Pikeminnow are pretty close to the bottom of the piscatorial prestige list in the Northwest.
But the serious anglers in the sport-reward program — the guys making $50,000 to $70,000 a year — are just as sophisticated and skilled as top-notch bass and walleye tournament fishermen.
“The top guys have high-end gear, high-end electronics,” said Eric Winther, sport-reward program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “They keep extensive records of water temperature, water levels, etc. They have logbooks going back for years.”
When the reward program debuted in 1990, there was a belief money could be made simply fishing along the Columbia River with a bobber and worms.
“It’s a lot more sophisticated than that,” Winther said. “Those people try it and catch one fish, or no fish, a couple of times and discouraged and quit.”
Top-end pikeminnow fishermen pretty much live in their boats from May through September.
“It would be hard for a normal guy to stay married,” he said. “Most wives wouldn’t put up with it.”
The serious moneymakers tend to open the season around The Dalles, Ore., and fish there during May and June. Then many of them move up into the Snake River in July and the first part of August. They finish the season in the lower Columbia around Portland and Vancouver.
“It has to do with water temperature, when the fish are spawning and food sources,” Winther said.
For example, there’s the insect named Mormon crickets. They are almost 3 inches long and live in western rangelands.
“Mormon crickets are a super pikeminnow bait,” he said. “They are really hard to find, but can be found in the Juniper Dunes near Tri-Cities. Some of these guys will fish six days a week and use one day to collect these crickets.
“They’re a good bait. But they’ll bite back. They are pretty gnarly. Guys will use pillboxes and keep one cricket in each slot.”
Like tournament anglers, serious pikeminnow fishermen have multiple rods rigged and ready.
Chicken livers are a popular bait, although not the best bait, he said.
“It evolves,” said Winther. “Plastic grubs work, chicken livers work.
“Fresh, uncured salmon eggs or guts (hearts, livers, etc.) work. Guys will be them from the tribes or fish-processing places. They’ll buy a 5-gallon bucket of guts.
“Like a lot of fisheries, you do best with fresh bait.”
