who caught the fish

[CAGEY]

I have been reading the posts ever since the springer season started. If memory serves me correct i dont recall a whole lot of fish being caught. There seems to be a lot of people fishing but not a lot of catching and yet the articles in the papers say we have caught enough that the season is now over. My question is, if we have caught our limit, who caught them? I know some of you did alright but most went skunked. Anyone have the answer to my question. Not mad just curious. Thanks [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[Kenia]

Cagey
I have 8 or 9 trips after springers and only have had 1 fish on. Almost a total skunk!

[Hawgwash]

My barbeque was skunked. 5 trips and 3 natives. Beautiful strong fish averaging 23lbs., don't really mind letting em go do their thing!

[Jennie@ifish]

Chris Sessions caught em all.
[img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[fishuntr2]

8 trips total so far, not even a bite till last trip then caught 2 keepers + lost 2 that I never saw.

[SureSet]

It certainly wasn't me. I had too many hours to count (at least 6-7 trip) and not a fish to be had. I think it's my boat....... No, it's my rod...... No, No, No... It's me! [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

[STRIKE ZONE]

STRIKE ZONE, has hooked 5 landed 4 and has kept 3 and released 1.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

[FishinMission]

THe fish were being slaughtered in the area around Bonneville Dam. Millions of bank anglers, and millions of boaters. Lots of fish caught. It was hot from 205 on up.

[CAGEY]

Thank ya all. Fishinmission, i guess they are the ones the papers and game commision are giving credit to for catching the quota for this year, D--n, wish i would have been there. Well maybe a few will stray off into some obscure river and someone else will get lucky. Cant hardly wait until the fall run on the Nehalem begins.
Good luck to all. Cagey.


[img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[SteelieSteve]

Naw Jen looked to me like David Johnson and Julie were doing the catching [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[Wet_Willy]

The only time I was able to get out on the Columbia in a friends boat we caught 2 keepers and had several on but lost them. We saw a lot of fish caught that day. I just think people have chosen not to post their good fortune as much. I know there were slow days but for those that could fish on weekdays and knew where to go, they caught their share and then some.
WW

[Pilar]

Wasn't me, 2 on and two gone. Only went one time, too many bad memories from years gone by. This is the time of year I give my boat a break before a summer of Ocean fun.

Fishing is supposed to be fun and relaxing. Sharing the river and boat ramps with hundreds of others is alot like holiday weekend camping. To me camping is a rough affair, enjoyed at a remote, uncrowded location. I don't want the state pay campground. If I have to pack into a site with dozens of others it just spoils it.

Waiting an hour to retrieve my boat is the same thing.

[Jeffhead]

Well I can vouch for the blood bath that David Johnson was talking about at the dam yesterday. Fish on everywhere you looked, two, three, four, six at a time. The guides were just spanking em'. We saw well over a hundred fished hooked. Some of the private boats were doing well also. I fished with the Gizmo Man and my Dad. Giz was the only one in our boat to hook a fish, a nate that he let my Dad play to the boat (thanks Giz!!!) and was released. To put it in Giz's words we felt pretty humbled by the end of the day. But that's fishing!!! I will say that I have fished in some combat zones before (Blue Creek, Cowlitz Clay Banks, Pt. Defiance) but those places paled in comparison to what we fished in yesterday.
For me personaly in four trips I caught one nate and one jack. First Springer season on the Columbia for me. If we get to do it again I think I will fair a little bit better. Next up is the Wind River zoo in a few weeks, hope to see some ifishers there!!!
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Fishhead]

Cagey, I didnt get into any but I watched Jack Glass park in the same spot near Sundial Marine two days in a row and land 5 fish they let all of them go. From where I was I was just able to see that they must of been steelhead or small Chinooks. They were using chrome flatfish or alvins. The boats around them didnt touch a thing. [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img] One spot produced alot of fish. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] On monday he wasnt there and a drift boat took that spot and got into a another steelhead. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ....Fishhead Vic

[jawbreaker]

Hi Kim,
We saw you and Julie slaying them out there. Chris did pretty good. Yesterday He hooked 20 landed 15 (only 4 hatchery) Monday hooked 11 landed 7 (only 3 hatchery fish). Easter hooked 6 landed 5 in 3 hours. We were lucky and had 4 hatchery fish pretty fast. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I had a blast. Thanks Chris

[SteelieSteve]

Way to go Kim! I knew from previous posts that Julie knows her stuff. I couldn't get out on the Columbia but I know there was some great fishing to be had. With a lot of luck and the fish gods smiling on sports fisherpeople we might get a few more days in. I've been unemployed the last few weeks so I tried the Sandy way low and Reeder beach but had no takes. Ready for the Clack?

[mic4fish]

Cagey:
I'll tell you who caught all the fish. It's all the 400+ people up at the dam. They flat butchered them and now the season is closed. If they were going to close anything, why couldn't they shut that down? Everybody came out of the woodwork to go up there and catch salmon. You're right, the boats caught some, but nothing like what was going on up there. It's real hard to catch fish when you have 14 thousand going by you a day. I made about 6 trips in my boat and caught 6 salmon, only 2 being fin clipped. But oh well, I guess we will all go crowd in at the wind or drano or maybe the willamette. If somebody can has the answer as to why the river was shut down, I would like to know.
Mike
"Life seems a little better rowing a cataraft"

[mic4fish]

Cagey:
I'll tell you who caught all the fish. It's all the 400+ people up at the dam. They flat butchered them and now the season is closed. If they were going to close anything, why couldn't they shut that down? Everybody came out of the woodwork to go up there and catch salmon. You're right, the boats caught some, but nothing like what was going on up there. It's real hard to catch fish when you have 14 thousand going by you a day. I made about 6 trips in my boat and caught 6 salmon, only 2 being fin clipped. But oh well, I guess we will all go crowd in at the wind or drano or maybe the willamette. If somebody has the answer as to why the river was shut down, maybe you could clue us in.
Mike
"Life seems a little better rowing a cataraft"

[MetalHead]

Cagey, I didnt do to bad 9 trips 5 in the boat, 4 off the bank. 6 fish kept 9 released largest keeper 26lbs. Most fish in the 16 - 18lb. range. Released 6 fish off the bank at bonniville and 3 in the boat at camas/washougal. We got 1 keeper off the bank at bonniville and 5 out of the boat.

[FishinMission]

I agree with Pilar. I certainly don't wanna be in the middle of the zoo. I wanna have fun. That time spent waiting or driving is fishing time. We fished stricly in the Washougal area....never had much of a wait...and only had to deal with "Crowder- Inners" beginning with last Saturday. In 10 trips we did 37 fish with 22 being keepers. Not to mention the FUN factor.

[RW]

Hey Brent, were you with Chris when we came by? I was so tired I could hardly see straight, you should have yelled at me to wake up. Way to go on your fish also, it was a hoot and a half. RW

[DF]

I went out about every other weekend and a few days after school. 2 fish. one wild and one hatchery. Most of the fish I saw caught all the times i was out were thrown back. I dont see how we caught our quota [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[Jeffhead]

mic4fish,
The catch report that I read today said thet we (the sportsman) caught and kept 22,500 fish. You asked why the river was closed. Here is a response to the same question from one of our board members (Jim Bain) that I thought explained it pretty well that was posted on another forum.

The reality of the situation is a gross misallocation of ESA listed fish favoring the tribes by NMFS, it has nothing to do with WDFW or ODFW. We reached and went over the impacted fish that was predicted...this is entirely based on release mortality...that can be argued until the cows come home nonetheless that is the reality. We had a tremendous lower Columbia fishery, sure I wish it was still open, and sure I wish that most of those fish we released weren't going to be snatched up by the nets. But that is where we are...above Bonneville is open at the wind and Drano for any fish and I for one look forward to some good to great fishing there...little bit more crowded...ok...alot more crowded but nonetheless we are still Springer fishing...a month and a half of springers is a heck of a season!!

Good luck and tight lines, Jeff [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Gizmo Man]

Jeff: It was a pleasure to fish with you and your dad. Glad he enjoyed fighting the fish. Thanks for cleaning up what I said which was "how does it feel to get a good a..whoppin" from these fish [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

My totals... 6 hooked, 1 1/3 keepers [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Giz..

[RW]

SteelieSteve you are right, Julie spanked the springers in the Columbia. I went out with her twice in the last week, we probably hooked into 30 fish or so for the two days. Monday we brought home five fish with about 20 hookups. RW

[Hookset]

Had a great time springer fishing so far this year, just not a lot of catching. I stayed away from the combat zones and fished the lower river. In 4 trips fishing 2 rods, landed 4 keepers and released 2 natives not to forget a few early released. Lots of slow time but still a great time on the water. Fished with Salmonator close to Portland on another trip with 2 keeps landed, 1 nate released.

There are still plenty of opportunities to catch your springer this year. The Willamette, Clack, Sandy, Santiam, Wind, Drano, Tillamook, Umpqua and the Rogue are still fishing springers this year. Sounds like the best fishery and the combat zone is now closed but still planty of opportunities to catch your spring salmon.

On another note, to all those that had some great days, what was the hot lure/bait/setup this year?

thanks, hook

[Chris Sessions]

Thanks for the vote of confidence in my fishing skills Jennie, but I didn’t catch em’ all. I agree with RW that her guide (Julie?), was probably the hottest guide boat out there. The best fishing up there, however, started a couple weeks before it was crowded, and friends Kevin and Larry Lund and Scott Amerman were nice enough to clue me in on their exclusive success. My first day up there was one of the best springer days ever but we were all most embarrassed fishing next to Kevin and company who lost count somewhere between 40 and 50 hook-ups. The big secret was back-bouncing Amerman eggs a foot or so off the bottom and it didn't take long for others to join in. With 500 to 800 springers per hour swimming through the area it wasn’t a long wait between bites. As if back-bouncing 10 – 12 ounces of lead and fighting springers wasn’t enough exercise, the occasional 6 to 10 ft sturgeon would inhale the offering making life interesting. Jawbreaker put on a clinic in my boat and after informing me that he hadn’t caught a springer in 10 years he went from springer drought to over-dose hooking 20 or so in a couple short days.
SS

[jawbreaker]

[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] The curse is officially over. JB

[dawhunt]

Hi guys and gals,I ended up with 5 keepers and 5 natives released,I even got lucky and limited one day my friend ended up with 4 keepers and 1 native released.Went up to the dam today to watch the fish go thru good lord theres a lot of fish going thru right now.The natives out number the hatchery fish about 4 to 1 in the windows there are some really big hatchery fish going thru tho alot bigger thewn any I caught.I'm guessing of course but I'm saw some that had to go 30lbs,they were huge !!

[Amerman]

Chris
Thanks for the nice words about my eggs and the bait bite at Bonneville. The one thing you forgot to say was about all the people who laughed at us when we started bouncing bait there at Bonneville. Even a lot of my friends that were there (mostly guides) were laughing at us and asking us why we were wasting our bait and saying that we couldn't backbounce 50 feet of water. The first day I was there we were the only boat to start bouncing bait everyone was pointing and teasing us at first. I know a couple of the guides that laughed at us talked to me about what we were doing later that night after I got home. Then I read here on Ifish that most of the boats up there were using bait by the final day. Actually we only started fishing eggs there to spike egg sales (Joke) [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] . Next time we go we should hang the eggs for sale sign over the side. The eggs have been flying out the door all week I was wondering why. Then Jennie emailed me today telling me about the nice things you have been saying. Between all the people who watched us, all the ifish people and all the people getting ready to fish Bonneville (and all other places) this week it has been hopping on the egg front all week. I think I will be sold out within the next couple weeks, at least until I can get more this summer. Good luck to all this week and thanks again Chris [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img].
SA

[Chris Sessions]

Hi Scott,
I appreciate your efforts in providing excellent bait and also you guys figuring out how we can harvest a bunch of these hatchery fish.
Should be quite a showing on Wednesday and I hope the news media takes note on how popular this springer fishery can be. Below the dam the Army Corp. has a deadline for boats in a diagonal line between two large signs. I noticed the sport fishers have come up with their own deadline and it kept moving further and further up the river. If this trend continues, the smaller boats may eventually have an advantage cause they will be back bouncing inside the fish ladder. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
See you on Wednesday,
Chris