Outdoor Report 8/31
The reports coming in from our ProStaff guides, are that chinook fishing has been very good with a good portion of the fleet still fishing bait. Anchovies and herring have been working equally well, depending on who you talk to. Also, there are certain guides that try to primarily fish spinners, but have been forced to fish bait most of the year; that changed this weekend as well. The guys that like to fish hardware have been doing just as well as the bait guys. Some folks are running the smaller 3.5-4.5 size spinners with or without hoochies, and others are using the traditional larger sizes like 5.5-7 with or without hoochies as well. Whatever your favorite technique is, go for it! Coho have been in the mix too. A lot of fishermen have been opting to come in and get some breakfast after catching their boat limit of chinook. However, those that stay out and try to target coho have had good results. They have found the coho are primarily a bit higher in the water column, and reports are that spinners and anchovies have been the go-to baits. The uptick in chinook fishing at Astoria, also means more fish have been pushing upriver. Over the weekend, we started to see an influx of chinook going over Bonneville Dam, which made the wobbler and trolling bites pick up. Wobbler fishing the outgoing tide with your favorite type of wobbler has been yielding good results, as well as trolling 360° flashers with either Brad’s Cut Plug, Brad’s Super Baits or various brands of 3.5 spinners. Look for this bite to steadily improve as we enter September. Bonneville Dam has also started to see a rise in the amount of fish being caught. Those that like to run Kwikfish; this is the place to be. Although, it is a place where having experience anchoring is a must. The closer you are to the dam the stronger the current gets, so if you have any questions about anchoring, head into one of our locations and our staff will help dial you in. Tillamook and Nehalem bay have both started to see their first few fall chinook show up. Both locations are great options as we enter September because they will have fresh chinook and coho entering the bay daily. Herring and spinners dominate these two fisheries. Always bring both with you, as the fish can change their minds daily. Locally, coho will begin to enter the rivers any day. So be prepared to throw hardware at the first few because they will be aggressive! Once more fish show up, eggs, twitching jigs, spoons and spinners are all going to work. Again, having multiple techniques available will be paramount as these fish will become very picky as they school up in bigger numbers. Trout fishing remains consistent with local stocking schedules available online. Plunking bait on the bottom and casting spinners close to shore, are both go-to methods. Look to fish bait on the bottom especially during the heat of the day; fish will go deeper to avoid the heat and added sunlight. Catch and release sturgeon fishing is still phenomenal. With all the salmon around sturgeon get over looked. However, if it is one of those days where the salmon are not cooperating, don't forget about the sturgeon.
