pdxfisher

I have been having a pretty amazing year so far! I think I am spending all my get a kidney luck on fishing - but it is worth it

I hit the Columbia on Sunday the 6th for a day of smallmouth fishing but I got a nice surprise in the middle of the day! I knew the day was going to be pretty special when I saw the sunrise. With a start to the day like that you know something great is going to happen. The day started out normally enough for this time of the year. The beautiful sunrise turned into off and on sprinkles and the East wind was annoying but manageable. So pretty good conditions for the gorge I tried fishing shallow at first but after dusting off a few spots with maybe (probably wishful thinking) bite I decide to go back to fishing deeper which is what has been working for the past few trips. I went out to an isolated rock that I found fish on a couple of weeks ago and started probing it with a drop shot. I was dragging it along and I could feel it scraping over the big rock when I felt a thump. I set the hook and I was stuck. "Man, that really felt like a fish" I thought to myself. I pedaled up to try and free my rig. When I got upstream and pulled it came free - and there was a fish on!! I think I did hook a fish and my line got caught at the same time. Anyway, it was a funny way to catch my first bass of the day. Not a huge one (1lb 12oz) but a decent fish to start the day. I immediately went back and quickly picked up my second bass. After releasing that fish I pedaled back to my magic rock and hooked a third fish. This one had some shoulders! After a good fight I was able to land what would end up tying my best fish of the day, a nice 3lb 12oz smallmouth. Even though the weather was little chilly the fishing was on fire so I felt nice and warm inside. After that fish I decided to change up my presentation to try and keep them biting. I switched to a Ned rig just to show them something different. It seems to me that if I rotate my baits I can catch more fish off a spot as opposed to fishing it to death with one bait and then trying to switch things up. I was also excited to fish the Ned because I had bought a new Shimano Vanford to put on my Ned rig rod. The worm gear on my old Shimano (~20 years old) was starting to catch sometimes and I knew it was on its last legs (and good luck finding parts for a reel that old). Anyway, I quickly picked up several fish on the Ned and I was in love with the weight and performance of the new reel. After those fish I switched to a wobblehead jig and picked up another, and then after a few casts without a bite I went back to the drop shot. In the end I was able to catch 10 bass off of a rock that is only about 10' long and sticks up a couple of feet in 25' of water. Eventually though that spot dried up and so I decided to try shallow again. That was a waste of time. I maybe got one bite up shallow all day. I admit I did not fish up shallow all that long but I fished enough to understand that the bulk of the fish were not cruising the shallows. After the short foray into the shallows I decided to head to the spot where I caught the bulk of my best fish two weeks ago and once again the spot did not disappoint. I ended up sharing the spot with a guy in a bass boat. He was killing them on a deep ncrankbait and I was racking them on the wobblehead. My best stretch was back-to-back-to-back fish and he was doing at least as good as I was if not better. After a while he yelled over that he was going to leave the spot for me. I thought that was really nice of him! The bass this week were a little shallower than the two weeks prior and were seemed to be sitting in 10-15'. After he left I decided to quickly hit the shallows at that spot to see if any fish had their noses to the bank. I was tossing a white swimbait next to the shore when I felt a thump! I set the hook and the fish felt really funny. It seemed to swim much faster than the bass I had been catching. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I finally corralled a small steelhead in my net (got a great jump on video). That is the first steelhead I have caught in the Columbia while fishing for bass! What a treat. I carefully unhooked the fish and sent it on its way. A good day just got even better! After that I made a few more casts with the swimbait but I figured lightning was not going to strike twice so I put that rod down and picked the Ned rod back up. I am not sure if resting the deeper spot helped or if more nice fish moved in but I started catching some really nice bass on that Ned rig. The new Vanford performed like a champ and three of those bass went over 3lbs, including another 3lb 12oz bass!! After a bit the bite eventually slowed and after making a few casts I decided I would start to head back and stop and fish a spot or two on the way back. I hit the magic rock from the morning but only managed on fish. I hit one of my favorite shallow spots and could not get a bite. Then I pulled up to where they dock the big boats. I even though that spot looks like a lot of nothing there are often bass hanging around there. I quickly picked up three bass on the Ned but they were all small so I decided I would continue on to the ramp. I stopped at one last little point and scraped up my last fish of the day. It was another small one so I decided to call it a day. It really ended up being a day worthy of the sunrise. I ended up with 27 bass with four over 3lbs and my best 5 weighing 16lb 11oz. A lot of the bass were just 1 to 1.5lbs but they are still fun on the light spinning gear. The bass alone would have made for a really good day but the steelhead really took it over the top!! What a blast! Anyway, here are pictures of the other 4 of my best 5 (other one is up above). The other 3lb 12 oz 3lb 6oz 3lb 2oz And of course a video of the day:

I am sure it's disappointing to not get a scale on the fish but just take a deep breath and remember how awesome it was to catch that beast!

Good to get that skunking out of the way right off the bat. Now you can just wreck them the rest of the year!

Chonky bass!

It's nice that you got yourself such a BIG gift! Those are tanks!

I don't have trouble with hooksets with the open water smallmouth I fish for but I imagine trying to hook a largemouth while punching would be pretty tough.

I would turn around and nominate @Swamp Girl Fishing out of a tippy canoe with no electronics would be really challenging and she makes it look easy!

That's a beast of a fish! I think the sandwich was the key. You tell us about the lure but kept the type of sandwich secret

I dont throw one very often but when i do i use a Zoom dead ringer in pumpkinseed.

I used to fish lizards along on a Carolina rig when I lived in NC and PA. I have never tried them out here. Too rocky most spots to fish a Carolina rig.

We have all seen it, felt it, sensed it. You turn quickly but you don't quite see it, but you know its there and getting closer. You can feel its fetid breath on the back of your neck as you make your next cast. It's stench permeates first the air around, then seems to seep into your very soul. The skunk is there waiting to pounce on its intended pray and you feel helpless as you are caught in its remorseless gaze.... That is how I was feeling on Sunday. I was fishing the Columbia out of the Dalles for the second time ever and things were not going well. I had last fished in the spring several years ago and had a monster day. I could not help but anticipate another monster day. Last time the fish were feeding along a shallow rocky reef and were loaded up. Several times I had back to back to back fish. Only occasionally did I make a cast without at least a hit. That was an amazing day. I woke up extra early so I could be on the water early and I was out fishing by 7:30am. The day was perfect. It was calm and cloudy with some sprinkles on the way. The water temp was 46-47F and a foot or so of visibility. I could not have scripted more perfect conditions for an awesome day of bass fishing. I was almost shaking with excitement when I got to the magic reef. I made my first cast and it came back without being bothered. "That's OK, its bad luck to catch a fish on the first cast anyway" I said to myself. Then came the second cast, then the third, then the hundredth cast. OK, I guess they are not up shallow so they HAVE to be either a little deeper in 10-15' range or out in the deepest close by water in the 25-30' range. Well, that was good reminder never to tell the fish where they HAVE to be. If the fish were there they were pickier than I could accommodate because I could not buy a bite. I did not know the area very well so I went into explore mode. I tried spot after spot. I even went all the way across the river to fish a deep rip rap/boulder strewn stretch. Nothing, nada, zilch. I ate my lunch and went back to fishing. More casting without even a hint as to what was going on. I finally just started pedaling around looking for something to fish that I had not fished yet. I was just zig-zagging my way downstream when I saw some rock in about 25' of water. "This looks promising" I said for the millionth time that day. I tossed out my drop shot and did not get bit on my first cast, or second cast. I am not sure how many casts I made. Feeling the rock ticking my drop shot sinker, it just felt so perfect. Then, as I was scraping along the rock I felt a thump. I almost could not believe I was getting bit. I jerked up and it was fish on. I babied that fish and played it like my life depended on it. I whooped out loud when I slipped the net under that fish. It was a respectable 2lb 5oz smallmouth. All of a sudden all thoughts of doom and gloom were erased from my mind. That one fish, that one beautiful fish completely turned my day around. On the next cast I had another bite but lost that one after a short battle. l wish I could say that it was on fire and that they were stacked like cordwood but that was not the case. No more bites on the rock so I moved around until I found another patch of rock. This one was empty. I kept searching for rocks on my depthfinder and when I found some I would sometimes catch a fish but most often not. I just kept plugging away and over the final four hours of the day I landed 8 bass. Once again, not on fire but after thinking you are going to get skunked it felt as good as any day ever. Fish were OK sized. BIg fish was a 3lb 10oz and the best 5 went 13lb 30z. Not going to win any records but after that start I felt like a world champ and I had a lot of love for each and every fish that I caught. Here are pics of my best 5 and a video from the day. Here is the best one:

Nice fatty @Rockhopper!

@Pat Brown that is a beauty and the beast!

I hit the Columbia on Sunday the 16th in search of smallmouth. I had not been out on the big C in two months so I was starting with no idea whether the fish were going to still be deep, up shallow or in between. I got to the ramp around sunrise and was on the water fishing by about 8am. I was pretty excited as I headed out in search of my quarry. I started fishing the general area I had done well on in December and January. I fished around for an hour and a half without so much as a sniff. That's OK I thought, they must have moved up shallow so I fished a nice little point from the shoreline out to 30' without, once again, not so much as a sniff. Over the next few hours the skies darkened, the wind picked up and the rain started falling. I tried spot after spot, shallow, deep, mid-depths, without anything to show for it except a couple of lost Ned rigs. At this point I started practicing those sayings that I hate to have to use: "At least its nice to be out on the water" "Beats staying at home and watching TV" "That's why they call it fishing and not catching" etc, etc (you all know the phrases I am talking about). I finally made my way downstream a fair bit to a spot that often produces in the spring. I had seen a boat on it earlier but they had left which did not leave me with a great feeling but it was the best idea for a spot that I could come up with. At least the rain had stopped and the wind had died off and I was no longer on the verge of shivering. Anyway, I started carefully dragging a Ned rig around in about 25' of water. Controlling my drift so that I was moving about the same speed as my lure. I was focused really hard on my rod when I felt what I thought was a thump but I set the hook on nothing. "Probably a rock" I said to myself. I made another short cast and felt another thump and had a fish on for just a second. That was definitely a bite!! I did not reel up but just let it drop back down and about 10 seconds later I got thumped again and this time it stuck. Woo hoo! I carefully played that fish, the skunk removal fish are always extra hard to land, and I was elated when I scooped up a nice 2lb 12oz bass into my net. I think my kayak gained about 6" of freeboard as the weight of the skunk was lifted of my shoulders. Next cast I was dragging the Ned but snagged up. After retying my leader and a new Ned rig I dropped back down and picked up a nice 2lb 6oz. Next came another snag. After retying I got my third bass (1lb 15oz). Then snagged again. After that I decided to switch to a drop shot rather than try to drive the recovery of the entire economy through purchases Ned rig jigs That ended up being a smart call since the bass hit that at least as well as the Ned rig and all I would lose when I hung up was a little piece of hollow core lead I had pinched on for my weight. Much more fiscally sound way to fish First bass on the drop shot was my smallest (1lb 6oz) but after that came a bunch of quality fish. I was not getting bit on every cast but I was catching a bass every 10 minutes or so which seem wicked fast after the slow morning. Off that same general spot (20-35' rocky flat) I picked up in order a 3lb 2oz, 2lb 6oz, 3lb 4oz, 1lb 4oz, 3lb 9oz and then a 20.5" 4lb 5oz beast. The last two came on back to back casts but then after that I could not buy a bite. I think I probably could have stayed on that spot and scraped some more fish off but I thought that perhaps the bite had picked up everywhere and that the fish I was on had become spooked enough from me catching 10 of them. It was getting towards mid-afternoon so I figured I would pedal my way back upstream to the ramp and stop and fish a few spots along the way. The first couple of spots did not produce anything. I was starting to think that perhaps the bite window was just over and that I should be thankful for the 10 I had caught. Eventually I made it to a spot I have fished many times without ever catching anything on it. It is a dining room sized table rock that sticks up about 10' off the bottom in about 27-28' of water. It looks good but just never produced. I am not even sure why I gave it a try. I dropped my drop shot down along side the rock when I felt a thump! I set the hook on what felt like a big fish but the hook pulled out after 10 seconds or so. I was so bummed. I figured that was probably my last chance of the day. I dropped back down and then a minute or two later I felt another "pop" as a fish sucked in the drop shot. I set the hook and this fish felt big. The battle was not long in the cold 43F degree water but that fish did make one pretty decent run. I carefully worked the fish to the surface and saw one of the fattest smallmouth I have ever seen. I was shaking as I slid the net under that pig! The bass was only 19.5" but weighed 4lb 13oz. An inch shorter but a little more than 1/2lb heavier than the earlier beast. After releasing that piggy I kept fishing that little spot and managed to catch a 3lb 1oz and then ended the day with a 3lb 5oz. I did stop and try one more spot without success on the way back to the ramp but that spot (usually good this time of year) seemed barren. Overall, I was thrilled with the day. 13 smallmouth caught, 11 of them over 2lbs, 7 of those over 3lbs and 2 of those over 4lbs. It was my heaviest 5 smallmouth bag to date, 19 4oz and 94.75" total length. To say I was happy would be the understatement of the year. It has been 3 days and I am still smiling. Here are picks of my 5 best (plus the long fish on the measuring board). And here is a video of the day: