Buoy 10 Fish Camp

The fourth season as mariner and captain of my own vessel in the saltwater of the Columbia River estuary continued with three consecutive days of intense and productive fishing. Deer and Elk hunters setup their respective camps in the fall so on the 16th of August, Papa Dave and I setup "fish camp", which consisted of staying in an Astoria, OR motel for a few nights. After a successful "warm up" trip earlier in the week that included a boat limit of Chinook, anticipation and expectations were high for a memorable experience.

Big fish make Papa D smile!

Buoy 10 is a "tidal fishery" which means the size and timing of a high or low tide can greatly impact when a Chinook or Coho will enter the river and where they'll likely stage once in the estuary. On an incoming tide, the flow of the river is literally back upriver (which is quite the site to see) and usually brings new fish in with it. In order to maximize opportunities to put fish in the box and given the massive size of the estuary, it's critical to have a predefined game plan as well as a backup plan for each tide and location for a given day (a plan C doesn't hurt either).

At the Hammond cleaning station

Over our 3 day stay at fish camp, we landed 1 native Coho (Silver Salmon) that was released unharmed (only fin clipped hatchery Coho can be kept) and over 15 Chinook (King Salmon) keeping only our daily limit each day with most fish in the 18lb to 25lb range. As we worked the tides according to our plan, we also had to work our bait and color combinations. Earlier in the week during my warm-up trip with Bryan B, all of our fish came on herring. Interestingly, during fish camp, not one of our fish came on herring with a variety of large spinners being the bait of choice.

My fish

I never get tired of fishing with my father in-law and getting the opportunity to spend consecutive days in a fishery that's at the top of my list of favorites made it extra special. The freezer is full of candy red salmon ready for a variety of grilling and smoking recipes. Fish Camp 2013 is only 354 days away, making plans now - who's in?

1/10th of the week's catch!

Side Note...

Hawg Quest at Buoy 10

Hawg Quest is a weekly television show on the Root Sports network that covers various fishing adventures in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and BC. Interestingly, their tricked out Wooldridge sled appeared next to us and quickly had a fish on. Not wanting to look too much like a groupie, I secretly snapped this picture as they posed with my boat on camera. (Hawg Quest Website)