A couple buddies and I are planning a trip to the Columbia next year. Any suggestions regarding a good area, guide, and the optimal time of the year for the trip would be greatly appreciated. I would also appreciate any tips concerning techniques used most. Thanks.
Gator Hunter
Gator Hunter,
There are a few good walleye guides around. Touche’ out of Rufus, OR is one of the best. I’m fairly new to the lower Columbia and only fish for walleye, but it seems that you can fish some area on the river almost all year long. I’m a member of the Lower Columbia Walleye Club, and if you guys end up out here, its not tough to get a couple boats from the club out there to show you around. For salmon, steelhead, sturgeon (and the rest of the scrapfish 
), I have no idea. I’d suggest contacting Larry McClintock at [email protected]. He runs Critter Gitters which is a custom walleye tackle shop. If it swims in that river, he knows how to fish for it or at the very least, who to talk to. His website is: http://www.playnposm.com (it should be back up shortly). His tournament partner, Cal (http://home.earthlink.net/~eyechsr/) is another great source of info. He seems to know where to find the 10+s.
There is a prespawn bite. Its a good time to get the big girls. It can vary from year to year but typically anytime from Mid march through the very beginning of June is a prespawn bite. That being said, there have been fish caught on the river within the last month full of eggs. Typically summers are a bit slower but this summer has been decent. Then, they start eating again in the fall and its another good time to go trophy hunting. There are quite a few guys that will night fish in Sept and Oct…powertrolling deep (25-30 feet) for some really big fish.
Tactics depend on the precise area you will be fishing. You might be pulling harnesses or spinners in one area but move a little bit and be in a jig spot. We probably bladebait more than anything though.
I won’t know till November what week I can get for vacation but I’m pretty sure I can get somewhere near the end of April beginning of May. I won’t really be able to start planning until then. Are you just casting the blade baits into the shallows? 
Any info you have would be great. Thanks.
Gator Hunter
GH,
We jig the bladebaits anywhere from 15 – 45 feet deep. Usually its as vertical as possible: Cast them out and jig them back to the boat until we find fish and then we just sit on top if the water’s not too clear.
The first Columbia River tourney is the last weekend in March at Umatilla. There are usually some fat fish during that time. Last year’s big fish were 15.8 and 13.0. Its not the place to fish if you’re looking for numbers but its great if you’re trophy hunting. Early spring should be a good jig / bladebait bite. I’m not sure what won the tourney this year but its usually a whistler jig show.
After that weekend, there isn’t another tourney until the end of May so there will be a lot of us around to help show you the way.
–Chris
Those are the kind of fish I’m looking for. I have four tourneys here in April so it will probably be early May when I get out there. Thanks for the help. I’ll keep in touch.
Gator Hunter
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