Be careful on the lower columbia!!!

Eric · 07-22-2002, 08:57 AM

Went down sturgeon fishing yesterday out of chinook and covered water from Warrenton to the shipwreck. Just wanted to let everyone know to pay attention to the combination of outgoing tide and incoming afternoon wind......it was ugly!

My partner and I are what I would consider "experienced" as we've spent quite a bit of time down here but even we were caught offguard.
To make a long story short, we were fishing the calm water up by the shipwreck mid-afternoon and decided to call it a day. Heading downriver, we arrived at the astoria-megler bridge, went around the bend in the river....and found ourselves in the jaws of some of the nastiest windchop we have ever encountered. 5-6 ft. waves with 1-2 second intervals and the occasional bigger swell thrown in for good measure. The sphincter factor was at 10 and all joking suddenly stopped. It wasn't fun and was borderline becoming a bad situation. We were in a 20 ft. northriver sled. We made it ok because my partner kept his cool running the boat. But, not 10 minutes behind us, another sled needed coast guard assitance because they were taking on water from the swells and 2 more boats struggled too.

All said and done, everyone made it back ok but my message to everyone is do your homework as best you can regarding water conditions and keep your radio on to listen to reports of water conditions from other fishers/coast guard. The sobering thing for us was that it was a small tide and we figured it would be pretty mild, yet, it ended up being one of the most brutal beatings we've ever taken out there.

Be careful.

[ 07-22-2002, 10:46 AM: Message edited by: Eric ]

Rusty · 07-22-2002, 10:45 AM

Eric,

Thanks for the report! Sounds like you had a dreadful experience, but came out OK. Thanks Heavens!

Where did you put in for this trip? I am assuming Hammond, but maybe Ilwaco.

Rusty

David Johnson · 07-22-2002, 12:09 PM

When things get bad like that hugging the shore can help.

So can heading over to the East Basin and calling a cab to take you to your rig.

Pitch Pocket · 07-22-2002, 01:30 PM

I can verify the 5-6' wind chop under the bridge on the Oregon side Saturday at 3 pm. We went through it with the SeaSport managing 12 mph with water over the top several times. After the bridge it was a nasty chop all the way to Warrenton.

It was fun in the SeaSport, but I would have waited out the wind if I had the sled out. Most people were waiting on the side above the bridge for the wind to calm.

AngleThis · 07-22-2002, 02:08 PM

That sounds nasty, especially for the bay! Imagine what it must have been like outside the jaws! So glad I aborted the mission that day and went south.

CATCH AND EAT · 07-22-2002, 02:37 PM

Can verfiy Saturday at the bridge. We started down river at 2:15 toward Ilwaco. UGLY was the word. Moved in tight to the shore and ran in 10 to 15 ft of water. Nerve wracking is the word. I was in my 23ft Trophy with a sled following behind me as I cut a path for him. He stayed pretty tight to me to Chinook.

Be very careful and very aware.

Torchman · 07-22-2002, 03:13 PM

Glad you were OK!!!!

I would rather be in SURF than the Lower CR afternoon chop!!!! Only place I have thought I "might" lose a boat!!! It is NOT the size....but the extremely short period.....Come off one...and the NEXT is right over the bow!!!!! :shocked: And the summer afternoon wind is actuall WORSE than Winter!!!! Straight from the West/Northwest, as opposed to prevailing South in the Winter!!! Winter actually gives a smaller fetch!!!

bigshark · 07-22-2002, 04:29 PM

Eric
Thanks for the post. These stories need to be told and retold over and over. There aren't many who have seen how bad it can get in the areas most would consider"OK Anytime".
Dave Johnson gives great advice. Head her back to the east basin and pay the cheapest cab fare you will ever spend. Glad you are all OK. We need to all share this kind of stuff. Being on guard is so important when you go out to play on the CR.

Tacklebuster · 07-22-2002, 05:15 PM

That place can and will get wicked! I have had my sled in the gut of the shipping lane with my bilge pumping and my heart thumping. The ebb and an afternoon NW wind can make it a very dangerous place. I have been in the mix of rougher water between Hammond and the Skipanon that made you wish you were at the bar. I agree with everything David has to say. Know your surroundings and if you find yourself in a tight position, go to the nearest ramp and call a cab. Besides, a lot of boats have gone down between Tounge Point and Hammond doing the exact thing that most of us have done because we have stayed out to late under adverse conditions. Play safe and be smart, see ya on the river...

Chris

steelheadslayer · 07-22-2002, 05:24 PM

Eric, we had a bad experience last fall for the buoy 10 fishery. It was flat calm above the bridge and we didn' think it would be too bad. As soon as we got downriver of the bridge it was UGLY. We took it slow and roughed it out til we got to Hammond. I found out that a 17 foot Stryker wasn't made for water like that. I'm sure glad you made it OK. It is nice to hear about the East Basin though(thanks David) That primitive launch that crabbait mentioned is real primitive. Launched there once and don't want to again if I can avoid it. Again, glad you made it and keep em floatin.

skeezer · 07-22-2002, 09:11 PM

cab fare $45.00 , your life PRICELESS.......

crabbait · 07-22-2002, 11:16 PM

Eric - There is an "unimproved" ramp on the Washington side very close to the shipwreck. It won't work for the big glass boats but you could have taken out there. Might have required a hitch hike to pick up your tow rig but it beats swimming!

Killertraylor · 07-23-2002, 08:01 AM

I did the same trip about 7 years ago and haven't done it since because you learn real quick what to watch for there. It's the only time my whole crew donned life vests and my dog looked scared. If it's a nice day and the Northwest wind is going to blow, it's completely protected on the Washington side above the bridge - you'd never guess the Perfect storm is stewin' below the bridge. ANYTIME it's going to ebb in the afternoon - always keep an eye on that water below the bridge. A 19' Duckworth went down on the Oregon side just below the bridge about 5 years ago - one of those waves that break over the bow took the entire windshield out and sunk the boat - 16 year old son running the boat - I think he lived and dad died, but it could have been the other way around.

While we're on the topic - here's a real scary story (and kind of long) that will keep a few people off the Columbia river bar. This was told to me by a friend who has lived in Ilwaco his entire life. Back in the early 70's a Mormon family of 11 rented an entire charter boat and went fishing. They ran north off of Long beach and fishing was slow. Tide started to ebb in the river and the ocean was getting rough. The boat had engine trouble and called the Coast Guard. Coast Guard boat came out and towed them all the way to the entrance of the bar. It was getting dark and apparently the CG captain had worked too many hours to make a bar crossing. He left them out in the ocean, returned to port, and another CG boat came out. The bar was getting treacherous, but they decided to tow them across anyway. They hooked a big tow rope to the bow of the charter boat and started in. None of the 11 people, nor their Captain and deckhand had lifevests on - as the one survivor recalls. She said that the boat tilted to Port, some water splashed in the window, then tilted to Starboard, some more water splashed in. Everyone felt safe though - they were being towed by the Coastguard! What could go wrong! The boat rolled over on the third tip to Port and continued rolling. When this happenned, the Coast guard boat backed down and got the tow rope cought in their prop. The CG boat rolled in the breaking waves, but the crew was strapped in and everyone was fine. By the time the CG boat righted itself, they could only find one surivor - the lone woman, bobbing in the surf. They never recovered another body, or the boat to this day.

I'm sure there are 100 more stories just like that one - but it sure put things in perspective for me. I always wear some sort of floatation device in the Ocean and when crossing the bar - even if it's just my Stormy Seas inflatable Jacket. I'm sure when I get a little older and a little wiser I'll wear one all the time, but for now I'm content with being stubborn.

TundraIII · 07-23-2002, 08:48 AM

Same thing happened to me and my family 3 yrs ago. Boat was new and the wife was driving while we trolled near the bridge. I was manning the poles and debating whether we should head back because of the white caps breaking over the bow ( the bite was on and we were catching fish), when my wife says "Hey honey, should there be water on the floor up here?" I went up front and looked down and there was 3 inches of water under the front seats of the boat. We were bow heavy with water and I had no idea. We pulled in the lines and I had people shift to the rear of the boat till I figured out why the bilge pump hadnt detected the water (auto-bilge). Turns out that the drain inside the bow storage area was blocked with a piece of bark. Got the bark out and with forward power the bow drained to the bilge and we were riding high in short time. Scary tho and it could have turned out much worse. Lesson learned: I no longer carry my fire wood in the bow of my boat when heading to the camp site and I check the bow drain more often.

Eric · 07-23-2002, 10:45 AM

good replies everyone.

David, we were hugging the shore as much as possible but the weird thing was how quickly we went from relatively calm water to nasty stuff. It came on us so fast that we were leary of turning the boat sideways to the waves to get near shore....that's how bad it was.

Didn't really think of returning to the rough shipwreck launch. We know where it is but again, I don't think we could have made the 180 degree turn to backtrack without swamping the boat.

Just a bad experience you learn from.

Rubber Robin · 07-23-2002, 01:37 PM

I too have fished the Astoria area during a nice calm afternoon only to be caught in a late afternoon ebb with wind chop!

You shift into maximum pucker, hold your breath and proceed slowly. Getting close to the side usually helps! Plus, knowing that you could swim that far if you had to eases the mind a little. :grin:

It's good experience having gone through it because it makes you much more aware of what to watch out for in the future!

If I remember the story about the sled that went down in Killertraylors story I think that they were trying to go too fast through the swells?????

David Johnson · 07-23-2002, 01:45 PM

Here's another option:

If it's open for salmon just troll you're way down river until you're even with the ramp, that's what some of us do. You will need whitecaps of three feet or less to do this.

DAB · 07-24-2002, 04:21 PM

Sunday the 21st was the same, we were fishing the WA side up by the wrecked boat (ship). Didn't think of the river getting rough cause we were out of the wind and the water was OK. started back, got to the bridge, and was it ever nasty, was able to turn the boat around safely and headed for the Deep River boat launch up river on the WA side. The nice thing is WE LIVE TO FISH AGAIN :grin: . Our rig was in Hammond :depressed: , it all made for a very long day.
DAB