? Is there much stuff that will take out the lower unit?? Lots of talk about rocks. When you guys see me out there make sure that you come over to the boat and introduce yourselfs. Sounds like I will be the only one fishing out of a tuffy.

[WAeyes]

.
> These lakes dont have
>the really huge fish, but
>are great fisheries.

I beg to differ. Check out the pics on the updates page for 10lb entries.

[tinboat]

Fishing Fool...

No problem on the navigation, you just have to pay attention to the channel markers, and be careful anytime your outside of them, there are some nasty spots outside of the main channel, hence the need to slow up until you know where your going.

WA Eyes.....I didnt mean to imply that there werent any big fish in the Washington lakes, just that they arent as common, especially the 15# plus fish.

[GLG]

I've been using Rapalas on bottomwalkers backtrolling for the big ones below the dam at this time of year. Usually fished downstream Irrigon in summer using spinners and nightcrawlers. What have I been missing?

[Starfish]

Regarding navigation-- the main barge channel is really well marked all the way from Portland OR to Richland WA. The dangers come when you head out of the main channel-- which of course you will as you get into a lot of the fishing hotspots. Just take it easy until you get the lay of the land.

Upriver in the Hanford Reach it's a little trickier because there are no marked channels--it's free-flowing for about 50 miles up to Priest Rapids dam. The hazards are a little overrated as long as you take it easy and learn the water, but I've definitely seen a few lower units go bye-bye. Likewise on some of the lakes in the Columbia Basin: there's a lot of basalt structure that results in underwater cliffs, so you can go from 30+ to 3- feet in a matter of a few yards. As Tinboat and Dan mentioned, you'll see a lot of welded aluminum jet sleds around. But many of us run prop boats throughout the Reach and on the Snake without running into things. BTW, mine's a black Spectrum with a Yamaha 115 and Honda kicker.