squwa fish

[gottafish]

How do you rig up and fish for these guys I am getting a boat and this may be a fun way to get some of the boat paid off? please help. Rich

[DaleDor]

I think the Wash Dept. of Fish and Wildlife has a brochure still (check the web site) on just how to do it.

Fresh, not previously frozen, chicken livers, at night, are popular.

Night fishing seems to be a big key for the highliners. I talked to a guy who used to be "in-charge" of some of the ********* activities, and he was, no surprise, fishing at night. Night was when his little group of squawfishermen got together. They went about 1/4 mile below Bonneville, on the Wa. side, from shore, using chartreuse colored plastic twist-tail grubs, maybe 3.5" long or so.

I THINK Vernita areas, around September, have the traditionally highest catch rates (you can see all the statistics on the internet, I think!) This scenario seemed to beat other places/times by quite a bit.

A boat will put you miles ahead in catching them, I'd bet!

Something some people don't realize is that, I THINK, that you have to PRE-register THAT DAY to actually take part in BPA's reward program.

FYI: Also, for BPA's program, they CAN tell if the fish were caught somewhere else, say on the Deschutes (they won't pay for fish caught there, I believe) and if you're lying about where you caught them you could get, from what I heard, arrested for fraud.

One "pro" fishes the shad rack, in around 11' of water, between the shad rack's pilings, and that giant piling that's about maybe 400' below the shad rack's pilings, when it's dark.

[1pump]

Low-light conditions are definitely best. Look for current breaks- you want some current, but not a lot. They're not strong swimmers.
Livers are popular, but a pain in the butt because they dissolve easily. We use cheddar cheese, night crawlers, BBQ chicken skin, actually about anything smelly will work as long as you get it in front of them.
I haven't found an effective lure for them yet, but I'm still trying. I know some people use them, with some success.
A buddy of mine gets well into five figures most years, and he doesn't have a boat.
Yes, you do have to register before fishing, BUT, the check stations run short hours, and sometimes there's no forms in the self-service boxes when you go to register while the station's closed.
Some of the checkers are sympathetic and understanding if you're a regular and they know you're honest. They know it's sometimes difficult to meet their schedule, since the fish don't keep the same hours as they do.
But if you do break the rules blatantly, they'll ban you, usually permanently. And I've been told that ANY fish/game violations will void your eligibility, at least for that year.

[FishinFinatic]

I'm actually going to give it a try tommorow. Probably check around the bonniville area. I have to keep it with some easy access to the river because of a cast i'm in right now, due to a fractured ankle. Is there any easy access anywere else that you could possibly point me to with some decent fishing. Any help would be appreciated, planning on trying salmon eggs, nightcrawlers, and some shiners. Thanks for any help.

[Bank Maggot]

One of the best methods for squaw fish from the bank is a simple but effective method! first thing you need to do is go to a trout fish farm and buy 3 inch trout fingerlings they will kill them first! they usually run about 40 for 100 fish! next rig them on a sliding sinker with a double hook mooching rig hook size about 2/O! when i first though about this setup i wasnt sure if it would be legal or not but i checked with the oregon and washington dept. of fish and wildlife, and the oregon state police! the only thing you need to make sure of is that you keep the reciept for the trout that you bought! once you get into some fish they will continue to get into a feeding frenzy! just cast out, HOLD ONTO YOUR POLE!!!! enjoy! usually when we go we catch about 75 to 100 fish in a six hour day!