Buoy 10 talk!

[Phish_on]

I tried to search for some reports from last year, but maybe we lost some of that in the Big Crash? (OR I'm a bonehead :whazzup: )

You keepers of the excellent fishing logs - when do the fish start to come inside in good numbers ? And am I correct in thinking that chinook time is a littler earlier than coho time - or did I get that backwards?

Sounds like this season may be better for chinook and (much) worse for silvers, compared to last year.

I'm going to stick to Fridays, or other weekdays - Sat. and Sun. are too extreme for me. Only used the horn once last year. Well, only went out twice ...

[Get Bent]

Ya gotta search the 2001 archives in the "Search Forum" dropdown to find the Buoy 10 reports.

HTH.

[Pitch Pocket]

Normally, the big rush starts mid-August. However, I heard an amusing story about a boat trolling for salmon at B10 last week. The fish cop came up and asked how fishing was. They responded it was great! Only one more and they would limit the boat. Of course the cop informed them that they were only $350 per fish because it wasn't open yet. Also, a boat reported salmon stranded on desdemona on the minus tide last week.

I think this year the fish are there already. The opener ought to be good.

[Rusty]

SjP:

In point of fact, I was headed out to Bouy 4 to Salmon fish yesterday and at Bouy 14, there was a boat merrily trolling for Salmon!! When I tried to hail him on the radio (CH 16), no reply. This man had no clue that he was big time illegal. The odd thing was he must have noticed that NO ONE else was fishing, then again, maybe NOT.

RUSTY

[TeamYeeha]

I think we as sportsman should inform these people they are fishing in a closed season or are in the control zone that is closed to salmon fishing. THEN call OSP with the boat #'s when they shrug it off or tell you to get sc#@!d.

They are only stealing from us, the legal sport fisherman.

Larry
Yeeeehhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Lured In]

All the 'sonar' reports I have heard so far is that the fish are already working the estuary. I am banking on it getting going earlier this year. Only 1 week to fun time.

[Biteme]

Ive been marking what I believe is salmon for two weeks now above the bridge. the seals are starting to work the estuary. Ive heard many reports of salmon jumping, I havent seen any myself. finished up the sturgeon season with a bang and on the last day we tied into a 65 inch green sturgeon. Anyway its time to stow the anchor, tie a bunch of salmon rigs, polish up the flashers and divers and get after them. I will be hitting it on aug 1 and fishing it until sept 7 or so then I will be moving to the siletz doing the bobber and egg thing.
web page (http://www.nwfish.com)
<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Let the show begin

[TundraIII]

I'll be hitting it a little earlier this year too. Mandatory week off is scheduled for Aug 5th thru the 9th. Hope to see some IFISHers out there during that week. Probably be putting in at Hammond most likely. Black Motion Marine with white Johnson kicker. Havent had the pleasure of meeting anyone in person yet. Good luck fishing to all and be safe. Life jackets over the bar at least, lets not read anymore stories of folks drowning this season. Havent been able to fish for the last 3 weeks. Been working on my house. Gotta get out there and rip some lips :grin:

[husker]

ok so its time for me to chime in.....this will be my 1st year of fishing near 10......what should i take?...do i need to buy a hand held vhf radio?.....do i need a gps for the 10 area?.....when should a guy head for the hills cause its to choppy?......oh yeah and fish catching info would be good also.....since i am a total rookie at that area

[chuck 'n' duck]

Husker:

You will need bumpers for the sides of your boat, so that you don't dent or scratch when you rub up against the other boats. Also necessary are extra PFD's. These will be needed for when you get inspected back at the dock. You see, the idiot that brought his driftboat or car topper out there will be run over by other boats. After you rescue him from the water and let him fish in your boat for a bit, he will be considered an extra passenger.

Bring extra food and a portable gas grill. Burgers are a good idea, but steak is better. When you are done grilling up the food, let me know by two quick blasts with an air horn. I will just walk from boat to boat to join you for lunch.

I wouldn't worry too much about having a VHF or GPS out there (unless it is very foggy). Like everybody else says, if your boat is going down, just jump into the boat next to you.

CnD

[Deepslayer]

Very good Chuck'n'Duck. :grin: Even fishing weekdays like I do it's a pretty good description! You forgot to mention the extra gas he will need for his rig, while he is idling in line waiting to launch behind a 100 or so first timers. And the snack he will need to hold him over from the long walk back to his boat after he parks his rig. The steaks were a great idea! :cheers:
Ed

[David Johnson]

It doesn't have to be like that and you can still catch a lot of fish if you know how to play your cards right :wink:

[FM2]

Fishing is not quite as bad as described :rolleyes: . The water is big and there are many places to fish, especially if the bar is flat and you have a boat large enough to get outside. I was out last year several times at the CR buoy and the water was like a lake. Also last year we did well around other areas but I can't tell where otherwise my life might be cut short :grin: :grin:

But remember one thing, safety first regardless!!

There will always be fish :cheers:

[Bounty Hunter]

OK, I've got a question for you guys;

Would you fish up by the bridge and Church Hole early (say the first weekend) or down by the buoy?

I do better for Silvers out at 10 when the currents ripping and I hear that the bridge is the place to be during the low tide swings for stacked Chinook.

I'll be moored closer to 10 but the first weekends tides are a small difference, so I was wondering if the bridge would be best.

Thanks for any ideas.

[GoFish]

You know with all the jokes about the crowded conditons, it easy to lose site of the fact that you can die at the mouth of the Columbia from a number of causes including inexperience. I just want to remind those who might not have too much time logged on this fishery that the threat of serious fog is real. Losing your way in a soup fog with nothing more than a depth finder and the tide on a good runout can be a serious scare. (Been there.)

On the other hand, triple hookups on at the same time can be had too. (Been there.)

Oh yeah, and watch out for the chater boat skipper who refuses to look your way as he trolls the mother ship right over the top of your boat.

One thing's for sure, you always go away from B10 with stories and memories. Both good and bad.

Which reminds me, did I ever tell you the one about the guy with Colorado license plates, wearing neoprene waders at the Ft. Canby ramp who beached his I/O drive fiberglass 19ft'er on a falling tide to run for the trailer? After waiting in line with the trailer, he gets to the ramp to see his boat high and dry with the outdrive shoved into the mud until the hull settled on the rocks. Next high slack was around 3:00 AM

[AngleThis]

Chinook is great this year and they are big also. Coho, this early in the season, are usually quite small. From now until they run up the river, they will gain a pound a week. I suggest you target chinook for about 3-4 more weeks, then switch to silvers, when they are big and fat.

[Flatfish]

Husker,
we use deep six diver size #1 chrome fisnish.2 feet of 40 maxima and a spinglow above a bead chain swivel.Then 5-6 feet os mooching rig leaders holding a FRESH(fresh is available and the choice of all in the know types)herring.We plug cut ours but some folks use them whole.
If we are targeting cohos we start shallow.6 or 7 pulls for the shallow rod and 3 pulls deeper for every rod in the boat.So if you have 4 rods in the water they will be placed at 7,10,13,and 16 pulls.When someone gets bit,make a note of what depth it was.If it was 7 pulls, have the deep rod shallow up to 7.If you get 2 at the same depth,move all divers to the "hot"depth.I have seen cohos hit at boatside while the herring was only inches deep testing the spin to see if it would roll right.Tides controll where and to some extent what you should fish for.We usually start high when the waters hi and low if the water is low.For 'Nooks fish deeper(15 to 30 pulls usually 20-25) and make sure that you can spin bait or have learned how before you start.I spent many fishless hours chasing hogs with nothing to show because I had no idea of what I was doing.Much less critical on silvers.
If you fish a braided line you may consider mono with the divers.Our group has busted a few sticks with tuf line.We went back to Maxima and no more probs.
Do get a map of the area and study the area carefully.The Megler bridge area can be tricky for a novice and the map helps show some of the potential uglies.I also would reccomend staying off of the bar.A charter is 65 bucks and usually on a BIG boat.Let them worry about it.You should head for the hills when you feel it's time.Just because there are a bunch of boats out there don't mean much.Wind changing directions and tides have the biggest effect on water conditions.
Try to remember that these fish have to go upstream somewhere,not just at the bouy.I have had my best days far from bouy 10 itself.Less traffic more fun.If you are equipped,bring a couple crab pots.Underfished opportunity there.A radio,GPS,Compass,PFDs,Flares,and common sense will cover most bets.
Good Luck.
Mark.

[Lepper]

lots of good advice and yet I have never fished at bouy 10. I know all about fog.... and a good gps is a LIFE SAVER! But only if you have the route in the memroy.... I have all my favorite bays/ water ways programed in mine.... so I go in the fog, in the rain, in the snow... But Wind sucks.......

and be careful going to the big blue. it changes fast....... and having to scoot inbetween 10 ft cappin waves to get in is kind of nerve racking..... don't ask how I knwo this..... :smile:
dave

[Killertraylor]

For those of you who are first-timers, I think the most valuable thing to remember is to watch out for the most common wind/tide combination that makes for a dangerous river - that is a strong northwest wind and an outgoing tide. The river will always get bumpy and sometimes treacherous when this happens. If it's still flooding and the northwest wind is blowing hard, the river will be very fishable - just know when the tide change is and be prepared to head back to port when it starts ebbing. The river will get progressively worse - I find that the ebb is fishable for awhile until it really starts ripping out, and sometimes you can fish it all the way through if you have a big enough boat. The other wind/tide combinations rarely produce sloppy conditions. Hopefully we'll get some flat oceans so you can get out away from the crowds. Oh - and one last thing to remember - the fish aren't attracted to that red buoy with the #10 on it - if someone went out there and moved it a mile in any direction, everyone would still cluster around it. You don't need to fight the crowds right at the buoy to catch fish!