For six months, Columbia River salmon anglers have been waiting for this day.
Anticipation for the fall fishing season zoomed off the charts starting late in the winter when Washington and Oregon announced a forecast of a record 1.5 million chinook — plus a monster coho run of 638,300.
“It’s unbelievable, really, to have a salmon run forecast totaling 2 million,” said Buzz Ramsey of Klickitat, a noted Northwest angler and brand manager for Yakima Bait Co. “And while we’d all be counting our blessings to have either a huge coho or chinook forecast, this year we have both. Wow!”
With the arrival of August on Friday comes the opener of the fall fishing period.
That means Buoy 10 opens, Buoy 10 being the name given to the lower 16 miles of the Columbia from red Buoy No. 10 where the river meets the ocean and Tongue Point in Oregon or Rocky Point in Washington.
Buoy 10 is big water — especially when the west wind blows in the afternoon — but manageable enough on most days for boats as small as 16 to 17 feet to fish in the mornings.
There are boat ramps at Ilwaco, Chinook, Cape Disappointment State Park and Deep River on the Washington side that provide access to the Buoy 10 area. On the Oregon side, there are ramps at John Day, Astoria, Warrenton and Hammond.
Traditionally, Buoy 10 salmon catches start slowly and ramp up about the second week of August. With such big runs forecast for 2014, many anglers are hoping for a good bite from the get-go.
The season at Buoy 10 is Friday through Sept. 1 for two salmon, but only one chinook. Only fin-clipped coho can be kept, but any chinook through Aug. 29. On Aug. 30, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, the limit remains the same, but the chinook must be fin-clipped, too.
Then from Sept. 2-30, the Buoy 10 limit is three hatchery coho, but no chinook.
But sportsmen need to pay attention to the possibility of bag limit changes at Buoy 10
Back in April, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issued this caveat about Buoy 10: “Fisheries managers will assess in-season catch and may enact in-season changes to the chinook retention in August and September.”
While Buoy 10 angling can be exceptional, it isn’t rocket science, Ramsey said.
“The basic concept of where salmon can be found with each tidal movement is pretty simple, really,” he said. “Fish wanting to enter the river collect at the mouth when the tide is outgoing (ebbing), and move into the estuary as the tide floods eastward.
“So the best fishing at low tide and the beginning of the flood is near the western portion of the estuary. As the flooding tide builds, the fish move eastward with it. At or near the top to the tide, the majority of the salmon can be found near or above the Astoria Megler Bridge.”
Not only above the bridge, sometimes miles upstream of the bridge.
Ed Wickersham, a leader in the Coastal Conservation Association, said Buoy 10 anglers should consider the renovated Deep River boat ramp on Oneida Road in western Wahkiakum County this year.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife bought the 56-acre parcel in 2011 for $455,000 with a federal ramp and has renovated the site.
There’s now a good launch ramp, docks with enough room to stage about five boats, paved parking, an overflow parking lot and new toilets.
“One of the main challenges to fishing at Buoy 10 is getting back to the various launches in the afternoon because of the west winds,” Wickersham said. “This Deep River launch provides excellent and safe access to the east end of the fishery in the afternoon when most folks are finished. You’ll deal with a tail wind and much better water conditions returning home.”
For newcomers to Buoy 10, it’s important to understand trolling in any direction might work at slack tide, but once the tide starts to ebb a downstream troll is key.
“What most anglers do is make a long troll downriver before picking up their gear, run back upriver, and making another downstream pass,” Ramsey said. “And whereas you might catch fish throughout an ebb tide, you’ll likely find the best success during the first half of the outgo.”
The traditional bait at Buoy 10 is a herring. Blue- and green-label sizes are the most popular. Some days, the fish want whole herring, other days plug-cut.
But spinners also work well some years at Buoy 10. Last year, spinners were excellent and are easier to fish than herring.
Ramsey said he believes the best spinners incorporate a squid into their design.
“Squid spinners are now offered by most manufacturers,” he said. “Try rigging your herring or spinner on a 4- to-6 foot leader behind a spinning flasher. Rigging a swivel half way down your leader will help eliminate twisted leaders and keep everything working properly.”
New this year at Buoy 10 is the “Youngs Bay Control Zone.”
The Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 830, which closes to sport fishing the portion of the Columbia inside the green buoy line stretching from the Astoria Bridge to Warrenton Fiber from Friday through Sept. 15.
The closure is intended to increase the number of hatchery salmon returning to the Youngs Bay off-channel commercial area by reducing the catch by sportsmen.
The decision is, obviously, not popular with anglers.
Ramsey said the green line is popular with small boat anglers because its close to boat ramps and protected somewhat from the wind.
“Youngs Bay has an early run of Rogue (River) strain chinook that stage in the now-closed-to-sport-fishing area that many anglers and guides depended on for consistent early-season action,” he said.
John North of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the information about what percentage of the trips at Buoy 10 were in the now-closed Youngs Bay Control Zone is sketchy.
He predicted anglers displaced from the Youngs Bay area will scatter in the popular spots, including Hammond, the Oregon side upstream of the Astoria Bridge, Desdemona Sands and Blind Channel on the Washington side.
And when will the bite turn on at Buoy 10?
“Usually, mid-month is when the numbers really start cranking up,” North said. “The bite may start earlier in certain years, but the big effort and catches usually come in the third and fourth weeks of August.”
Guy Norman, regional director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and a veteran of three decades of managing the Columbia River, said the size of this year’s forecasts is astounding.
“When I look at these numbers…it’s just amazing,” Norman said, who recalls when it was a struggle to get 40,000 chinook upstream of McNary Dam, near Umatilla, Ore.
“There are 61,000 wild Snake River fall chinook forecast,” he said. “There were less than 100 in the mid-1990s.”
Incremental steps to rebuild salmon runs appear to be working, particularly when coupled with years of good ocean survival.
“This is the kind of year we would hope to be more common in the future, where there is a bounty of healthy and harvestable hatchery and wild salmon, natural spawning goals are being met, and salmon populations that have been depressed for decades are rebuilding,” Norman said.
Chris Kern, deputy fish division administrator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, summed it up this way:
“This is shaping up to be one of those years that anglers will want to be able to look back on and say they participated in. It should be even better than last year’s incredible season, and Buoy 10 is just the start.”
