Variable Conditions

Part of what makes springer season so exciting is that you never know what you're going to get - And I am not just referring to "getting" fish.  Although another weekend passes with no fish in the box, Saturday and Sunday were still filled with good times and some VERY interesting weather.  Although I was more optimistic for fish on this weekend, it will be the last time this season that I say "it's still early".

Saturday started with Kokanee K and Tabasco T showing up at my house with 31 degrees as I scraped ice off the truck windows.  As we got to the bay, below the mouth of the Willamette, it had warmed up to 38 with no wind, glassy water, and another beautiful sunrise.

We dropped baits in one of my favorite spots near Sauvie Island and shortly after, a massive rolling fog came in over the river out of the east.

No fish = Grumpy Guys / Fog Rolling In

We did a long 2+ mile pass in the fog and as we were finishing, we realized we were completely fogged in - we couldn't see shore in any direction.  Once again, THANK YOU GPS!  As we made our way up for another run, we were limited to traveling less than 10mph and oddly, there was not a sound to be heard.  I was watching the channel markers closely and was hugging the south side of the shipping channel - All of the sudden, I see us headed directly for a tug with a double wide barge heading down river.   I quickly dodged south to get out of the way but it was just like a scene from a scary movie with a ship coming out of the fog.

Next boat toy to look into - Radar!!!!

Barge in the fog!

We did one more pass in that area and realized that the water was a nasty muddy brown with maybe 6" visibility.  We've continued to have heavy rains so the water below the Willamette has been pretty nasty and at an even higher level than last week.  So, as the sun started to come back out, we went for a long boat ride upriver looking for clearer water.  We found better water and A LOT more boats - After several more passes in the clearer water, we finished the day in the sun at 50 degrees.

Clearer water!  (and a really big boat w/ a really small boat)

Miller Time!  (Check out the muddy water)

Sunday came rolling around and I made the decision to move.  The water below the Willy was just too dirty to really have a good chance for fish so we moved up river - above the Willy.  I think everyone else had the same idea as we experienced the crowds/pressure that make springer fishing famous.

Vince took a day off from captain of his own boat and joined me on the water Sunday.  The day started off similar to Saturday, with nice glassy water.  We fished some water that I hadn't had a chance to fish last year but it looked really good and I'll probably have to hit it again soon.  We found a nice 4+ mile pass/route and while fishing in the area I finally witnessed a fish caught - first one of the year.

Cold!!

As the day progressed, it was clear the weather man was wrong yet again.  What was supposed to be 10 to 12MPH east winds steadily crept to 25 - 30mph by noon.  At that point, it was just too tough to keep the boat in position.  Unfortunately, in our quest for a fish, we had traveled 12+ miles downriver from the launch (directly down wind).  So, we made the long trip against the winds back to the launch.

The video below shows what the experience was like.  I've never witnessed anything like it - I've been in some crazy seas at Buoy 10 but the wind wave in the smaller part of the river is just wild.  We were going less than 10mph directly into the wind, but check out how it looks like we're going fast into chop.  It was the wind pushing waves against the bow, not the power of the motor.

Fish checker at the launch had checked 3 fish for 25+ boats.  She also let us know that a launch further down river where we were fishing had checked around 10 fish for nearly 100 boats.  So, needless to say, it's early, and it's SLOW!!!

Warmed up... but frozen!!

Day 1 fishing 2011 is in the books - although no fish to clean on this day, as always I had a blast on the water with great company.  Tabasco T and his brother "Ler" or "Lorenzo" (Tyler) joined me for the warm up trip.

Although this day has been on my schedule for weeks as "warm up trip", there was nothing warm about the day other than the Colman heater in the boat.  Things started off beautiful at 5:15am in the driveway where we decided to leave most of the boat top home - expecting dry conditions.  We were on the glassy water by 6:00am, headed out of the bay to the channel and into the main system of the Columbia.  While witnessing a sweet sunrise at around 6:30am we dropped the first baits in the water - shortly after, the western Oregon rains hit and didn't stop.

Other than high winds and Coast Guard restricted seas, I don't let conditions stop or slow me, but I'll admit when the elements are making a full attempt to do both.  I've fished in colder conditions but something about the early March rains that will sure bite a guy.  As I type this post, my fingers are still thawing out and a bit numb - even with no fish, I loved every minute of it.

Tabasco Todhunter was kind enough to relive me of my kicker duties for a few minutes while I warmed up by the heater - This first picture of him pretty much sums it up.

Tabasco T on the kicker!

On a positive front, the warm up trip was successful in that we got all the kinks worked out and are ready to go for this Saturday and Sunday as the season picks up.  On that same note, it's good to get the first blanked trip off your back.  In fishing, it's inevitable, you're going to have days where you don't catch fish - and we call that getting blanked, skunked, goose egg, nada-ed, nilch-ed.  It's good to get the first one out of the way!

Nice leather jacket "Lorenzo"

Bait!

It's common for the diehard springer fisherman to setup camp along the Columbia for the duration of the short salmon season.  Given the high snow pack and heavy rains so far this year, river levels have been much higher than usual and are fluctuating frequently.  This camp we fished near Saturday was setup in advance of the recent rains in order to secure a spot later in the season - oops.  Camp on the right is completely flooded.

High water!

Spring Training!

After a long wet winter and 150+ days since my boat was last on the official hunt for salmon, my modified version of spring training starts Saturday with the first trip of 2011.  The objective is always to have a good time with friends and family on the water while we aggressively try and catch fish.  However, it's still just a little bit early in the year for salmon, so as I've done in years' past, we're going to spend a little time working out the kinks for a day.  Really, that's my way of setting low expectations and under promising - with all intention of over delivering. (I've made a living with this approach - kidding, sort of)

Most successful fisherman will say that half of catching fish is what takes place the night before vs. out on the water - meaning that it's the preparations and homework done before getting on the water that gets a fair amount of the credit for a successful catch.  I fully subscribe to this way of thinking and one would be hard pressed to find someone more prepared this spring than I am - it is after all, really one of the only aspects of this sport I love that I can fully control - preparation.

This past weekend was spent finalizing the preparations and all that goes into spring salmon fishing; installing a new prop on the big motor (don't ask), 3 rods locked and loaded w/ a 4th as a backup in the rod storage, 25lbs. of lead for all my buddies who get stagged and lose gear on a regular basis, enough flash to make Bourbon street jealous (even though we run the herring naked most of the time), a little UV this year to spice things up, stink stocked in 8 different flavors, 25+ tied mooching/herring rigs, 10+ dropper lines, stupid baits (I mean Super) tied, herring brine recipe items stocked, egg cure ready, etc... (That's a lot of fishing slang!!)  With these preparations in place, we'll be well positioned to maximize our opportunities.

Bling! (Secret weapons not pictured)

Smelly goodness! (Secret weapons not pictured)

As we head into 2011 fishing, here are few more springer shots from 2010

Spring, sun, salmon....

Big G at 1 and a half yrs. - He's a pickup man

Blood in the boat!

The best part!

Scouting Water

It's been nearly a month since I had the boat on the water so Sunday, February 20th, Tabasco T and I went out to the Columbia and Multnomah Channel of the Willamette to scout water (some new and some known).  2/20 is really early for spring Chinook so we took it easy and got to the launch at 9:15am hoping it would be a little warmer by then but a thick fog kept the outside temp at around 30 degrees.

We did do about an hour or so of fishing but that time was spent more with an objective of trying out a few new rigs that I put together over the off season.  I really wanted to make sure they worked before game time in a few weeks. However, much to my surprise, we did have a couple take downs (bites) that didn't stick which made me want to fish longer, but we had a lot of uncharted waters we needed to scout in prep for this spring (still kicking myself wondering if that was the right choice).

As soon as the camera was put away the sun came out and we had a clear sky for a beautiful sunny (but cold) day.  Here's where things started:

It's a long boat ride out to the main system of the Columbia in the fog.

It's foggy days like we had this day that make me really appreciate the GPS.  The place I launch at is treacherous with old pier pylons and other water hazards - so much so, last year, I had to mark a permanent GPS trail so I could safely find my way in the mornings.  Part of the scouting trip this day was to also clean up old fishing trails and mark new ones for reference this spring (so it's not as messy and save only the ones to be used again).  We also spent a fair amount of time marking new areas that look "fishy".