The largest and most exciting salmon fishery in the lower 48 states, the Buoy 10 fishery at the mouth of the Columbia River, will start August 1. Prospects for a good season are fair to high, with a forecast of over 500,000 adult fall Chinook expected to return to the mouth of the river.
The coho forecast is less than the five-year average, with around 280,000 adults expected back. However, those numbers should still afford a good season.
Brandon Powers, of the Top Guides NW LLC team, is enthusiastic about most aspects of this year’s fishery.
“I think Buoy 10 is going to be pretty good,” said Powers. “I hope we come in over prediction like last year. But as far as the forecast, everything looks almost as good as last year.”
“The reports I have heard from the ocean are pretty darn good,” Powers continued, “and the fish are nice sized, too.”
Fishing guide Matt Eleazer of East Fork Outfitters is also looking forward to a good season, although he is not fond of the mark-selective rules.
“It is really encouraging to see the catches in the ocean,” said Eleazer, “and it is encouraging to see so much bait in the ocean.”
“Everything indicates that we are going to have a stellar season this year.”
He does harbor some frustration with the mark-selective fishery.
“I’m not a huge fan of the mark-selective rule, because of the mortality that it puts on the fish,” said Eleazer. “We have to release a lot of fish that are bleeding pretty heavily. It is not a real good feeling when you release fish that are bleeding. You are feeding them to the sea lions.”
Only hatchery-source adipose fin-clipped Chinook may be retained for the lion’s share of the season, from Aug. 1-29. During that period anglers may retain two hatchery salmon a day, with only one being a Chinook.
Eleazer also reported seeing more clipped hatchery tule Chinook kept last year then before. While the hatchery tules are marked with a fin-clip, the upriver brights are mostly wild, and un-marked. The upriver fish are superior on the table, but most anglers feel that if they want to take a fish home, they better keep any clipped Chinook that they do catch.
The rule can also mean longer days on the water to fill a limit, although he managed to do so almost every trip last year.
“On those days you could have limited out by eight in the morning, sometimes we were fishing until two o’clock,” he said. “It’s really frustrating because we are releasing some beautiful upriver brights, that we could keep just around the corner.”
From Puget Island up to Warrior Rock anglers may keep wild, un-clipped Chinook through Sept. 4.
According to Ryan Lothrop, the Columbia River fisheries manager, the mark-select rules are designed to offer more fishing days on the river.
“That is one of the tools we use so we don’t have to take the risk of closing the fishery early,” he said, while admitting that it did not work for the entire season last year, when the season was closed early.
“It’s not a perfect fix, but it is definitely something that the public is interested in. We can do non-mark, straight up, but you’d just get fewer days.”
He also said the upriver closures of all salmon fishing in late September was also necessary to keep harvests of upriver bright Chinook within the limitations.
“We were burning through those upriver brights too quickly,” he said.
From Puget Island to Warrior Rock all salmon fishing will be closed from Sept. 12-30. From Warrior Rock to the Oregon/Washington border the closure runs from Sept. 16-30.
Lothrop did say there is room within the structure to allow more fishing upstream if the run comes in above expectations. Once the run is updated it is a possibility those rules will be relaxed.
Likewise, it is also possible that seasons will be closed early if the run underperforms, that is why anglers need to check the WDFW emergency rules webpage each day before fishing to ensure the season is still open.
With the hot summer the Northwest is experiencing this year, warm water in the river could be an issue. As of late July, the Columbia River was running at 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
Powers said that warmer water can still offer good opportunities.
“What it will do is develop that break where it goes from warm river water to colder ocean water,” he said. “When we have that going on down there, we know right where the fish are going to be.”
“It definitely slows them down, and they will ride the tides back and forth before finally heading upstream.”
Tides are an important part of the Buoy 10 equation, and the days with softer tides can produce better catches. The strong current resulting from big tidal exchanges can push the salmon behind the headlands, where the bite can be tough.
It can also push salmon up into the dead-end channel on the Washington side, just upriver of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. When the tide begins to turn these fish can go on the bite.
Other popular areas include the Washington shore near the old church, the wood pile on the Oregon side, and the Buoy 10 itself. However, the schools can be found just about anywhere.
While many anglers look for boats to gather over a hot bite, most guides will tell you that is not a good strategy.
“You don’t need to be in a pack of boats to catch fish,” said Eleazer. “In fact, its more effective not to. You can find the fish pretty much anywhere throughout the tide.”
As far as tactics, there have been some big changes over the last few years, although trolling is still what almost all the anglers are doing. The popular triangle flashers have mostly been replaced by the 360 flashers, such as the Pro-Trolls. Also, most guides are now running the bait-filled plugs, such as the Yakima Bait Spinfish, and the Brad’s Super Bait.
These are cut plug lures that are filled with attractants, such as tuna or shrimp, and they have some advantages over trolling herring or anchovies.
“When you get bit on an anchovy you have to check your bait,” said Powers. “If you get bit on a Super Bait, you can leave it out there. The fish often come back and hit it again.”
Spinners have also been getting more notice in recent years, although both guides still resort to anchovies or herring when the bite is tough.
The fishing will start slow and build through August, and from Aug. 29 through Sept. 3 anglers can keep any Chinook, marked or not. Anglers can continue to fish for the later arriving hatchery coho from Sept. 4 through the end of October, but the retention of Chinook will be closed.
Every section of the lower Columbia has rules specific to that reach. Always check the regulations before fishing to make sure you are in compliance.
Hotels are generally full by the time the season starts, so reservations are advised. Also, the boat launches will be very busy, and traffic can get bad on the roads leading to the ramps. An early start is suggested to miss the worst of the congestion.
Permanent Regulations — https://www.eregulations.com/washington/fishing/#
