McNary 10-21 to 10-22

FEAR NO FISH! · 10-22-2001, 08:45 PM

I was one of three boats at the dam
last night. My boss and his wife were
in one of the boats. I hooked and
landed my first 18 pound hatchery fish
at 1120 pm. I hooked and landed a
second 18 pound hatchery steelhead at
1145. After midnight I hooked 7 more
fish and landed 3. One was a huge
native and 2 were hatchery fish
weighing 16 and 15. All in all, i
hooked 9 and landed 5. Everytime my
boss trolled by I had a fish on. I
went through 6 vortexes last night! 2
were cracked in half. 67 pounds of
steelhead in 4 keepers. It doesn't get
much better than that. If you aren't
catching many big steelhead during the
day try doing the night shift. Lighted
vortexs suck but man do they catch
fish!

[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
ps My boss hooked two and landed one native. It pays to be UNION!

Robert · 10-22-2001, 11:10 PM

Is the fishing much better once the sun goes down? Sounds like fun to fish at night and catch a bunch of huge steelies. Why is the legal in some places and times in Washington but not in Oregon? Where you fishing the Columbia where it is only in Washington?

FEAR NO FISH! · 10-23-2001, 12:04 AM

Robert,
It is the only way I fish for
steelhead. I am among a group of
hardcore nocturnal steelhead fanatics.
Since Sept. 1st my boat has hooked
over 130 steelhead and landed 103. We
have also landed 15 chinook. We fish
on the Washington side of the Columbia
River, above McNary Dam. I can't tell
you why Oregon doesn't allow it. We do
have Oregon fisherman who fish here.
It is perfectly legal for them to do
so. This kind of fishing is not for
the weak of heart. When your reel
cooks off in the middle of the night,
it darn near makes your heart stop. NO
BETTER FEELING! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[ 10-23-2001: Message edited by: FEAR NO FISH! ]

Fishtail · 10-23-2001, 12:33 AM

F.N.F.

Is the lighted Vortex a plug? I haven't heard of them before. I do recall seeing some sort of flatfish/kwikfish looking plug that had some type of battery operated light in them? Are you flatlighing the Vortex or does it require some type of weight?
[img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

Vinny · 10-23-2001, 08:06 AM

Good job! Now your boss can appreciate what it means to be a "sleepless-in-Tri-Cities-night-fishin'-psycho-fanatic!" [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Wasn't last night's forecast "cold & windy with a chance of rain?!" [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

FEAR NO FISH! · 10-23-2001, 08:30 AM

Fishtail,
A lighted vortex is a diving plug. It ia a battery powered lure that has a small red light that blinks consistently. We flatline the plug at 35 pulls (70 feet). Fishing above the dams is like fishing on a mill pond. No signficant current to speak of. Based on the huge amount of fish in the system, you end up pulling the vortex through a lot of aggresive fish.
Vinny,
Sunday night on the way from the Tri-Cities, it blew like heck. When I got to McNary it was calm as can be. I was able to use my electric all night. I'm glad I didn't go last night though, I would have been trolling at warp 9. One of the secrets is to troll as slow as possible.

Thumper · 10-23-2001, 09:45 AM

Steve --- how long will you be fishing on these? I gotta come up and see how you do it!

FEAR NO FISH! · 10-23-2001, 05:08 PM

Hi Thumper,
I will be on long change from November 1st thru Nov. 8th. Feel like making a road trip?
I will also be fishing this Friday and Saturday night. If you would want to come up then, you would be more than welcome. I have the kids scheduled for Friday night and another Ifisher on Saturday night. I could still show you what is working. If you trailer your boat up, you could follow us out there.
Bring dyed shrimp soaked in pro cure garlic plus and pro cure shrimp and prawn oil. Also add sea salt to the whole bag. That is one of the secrets. You will also be using the mixture by dumping in a little bit to your shrimp smelly jelly, mixing and then applying to the lighted vortex. Small chunk of the shrimp on the front treble also. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[ 10-23-2001: Message edited by: FEAR NO FISH! ]

Fishtail · 10-23-2001, 06:50 PM

F.N.F.,

Thanks for the info on the vortex plug. I suppose a pesron could do the same in other areas of the river (assuming the fish #'s are present). A cure for the Oregon angler regarding the night fishing would be launching from a Washington ramp.

FEAR NO FISH! · 10-23-2001, 08:27 PM

Fishtail,
I launch on the Oregon side above McNary Dam.
This boat launch is really nice. It is a three-holer and has a nice dock. The parking lot is lit up and also has nice rest rooms. The Dam security also patrols it. The Washington side is a terrible launch. No lights on ramp area nor in the parking lot. It is a one holer, with no docking area. [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]

NAUTI-NOTIONS · 10-24-2001, 07:07 AM

F.N.F.
From looking at the time of some of your posts it seems that sleeping in the dark is not that high of priority for you. I’ve got a buddy begging me to go with him and join you in a midnight reel screemmmmming jolly good time. I haven’t had the best experiences in night fishing. Underwood in the dark starring at a little red or green glow tip on my rod gave me nightmares for weeks. Every time I shut my eye’s I’d see the little tip. AWWW… anchoring at Drano for a pm fishery also was cruddy. We used a propane lantern for our light and it turned in to a major bug cook. Along with a couple other attempts haven’t turned out to be even a little bit enjoyable not to say anything about trying to sleep next the railroad tracks. With that said lets say I agree and come down. Questions- what do you use to lumenate the water to when attempting to net your fish? I’ve only seen two colors of vibrax’s. Does it matter? Or is it just the red l.e.d. Light? What time do you hit the water? It looks like after 11:00pm is when it gets kinda busy. Are you putting one of those little glow things on your rod tip? Is singing allowed?
Sam

[ 10-24-2001: Message edited by: Bumper_Chrome ]

FEAR NO FISH! · 10-24-2001, 07:24 PM

Bumper chrome,
If you believe in the solunar tables they kind of hold true when it comes to night fishing for steelhead and salmon. Of course, the fish don't start biting till you get there. I generally wake up about 4:00 pm and start working on changing batteries out and general prep for the nights carnage. I like to head out about 7 or 8. It is a half hour to the dam from my house. I always stop at Rocket Mart to get ice for the fish, beverages and a triple Irish cream latte. That puts me on the water around 9 or 10.
Petzl head lamps are a must when netting. Always wait until the fish is tired, they do not like being illuminated! Red body, blackback is the number one color, all red is next and then all clear. A good clicker on your reel is a must. I love watching a glo-stick, throb on the end of my rod. It's even better when it starts whipping around like a firefly! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]