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I took off Friday to fish the Columbia because the weekend forecast was looking unfriendly. Whenever I do take a day off from work I always feel this extra pressure to try and have a good day. I was on the river and fishing by 6am. I thought I would be first to the ramp but there were a bunch of salmon fishing folks (I assume) already out on the water. No big deal but it was a surprising start to the day.
I figured that last trip I was having success in shallow water so that is how I started the day. The first couple of spots I fished I was really tense - expecting a bite on every cast. Well, that tension quickly changed to trying to will a fish to bite. I was absolutely sure I was going to catch some fish off the first couple of spots and it was pretty disheartening to come up empty.
I was a little worried but I stuck to my plan and kept cranking and winding in the shallows looking for that first bite. It had not even been all that long but it was such a huge relief when I finally felt a thump on my Jack Hammer Stealthblade and caught my first fish of the day.
I love throwing that thing in the spring time. It casts really well and comes through cover pretty well and the smallmouth hit it like a freight train!
I really relaxed after that first fish. Now my shoulder was still killing me but between casting with two hands and not trying to set a distance record on each toss I was able to fish. I felt like I was ready for a good day with that first fish under my belt. I just kept working my along the shoreline anywhere that the weeds were either absent or in sparse clumps. I would occasionally toss something else and caught a fish or two on a swimbait but the JH was the star and was accounting for almost all of my fish.
Eventually I had worked my way along the shoreline to where the weeds were becoming too thick. At that point I either had to pedal upstream a ways further to find the next fishable stretch or head downstream. Since the wind was blowing a decent amount out of the West I headed that way. I always prefer to have a wind-aided return to the launch at the end of the day
The next spot I fished was under a big pier and I picked up a nice one right off the bat and then a couple of small ones - still on the JH. I worked my way along a big flat and picked up a fish here and fish there when I ran into a bunch of them.
The spot is completely a nothing-burger. It is a flat that is sandy/gravelly and only 4' deep. I almost skipped it but I figured I could fish it quickly as headed to my next "real" spot. Well that was fortunate. There must have been a pretty good sized group of fish clumped up there. I made a cast and missed a bite. Then I caught fish on the next 4 casts and missed bites on the next 2 before the bite stopped. My JH had been chewed up to the point that the skirt was completely gone. I decided to swap it out with a new one (and replace the skirt on the destroyed one when I got home).
I did pick up one more fish from that spot but then the bite died so I moved on. Even though the bite in the river was on fire I decided to head back into the slough since I was right there. The temp in the main river was a degree warmer than last week (up to 58F) but when I got back in the slough it was 2 degrees cooler than last week (down to 60F). There was already a guy fishing the slough in a kayak and it is not that big of a spot so I was a little bummed.
However, within a few casts I caught a nice 2lb 11loz bass on the JH. Maybe the bite in the slough was going to be hot again! Well, that was a liar fish because that was my only bite on the JH in the slough. I did eventually switch over to tossing a 4" senko wacky-rigged with a VMC crossover ring. I have to stop and say that those crossover rings are money! I used to just use a little piece of surgical tubing wihch worked pretty well but the crossover rings make that senko last and last!
Andyway, along a steep back I hooked a pretty big fish on the Senko but the hook pulled. A couple of casts later I caught a decent sized one. I though I had it figured out. Narrator's voice: "He in fact did not have it figured out"
I kept tossing that senko around but I was not getting bit and another kayak had launched into the slough and a bass boat had come in as well. Eventually the light bulb went off and I thought "why am I in here struggling when the bite out in the river is on fire". At that point I quickly pedaled out of the slough and back out to the river that had been treating me so well.
Almost immediately I caught 2 bass on three casts which gave me confidence in my decision. Of course then I hit a little lull but I think it was mostly that I was fishing water that was a bit too weedy. With the chop on the water it was really hard to see where there were weeds and where it was clear so I ended up spending a bit of time fishing unproductive water.
Eventually I got clear of the worst of the weeds and was back on water that looked like the water I had been fishing first thing in the morning. The nice thing was that it was also nicely protected from the wind. Pretty quickly I caught a nice 2+lb bass on the JH but then in looking at the conditions I decided I would switch over to the senko since it was not too windy.
That ended up being a good call. On the first cast I caught a nice 2lber and then a cast or two later I had another nice. I just kept slowly working my way along the shore and picking up a fish here or there. That kept up for quite a while until I moved closer to the wind where I lost a fish and missed two bites. With the wind it was a bit harder to fish the senko so I picked up a KVD 1.5 and quickly caught two bass but then the bite died in that spot.
I then went through a slow period where I picked just one or two fish over the next hour or so. By then I was starting to get tired but I really wanted to try to catch a bass on my new wobblehead rod so I put everything else out of my mind and decided I was going to fish that even if I did not get another bite. I could feel that wobblehead scraping over the rocks when there was a solid thump. I set the hook and for just a second I had a fish on but the hook pulled. Dang it!!
A few casts later it happened again. Then a few casts later i hooked up solidly but lost the fish about half way in. I was starting to think that the new rod was cursed and that maybe I needed to perform and arcane blood sacrifice ritual to chase the skunk off that rod. I made another cast and hooked up again. Not a monster but a solid pound and a half fish! I would not need to perform that ritual. Of course the next fish I hooked I lost at the kayak. I probably should have netted that fish instead of just trying to yank it in but at least the skunk is off that rod.
After that I stopped to eat some grapes and decide what to do next. I figured I would fish the wobblehead a bit more and then try the Ned rig for a bit. I quickly caught a 2 12oz on the wobblehead but then I could not get another bite. I switched to the Ned rig after a handful of casts I caught another 2lb 12oz and then another that was probably a pound and three quarters. When I held that last fish up the camera I noticed that the camera was off. I had turned it off when I stopped to eat my grapes and had not turned it back on. Doh!
Anyway I ended up with 36 bass over all. My best 5 went 13lb 1oz. My best on the day was a tie between two 2lb 12oz fish. So once again I could not catch a big one but catching a bunch of 2+lb fish is still a blast. Those fish are fighting so hard now. Several times during the day I would have sworn I had a fish that was over 3lbs only to land a 2 somthing. A few big fish would have made the day perfect but I am not complaining. Also, the extra care I took with my shoulder paid off and it was only hurting kind of badly at the end of the day so that was a win too.
Anyway, here are some pics and the video from the day:
Snapshot_128 by jstonick, on Flickr
Snapshot_129 by jstonick, on Flickr
Snapshot_130 by jstonick, on Flickr
Snapshot_131 by jstonick, on Flickr
I figured that last trip I was having success in shallow water so that is how I started the day. The first couple of spots I fished I was really tense - expecting a bite on every cast. Well, that tension quickly changed to trying to will a fish to bite. I was absolutely sure I was going to catch some fish off the first couple of spots and it was pretty disheartening to come up empty.
I was a little worried but I stuck to my plan and kept cranking and winding in the shallows looking for that first bite. It had not even been all that long but it was such a huge relief when I finally felt a thump on my Jack Hammer Stealthblade and caught my first fish of the day.
I love throwing that thing in the spring time. It casts really well and comes through cover pretty well and the smallmouth hit it like a freight train!
I really relaxed after that first fish. Now my shoulder was still killing me but between casting with two hands and not trying to set a distance record on each toss I was able to fish. I felt like I was ready for a good day with that first fish under my belt. I just kept working my along the shoreline anywhere that the weeds were either absent or in sparse clumps. I would occasionally toss something else and caught a fish or two on a swimbait but the JH was the star and was accounting for almost all of my fish.
Eventually I had worked my way along the shoreline to where the weeds were becoming too thick. At that point I either had to pedal upstream a ways further to find the next fishable stretch or head downstream. Since the wind was blowing a decent amount out of the West I headed that way. I always prefer to have a wind-aided return to the launch at the end of the day
The next spot I fished was under a big pier and I picked up a nice one right off the bat and then a couple of small ones - still on the JH. I worked my way along a big flat and picked up a fish here and fish there when I ran into a bunch of them.
The spot is completely a nothing-burger. It is a flat that is sandy/gravelly and only 4' deep. I almost skipped it but I figured I could fish it quickly as headed to my next "real" spot. Well that was fortunate. There must have been a pretty good sized group of fish clumped up there. I made a cast and missed a bite. Then I caught fish on the next 4 casts and missed bites on the next 2 before the bite stopped. My JH had been chewed up to the point that the skirt was completely gone. I decided to swap it out with a new one (and replace the skirt on the destroyed one when I got home).
I did pick up one more fish from that spot but then the bite died so I moved on. Even though the bite in the river was on fire I decided to head back into the slough since I was right there. The temp in the main river was a degree warmer than last week (up to 58F) but when I got back in the slough it was 2 degrees cooler than last week (down to 60F). There was already a guy fishing the slough in a kayak and it is not that big of a spot so I was a little bummed.
However, within a few casts I caught a nice 2lb 11loz bass on the JH. Maybe the bite in the slough was going to be hot again! Well, that was a liar fish because that was my only bite on the JH in the slough. I did eventually switch over to tossing a 4" senko wacky-rigged with a VMC crossover ring. I have to stop and say that those crossover rings are money! I used to just use a little piece of surgical tubing wihch worked pretty well but the crossover rings make that senko last and last!
Andyway, along a steep back I hooked a pretty big fish on the Senko but the hook pulled. A couple of casts later I caught a decent sized one. I though I had it figured out. Narrator's voice: "He in fact did not have it figured out"
I kept tossing that senko around but I was not getting bit and another kayak had launched into the slough and a bass boat had come in as well. Eventually the light bulb went off and I thought "why am I in here struggling when the bite out in the river is on fire". At that point I quickly pedaled out of the slough and back out to the river that had been treating me so well.
Almost immediately I caught 2 bass on three casts which gave me confidence in my decision. Of course then I hit a little lull but I think it was mostly that I was fishing water that was a bit too weedy. With the chop on the water it was really hard to see where there were weeds and where it was clear so I ended up spending a bit of time fishing unproductive water.
Eventually I got clear of the worst of the weeds and was back on water that looked like the water I had been fishing first thing in the morning. The nice thing was that it was also nicely protected from the wind. Pretty quickly I caught a nice 2+lb bass on the JH but then in looking at the conditions I decided I would switch over to the senko since it was not too windy.
That ended up being a good call. On the first cast I caught a nice 2lber and then a cast or two later I had another nice. I just kept slowly working my way along the shore and picking up a fish here or there. That kept up for quite a while until I moved closer to the wind where I lost a fish and missed two bites. With the wind it was a bit harder to fish the senko so I picked up a KVD 1.5 and quickly caught two bass but then the bite died in that spot.
I then went through a slow period where I picked just one or two fish over the next hour or so. By then I was starting to get tired but I really wanted to try to catch a bass on my new wobblehead rod so I put everything else out of my mind and decided I was going to fish that even if I did not get another bite. I could feel that wobblehead scraping over the rocks when there was a solid thump. I set the hook and for just a second I had a fish on but the hook pulled. Dang it!!
A few casts later it happened again. Then a few casts later i hooked up solidly but lost the fish about half way in. I was starting to think that the new rod was cursed and that maybe I needed to perform and arcane blood sacrifice ritual to chase the skunk off that rod. I made another cast and hooked up again. Not a monster but a solid pound and a half fish! I would not need to perform that ritual. Of course the next fish I hooked I lost at the kayak. I probably should have netted that fish instead of just trying to yank it in but at least the skunk is off that rod.
After that I stopped to eat some grapes and decide what to do next. I figured I would fish the wobblehead a bit more and then try the Ned rig for a bit. I quickly caught a 2 12oz on the wobblehead but then I could not get another bite. I switched to the Ned rig after a handful of casts I caught another 2lb 12oz and then another that was probably a pound and three quarters. When I held that last fish up the camera I noticed that the camera was off. I had turned it off when I stopped to eat my grapes and had not turned it back on. Doh!
Anyway I ended up with 36 bass over all. My best 5 went 13lb 1oz. My best on the day was a tie between two 2lb 12oz fish. So once again I could not catch a big one but catching a bunch of 2+lb fish is still a blast. Those fish are fighting so hard now. Several times during the day I would have sworn I had a fish that was over 3lbs only to land a 2 somthing. A few big fish would have made the day perfect but I am not complaining. Also, the extra care I took with my shoulder paid off and it was only hurting kind of badly at the end of the day so that was a win too.
Anyway, here are some pics and the video from the day:
Snapshot_128 by jstonick, on FlickrSnapshot_129 by jstonick, on FlickrSnapshot_130 by jstonick, on FlickrSnapshot_131 by jstonick, on Flickr