David Johnson
08-08-2009, 11:44 AM
The mouth of the Columbia is known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific" and it is said that more ships and boats have sunk here than any other place in the world.
It's a big area and it can get dangerous but if you respect it you can have a lot of fun. Remember that no fish is worth you life and if in doubt don't go.
Having a GPS with a chart has made fishing here a whole knew world, I suggest that if you can have one of these units on board. It's also a good idea to have a compass in case there's a dead battery.
There's a lot of sites on the web to help with safety and condition info for fishing the Bouy 10 area.
These are all found on the "Data/Marine" page.
This buoy is 20 miles off shore but at least it will give you a hint of what it's like out there.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46029 (http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46029)
OSMB page that is a good read about the area's around the mouth: http://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/coastal_waters/Columbia.shtml (http://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/coastal_waters/Columbia.shtml)
NOAA marine forecast:
http://newweb.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=pqr&pil=CWF&sid=PQR (http://newweb.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=pqr&pil=CWF&sid=PQR)
Use this to find out the tides: http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/oregonsites.html (http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/oregonsites.html)
One thing to always remember, the wind will almost always come up in the afternoon. If it ever comes up ad gets too rough to get back down river, cross the river above the bridge at least a couple hours either side of the low and then catch a cab from the East Mooring Basin back to your truck.
It's a big area and it can get dangerous but if you respect it you can have a lot of fun. Remember that no fish is worth you life and if in doubt don't go.
Having a GPS with a chart has made fishing here a whole knew world, I suggest that if you can have one of these units on board. It's also a good idea to have a compass in case there's a dead battery.
There's a lot of sites on the web to help with safety and condition info for fishing the Bouy 10 area.
These are all found on the "Data/Marine" page.
This buoy is 20 miles off shore but at least it will give you a hint of what it's like out there.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46029 (http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46029)
OSMB page that is a good read about the area's around the mouth: http://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/coastal_waters/Columbia.shtml (http://www.oregon.gov/OSMB/coastal_waters/Columbia.shtml)
NOAA marine forecast:
http://newweb.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=pqr&pil=CWF&sid=PQR (http://newweb.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=pqr&pil=CWF&sid=PQR)
Use this to find out the tides: http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/oregonsites.html (http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/oregonsites.html)
One thing to always remember, the wind will almost always come up in the afternoon. If it ever comes up ad gets too rough to get back down river, cross the river above the bridge at least a couple hours either side of the low and then catch a cab from the East Mooring Basin back to your truck.