View Full Version : 5/24/08 columbia: bonneville pool report (pics)
team doyle
05-25-2008, 04:47 PM
had a productive half-day out of cascade locks.
river is ripping and cooler than last week, but steadfast efforts
are often rewarded with hard pulling bronzebacks. here's a couple of
our better specimens. thanks for a great trip ben.
55.5 degrees in the main river. overall water level up 2-3 feet.
lipless hard baits and dark tubes rendered crushing blows from roughly 40
columbian smallmouth bass.
joe
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn196/teamdoyle/ben2may08.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn196/teamdoyle/may2408.jpg
mcsquidly
05-25-2008, 05:02 PM
That sounds like a great day. How are you fishing your lippless cranks?
arkansasbasser
05-25-2008, 05:58 PM
Wow, those are some toads! I have been fishing around there a couple of times in the last week but am not getting that kind of size. What's the secret to getting some bigger ones?
Bassinator
05-26-2008, 10:44 AM
Awesome fish ben! wow you weren't kidding :D
team doyle
05-26-2008, 12:46 PM
arkansasbasser, my feeling is that the big ones aren't just hanging out
on riprap and pretty shorelines. i think they're positioned deliberately
in energy efficient feeding zones. look for points and/or humps in moderate current near potential spawning zones.
chrome colored lipless crankbaits will bring big bites on the columbia.
wing them as far upstream as you can, pause for the bait to touch bottom, and then methodically bump the bottom back down current.
i'm still learning how to fish the rivers, but i can tell you that searching for pods of feeding fish in high quality spots is more fun and productive than the random fish on a shoreline somewhere.
my hat goes off to rich tombleson and james smiley - 2 guys that taught me a bunch about river smallmouth.
joe
another shot of one of ben's fatties yesterday.
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn196/teamdoyle/bigben.jpg
arkansasbasser
05-27-2008, 06:43 AM
Thanks for the pointers Joe. You can bet I will be taking your advice next time I go. I want to become a good river fisherman so I really appreciate your input. Nice fish you guys!
arkansasbasser
05-27-2008, 10:20 PM
I can't believe that hardly anyone commented on these hawgs you guys caught. I haven't seen too many smallmouth this size on Ifish. Joe, if you ever find yourself needing someone to go with, I'm ready, with gas, food, whatever. Bill
team doyle
05-28-2008, 03:45 PM
yeah bill, lots of views and not many comments.
maybe people are just dumbstruck by the sheer girth of ben's bass.
joe
MXRacer105
05-28-2008, 03:59 PM
yeah bill, lots of views and not many comments.
maybe people are just dumbstruck by the sheer girth of ben's bass.
joe
You know we respect ya too much not to say anything Joe.... you got to check out the replies on "that other website".....
portlandstatekid
05-28-2008, 04:13 PM
alright team doyle...:applause:
round of applause, standing ovation :applause:
You know we respect ya too much not to say anything Joe.... you got to check out the replies on "that other website".....
driven2fish
05-29-2008, 07:31 AM
Nice Bass!
Fisherfield
05-29-2008, 08:55 PM
So...that's what a bass looks like...gotcha...very nice!
Do you eat them? I'm curious...cuz it's the Columbia...and they don't really go anywhere like the ocean bound fishes do...they just stay there right?
1bigfish
05-30-2008, 06:55 AM
So...that's what a bass looks like...gotcha...very nice!
Do you eat them? I'm curious...cuz it's the Columbia...and they don't really go anywhere like the ocean bound fishes do...they just stay there right?
Most bass do not look like this. Most look a bit smaller.:D
Most bassfisherman don't eat bass. We tend to catch and release. As far as eating a fish out of the CR, well I have been known to eat walleye as long as they are far enough upstream that there is no chance that they have been in the Willy.:wink:
joemomma
05-31-2008, 09:53 PM
Nice smallies! Those are pigs!
arkansasbasser
05-31-2008, 10:22 PM
I always save a few smallies for the pan if I am catching them above Troutdale. For me it is just part of the whole experiance. To savor the wonderful flavor of my labors is the final chapter. As I am eating them I reflect on the experiances I had that day and re-live the catches all over again. If people want to look down thier noses at me for eating a few, so be it. I have always done this since I was a kid and will always.
The states of Oregon and Washington think that 5 per day is a sustainable number or they wouldn't set it like that. Back home in Arkansas the limit is 10 largemouths per day. I do not eat largemouths as I feel that it is a very limited resource in the Pacific Northwest, but I feel like there are literally millions of smallies in the Columbia. It is probably the most overlooked fishery in the U.S. for smallmouth. And the flavor is outstanding. No more than I eat I do not worry about heavy metals and such. And by the way, all these rivers that people worry about eating fish out of, pour into the ocean.
I always save a few smallies for the pan if I am catching them above Troutdale. For me it is just part of the whole experiance. To savor the wonderful flavor of my labors is the final chapter. As I am eating them I reflect on the experiances I had that day and re-live the catches all over again. If people want to look down thier noses at me for eating a few, so be it. I have always done this since I was a kid and will always.
The states of Oregon and Washington think that 5 per day is a sustainable number or they wouldn't set it like that. Back home in Arkansas the limit is 10 largemouths per day. I do not eat largemouths as I feel that it is a very limited resource in the Pacific Northwest, but I feel like there are literally millions of smallies in the Columbia. It is probably the most overlooked fishery in the U.S. for smallmouth. And the flavor is outstanding. No more than I eat I do not worry about heavy metals and such. And by the way, all these rivers that people worry about eating fish out of, pour into the ocean.
The way I look at it is why eat bass when you can eat sturgeon, salmon, steelhead, halibut, walleye, talapia, mahi mahi, lingcod, rockfish, Get my point?
My favorite fish to catch and release is smallmouth bass! Pound for pound, one of the scrappiest fighters you can fish for!
FelonFinder
06-02-2008, 11:17 PM
I always save a few smallies for the pan if I am catching them above Troutdale. For me it is just part of the whole experiance. To savor the wonderful flavor of my labors is the final chapter. As I am eating them I reflect on the experiances I had that day and re-live the catches all over again. If people want to look down thier noses at me for eating a few, so be it. I have always done this since I was a kid and will always.
The states of Oregon and Washington think that 5 per day is a sustainable number or they wouldn't set it like that. Back home in Arkansas the limit is 10 largemouths per day. I do not eat largemouths as I feel that it is a very limited resource in the Pacific Northwest, but I feel like there are literally millions of smallies in the Columbia. It is probably the most overlooked fishery in the U.S. for smallmouth. And the flavor is outstanding. No more than I eat I do not worry about heavy metals and such. And by the way, all these rivers that people worry about eating fish out of, pour into the ocean.
We need to fish together sometime. Do you know I was in Texarkana for a year and a half?