They are still biting!!

[pdxfisher]

I hit the Columbia on Saturday the 16th with some trepidation. The wind forecast was once again calling for light winds but after getting brutalized last week I was a little gun shy to say the least. I woke up on Saturday after not sleeping great and at first I rolled over and thought about just sleeping in and bagging it. However, after 15 minutes of intense debate with myself I decided I would probably be happiest if I went so I dragged myself out of bed and headed East to Stevenson.

 

When I got there I almost wept tears of joy when I looked out over the glassy Columbia. I could not have been happier to start the day. I figured I was in for a tough outing after only catching 6 bass last trip but I figured I would just focus on enjoying be out on the water. I love this time of year because the air temp was 38 when I got there (with a high of 44 for the day) but the water temp was 53. I love when the water feels warm compared to the air on the cold days.

 

I had low expectations and the first spot I fished me those expectations. I was fishing a point from shoreline out to 30' of water without a sniff. I was not too surprised since the previous week that spot had only produced a single fish. So I had a decision to make. I had not headed down river in almost two months so I decided to give that a try. I figured maybe the bass would be holding in some of their winter spots even though the water temp was still pretty warm.

 

Pretty quickly after getting to the spot I wanted to fish I caught my first bass of the day. That first fish is so important, getting the skunk off is always a big step in a day of fishing. It was not a giant but I was really happy to have broken the ice. The area I was fishing is a big nothing flat in about 30' of water but for some reason the fish like to hold there in the later fall (and maybe the winter). I fished my way around that spot again and again and eventually was able to scrape up a total of 12 bass in 3 hours. Not on fire but it was pretty regular. No mad flurries just patiently fishing deep and being occasionally rewarded. Mostly on the drop shot but I did get on a balde bait and one on a Ned rig, but I was fishing the drop shot 90% of the time. By the time I decided to leave that spot I had already doubled my previous week's catch! The wind was starting to pick up a little but it was not too bad. Just a nice chop on the water - way better than last week!

 

I was really stoked that the fish were biting and I was finding them. Once I went a half hour without a fish I decided to switch locations and planned on going upstream a mile or two to some of the spots that had produced so well this fall (except for last week). On my way upriver I happen to glance at my FF and saw a fish arch on a nothing stretch of river. I figured "what the heck" and decided to drop my drop shot down. As soon as it hit the bottom I lifted the rod and felt weight. I jerked up and had a better fish on! After a short battle (they are definitely fighting more lethargically in the cooler water) I had a bass that was just over 2lbs! All the fish I was catching from the first spot were pound  to pound and a quarter bass so it was a pleasant surprise to get a better one.

 

i pedaled back up to the spot from where I had drifted downstream and quickly caught a second nice bass but another 15 minutes without a bite and I decided to continue up to where I had been intending to originally go fish.  I was about another mile upstream when I went to make an adjustment to my direction but my kayak did not turn. I tried turning hard right and then hard left but my rudder was not responding (more like randomly responding).

 

I though "Dang it", here I was having a pretty awesome day and now was in the middle of the Columbia with no steering. If the wind picked up I could be in trouble so I quickly decided I should paddle and pedal my way back to the ramp and call it a day. It was a slow trip back since my kayak kept wanting to go every way except the direction I wanted it to when I tried to pedal assist my paddling. Eventually I made it back to the ramp and decided to head home.

 

I pulled my kayak up the ramp to my truck and started unloading when I figured I might as well see if I could at least see what was wrong. In very short order it was obvious that the control disk that the rudder is attached to had come unscrewed. I screwed it back down and the rudder seemed to work. Now it was close to 1pm by now and I had to decided if I wanted to reload and head back out.  I figured I should so that I could at least test the repair.

 

Well, happy to say that everything was once again working flawlessly! I figured I might as well get back to fishing! I decided to make the run upstream to where I was about at when my steering failed earlier. Well, long story short, that was not a good idea. I fished a couple of the spots that had produced well a few weeks back without a sniff. At that point I thought I should head home, but I decided I would at least stop at the spot that had produced the two fish earlier even though the temp had dropped a little and it had started to rain - 42 and rain, just about as much fun as it sounds

 

Well that ended up being a good decision. The spot was another huge flat in 30-35' of water with no real structure on it, but the bass were there. Once again, not fast action but over the final hour and half of the day I managed to pick up 6 more bass, with most of them being over 2lbs! I would fish for quite a while between bites but when I did get a bite it was a decent fish. By 3:30 The rain had been falling for quite a while and with the slow bite when I got my 21st bass I decided to call it a day. 

 

Overall, I was thrilled with day even though I did not catch any pigs. More than tripling last weeks catch was awesome and my best fish was an almost respectable 2lb 12oz fatty. I am so glad I decided to get out of bed!

 

Here are a few pics of the day and some video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

Way to go, buddy! I love when you catch fish and I get to read about your adventures (and even your windy misadventures).

[DogBone_384]

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

figured I was in for a tough outing after only catching 6 bass last trip

 

C'mon up to New England.  6 bass for one trip is often a good outing.  Except for Maine ... right @Swamp Girl?

[Swamp Girl]

4 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

Except for Maine ... right @Swamp Girl?

 

Ha! I did have quite a few 40/50/60-bass outings in 2024 and two 70-bass trips, but watching YouTube videos, not all Maine anglers see so many fish. 

[DogBone_384]

1 minute ago, Swamp Girl said:

40/50/60-bass outing

 

In the last 10 years since I got back into fishing my best days are 5 - 6 bass.  I can think of only one occasion I found 14 SMB in one spot in March.

 

I DO live in the Boston area and have to travel to fish good waters.

 

[Swamp Girl]

10 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

 

In the last 10 years since I got back into fishing my best days are 5 - 6 bass.  I can think of only one occasion I found 14 SMB in one spot in March.

 

I DO live in the Boston area and have to travel to fish good waters.

 

 

I used to live in Brighton and Brookline, so I know your challenges and they're considerable. There was a downtown dam in Columbus, Ohio where I used to catch smallmouth. It's a thrill to catch wild bass in a tame city.

[TnRiver46]

11 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

 

C'mon up to New England.  6 bass for one trip is often a good outing.  Except for Maine ... right @Swamp Girl?

6 bass is a banner day here unless you are up in a river smallie fishing where you can catch dozens of dinks