Lower Columbia River Fall Chinook Fishing
 

Since the river water is warmer this time of the year as compared to the Spring Chinook fishery, you will probably need to fish the deeper sections of the river.  This could put you in or near the shipping lanes.

Commercial Vessel Traffic:  One thing to keep in mind is that this whole river is a means of commercial water travel for many different types of vessels, including ocean going ships & tugs. The normal shipping lane depths may be dredged & kept at a minimum of 40 ft. The one thing here is that the ships will be coming in many times at a high tide because of a lesser current so upriver & downriver traffic can increase during the high tide. It may be very advisable to NOT anchor in their shipping lanes. These shipping lanes are just like a hiway with upriver designated for the Oregon side, & downriver designated for the Washington side of the lane.

Normal "Springer" fishing will be in shallower water & not in the shipping lanes.  If however, you plan on fishing & anchoring near these shipping lanes, it may be a good idea to become familiar with the "Rules of the Road" as far as who has right of way & the whistles connected to them.   

In the lower river, expect to find commercial traffic on VHF channel 13.  In the Bonneville Dam area, expect to hear traffic on VHF channel 14.  The tugs communicate with the dams on 14, and you will have at least a one hour notice that a towboat is headed your way. 

Season Settings:  For setting seasons for this fishing, the DFWs for both Oregon & Washington together, set an estimated quota based on the number of returning "Jacks" the previous year. The jacks that return, are Salmon that get the urge to return a year earlier than the mature fish.  Therefore, using this data & using a multiplier factor, the DFWs can predict the following years estimated runs.  The quota setting also has to take into account the ESA listings of some Salmon from particular rivers, (of which are mixed into the possible take) the sport %, commercial %, & the tribal legal take.  So there are complicated legal matters involved here.

 

These fish come up the Columbia River system, many are bound for the their home tributaries, as the Cowlitz, Lewis, Kalama, Willamette, Snake, Yakima, etc.  The first dam on the Columbia is Bonneville, & it has a fish ladder with people employed as fish counters.  Also at the Willamette falls is a fish ladder with counters, so a somewhat accurate count can be established.  One of the websites for Bonneville is,  http://www.fpc.org/CurrentDaily/7day-ytd_adults.htm .  

 

There may need some explanations to this fish count data.  The counters do not start until Feb 1 & shut down Nov. when there are a minimal number of fish going over the dam.  The "Spring Chinook" are by definition are Salmon counted between Feb 1 & May 31.  Summer Salmon are those counted between June 1 & July 31.  Fall Salmon are those counted between August 1 & when the count is shut down in Nov.  

Basic Info:   This type of fishing can be in the whole river system, but this article will specifically cover fishing from Kalama downriver where there is a substantial tidal influence on the river.  Here you need to govern your fishing by the tides.  These fish are usually on the move on the outgoing tide, it has been found best to anchor, allowing the water flow to work plugs or spoons, preferably in one of their travel lanes.  At the tide change where the flow is not enough to work the plugs properly, change your tactics & troll. 

  

Basically the Spring & Fall Chinook fishery will vary from the standpoint that the spring fish will normally be concentrated near the Oregon shore line, while the fall fish tend to follow the Washington shore.  Spring fish tend to run from 15# to 20#.  Fall fish usually go larger, up to 45#.  Also the spring fishing seems to produce better if using Kwikfish in water up to about 30’ deep.

The fall fishery seems to be better in water depths of 40’ – 50’ & using Clancy or Alvin spoons.

 

Water Temperature:  This time of the year, the water temperature is high (70 degrees +) in the Columbia if the summer season has had little rain by the time the fish have the urge to move up the river.  The fish are used to ocean water in the low to mid 50s. The water temperature recorded at Bonneville Dam this time of the year usually will be 70 to 72 degrees, on the incoming tide at the mouth of the river, the cooler ocean water (56 degree)  will come in & back upriver on the high tide, cooling the river water to below 60.  As the tide turns and starts running back out the temperature will raise to about 62-65 degrees. Once the fish move above this cooler water where there isn't the cooler salt mix, this is really warmer for them to comfortably stay in.  So the early fall chinook above this estuary will more than likely then be found in the deeper water or holes, or at the mouths of the rivers dumping into the Columbia.

Fall Chinook: 

 

Methods:  Basically the methods for fall fishing is the same as for spring Chinook fishing listed under another heading, with these exceptions:

 

The better locations will be this ledge in conjunction with a mouth of a river. The reason for this is that the water temperature will usually be cooler coming from these smaller rivers than the mainstem Columbia.  The mouths usually have a deeper spot where they dump into the Columbia, this water will be cooler for two reasons.  (1) that it is deeper and (2) it is from the side smaller river.  The fish will tend to congregate in this cooler water before they continue on up the Columbia, or decide to go up their home side river.

 

Water depth:  The fall Chinook tend to favor deeper water, from 40’ to 50’ depths.

 

Lure:  Here the use a Clancy or Alvin spoon comes into play.  These are rather large spoons.  They can also have to possibly be “tuned”.  To do this place it in the water & it should not rotate, just a back & forth wobble.  You may have to bend it in the middle for more of a bow to achieve this action.

Some years the fish may favor one brand lure over the other, or at the least color of the lure.  It may be best to go to a model shop & purchase a few different colors, namely blue, green, & red.  With these you can while on the water, paint stripes, dots, or combinations of these to try.

 

As with the Spring Chinook fishing, Kwikfish are a viable lure.

 

Sinker:  Usually you will need a heavier weight than for the spring fishery, up to a 20 oz. round cannonball sinker  off a 48” dropper will be enough to keep the lure down.  This dropper will be attached to a slider on the mainline.

 

Leader:  Use a 48” mono leader of 30-40#  to your lure.

 

Hold Onto Your Rod:  As said previously, the fish can feel your thoughts, and they do not hold onto these large spoons once they soon decide it is not something to eat.  Set the hook even if you see what you think is a nibble from a minnow.

 

Attractant:  Here is a chance to use your WD-40 as a scent & preserve the spoons coloration.  Many dedicated fishermen use "Lemon Joy" to wash the human scent off their hands when handling the tackle.

 

Fish Size: These fish tend to run in the 30# - 45# size range.

 

Boat Positioning: On both of these fisheries, it is sometimes a chore is to maintain your position.  If the boat swings back & forth when the wind is blowing, or the tide gets closer to slack tide, it may be harder to tell when a fish hits the lure. 

 

There are a couple of methods or a combination that may improve your odds.  Use 2 drift socks, sometimes known as sea anchors.  These do not need to be large for a small boat, a 12" dia. upper hoop may be all that is necessary, while 16" + may be right for a larger boat.  Place these over the side on the rear corners of the boat.  They do not need to be back more than 4" to 6'.  Keep in mind that the farther back they are the more chance of interfering with a possible fish is possible. All you want to do is keep the boat from swinging in the wind or slowing tide.  As the tide approaches slack, you might consider removing the sock from the side your kicker motor is mounted on & then running the kicker in reverse, pulling the boat against the anchor to hold it straight. 

 

Once the tide has slacked, then pull your gear & troll.  You can use herring as if trolling in the ocean or use the same Kwikfish gear as spring chinook fishing, but troll it.

 

When you Hook a Fish While in a Hogline situation: 

When you hook a fish, here is one sequence of procedure that seems to work.
(1)  reel in extra lines 
(2)  start kicker motor, ready to put in gear 
(3)  pull in socks 
(4)  throw buoy

The other rods should be reeled in first thing.  It's easy to get tangled with your own crew while you do everything else.  It may be also prudent to fire up the kicker AS SOON AS YOU CAN, just in case you need it to steer around boats, lines, etc. You never know when the current's will throw you one way or the other. You could leave the sea anchors out until you get the other lines in as if you have to throw the anchor line over, they will help you drift back out of the line better. 

Now, while you are getting the other lines in, & after a short period of time, you should be able to determine if the fish is a size, or hooked in a manner that it can be fought while still anchored.  But that is one of the last decisions to be made before you decide to throw off the anchor line or not. 

If the hogline is close, then hopefully the guys next to you will reel in too.  Then soon as you drop & drift out of the way, they can start bouncing back and often get another fish out of that same school that is still moving upstream.

If the fish happens to tangle up with the extra rod or your neighbors line before you get it out of the water, so be it...they can then FREESPOOL the reel. 

It does get hectic when in a hogline, especially if there are sealions in the area. If there are sealions in the area then you will have to horse the fish to the boat as fast as possible, because they will be on the fish in a hurry. 

One report of getting a sealion to drop a Salmon is to charge it with the boat. Not sure if it's legal, but it has worked with a LOT of witnesses and nobody said a thing.  Some say, if the sealion is commin' : pull anchors, start engine, and haul ... out of there
 

Last Updated 04-20-04

LeeRoy Wisner