Hog lines — boats anchored in the outgoing current with anglers fishing wobblers behind heavy weights just off the bottom to catch fall chinook — are everywhere in the lower Columbia River in September.
Then the ebbing tide slows, and stops. The wobblers no longer wobble, so sportsmen pick up their anchors and call it a day.
Bad move, says guide Bob Kratzer of Forks, Wash., who moves to the lower Columbia River to fish during the fall salmon run.
“When the tide slows and stops, you don’t have to leave,’’ Kratzer told a seminar in August at Fishermen’s Marine and Outdoor in Portland. “Everybody wants to leave. They all go away.’’
Instead, lighten the weight to about 8 ounces, drop the offering to the bottom and start trolling.
“Troll downstream, troll upstream, drop ‘em to the bottom, walk ‘em back just a little bit, then put the poles in the rod holder and just troll,’’ said Kratzer. “You troll the same lines as if you were sitting in a hog line — 45, 50, 55 feet — we just troll. With wobbler fishing, everybody thinks you’ve got to be on anchor and the current has got to be going, but that’s not true.’’
The same applies to fishing an incoming tide in morning, he said.
“A lot of people won’t go when the tide is going to be high at 9 or 10 in the morning. They’ll go in the afternoon when the tide is running. A lot of times we’ll go in the morning and just troll that tide.’’
Many anglers have learned through trolling Pro Trolls and Brad’s Super Baits that fall chinook can be caught on incoming tides — it’s not just a ebb-tide fishery.
However, the Simons, Alvins, Brad’s and other wobblers used for years on anchor also catch fish trolling.
Kratzer suggested the anchor anglers stay in the water another 30 minutes after they think it is time to leave because the flood tide has stopped working their lures.
“The tide starts softening and softening and my mouth is salivating when that happens,” he said “Pretty soon I reel it up, put on 4 ounces, and put it down there.
“Usually while everybody else is loading their boat and leaving, we’re fishing for another half hour to 40 minutes. You’re not going to feel much. You’re going to just barely feel that wobbler. It’s just barely flickering. You’d be surprised how many fish we catch in those periods of time.’’
Kratzer and Bill Meyer, another Forks, Wash. guide who fishes the lower Columbia in fall, offered a variety of tips for wobbler fishing.
Among them:
Location — The Columbia is warm in the fall. Kratzer said areas where the river runs faster on the ebb are cooler locations and fall chinook seek them out. Forty-five to 55 feet deep is a typical depth.
“Look for a nice, level river bottom,’’ Meyer said. “Look for traveling flats. You don’t want humps, you want to fish on that flat.’’
Line/leader — Use braided lines, not monofilament, for the main line. Braid is thinner and will not require as much lead to stay on the bottom. Do not use braided line heavier than the 50- or 65-pound strength.
Use 25-pound monofilament for droppers and 40-pound monofilament for leaders.
Rigging — A 5-foot leader and 5-foot dropper is the common setup. Another alternative is a 3-foot dropper, 3-foot intermediate leader with a float on the end, then another bead chain and 3 more feet of leader to the wobbler.
“I don’t catch any fewer fish with a float, but I don’t think I catch any more with it,’’ Kratzer said.
In slower water, where 12 to 14 ounces of lead are enough to hold bottom, some anglers swear by the float, Meyer said.
Tuning — Some anglers will bend their wobblers to get the 9-to-3 (on a clock face) swing considered ideal for fall chinook, then have to bend them again when the current builds or ebbs.
Kratzer said no to bending wobblers.
“There’s no guarantee you can get it bent back precisely to where it was when it was effective,’’ he said “So, get wobblers of different weights.’’
Colors — Wobblers come in painted, chrome, hammered and stainless steel finishes, Kratzer said .
“Painted is best on dark days. Use chrome as the sun gets higher in the sky. Stainless finish is better and brighter on an overcast day.’’
Meyer said washing wobblers is important.
“It absolutely makes a difference,” he said. “Clean it after every use. Scrub it…I try not to touch it once I clean it.’’
He uses Lemon Joy or Joy Ultra to clean wobblers.
