[RiverMan]

Curious what others have noticed regarding water temperatures and the fall chinook bite. Last year as I recall we were seeing surface temps about 68 or 69 in September near the mouth of the Cow and the bite was slow! The year before during this same week the bite was red-hot and the temps were a degree or two cooler. It sure doesn't seem like two degrees would make that much difference though.....sure wish we would have temps in the lower 60's for this fishery.

RM

 

[uncleroy]

Curious what others have noticed regarding water temperatures and the fall chinook bite. Last year as I recall we were seeing surface temps about 68 or 69 in September near the mouth of the Cow and the bite was slow! The year before during this same week the bite was red-hot and the temps were a degree or two cooler. It sure doesn't seem like two degrees would make that much difference though.....sure wish we would have temps in the lower 60's for this fishery.

RM

One or two degrees makes all the difference in the world. My experience is that when it hits 70, the bite really slows. It seems to get better for each degree it drops.

 

[Chrome Bumper]

70 is about as warm as salmon can survive, at that temp they are stressed and prone to disease, a bit warmer and they roll over dead. At 70 they are busy trying to stay alive, hitting a lure is not on thier list of thing to do at that point.

 

[riverhound]

IMHO, water temp has an impact on the bite, however you can still have productive days at 70 degrees. What I have found at the mouth of the COW is that the warmer the water, the deeper you fish. I like to fish at about 50 to 60 feet when the water is that warm. When it cools a few degrees, I will move in to 40 to 45 feet. When the run is late, and we could fish down there in late October, we would hammer them in 25 to 35 feet of water. Rule of thumb for us, and we have been known to catch a few there, is that the warmer the water the deeper you fish.

 

[Time Off]

Portland Ifisher's have agreed to dump ice cubes in the river to cool the water down river :clap::meme:

 

[RiverMan]

Looks like we are all going to be anchored in 60 feet of water this fall!! Been a hot summer thus far.

RM

 

[streamcatcher]

Looks like we are all going to be anchored in 60 feet of water this fall!! Been a hot summer thus far.

RM

It's easy to forget just how hot it has been -- most of my family lives up river in eastern Wa or Idaho, and they've been roasting for weeks--extremely hot (>100) every day. If it stays like this the fish will just stick close to the ocean until the river offers a hospitable environment. So, the fish will start really coming in just about the time the Big C shuts down below bachelor...n i c e :frown:.

We'll see, I'll be out there every chance I get starting Wednesday.

SC

 

[Mrdorkfish]

Curious what others have noticed regarding water temperatures and the fall chinook bite. Last year as I recall we were seeing surface temps about 68 or 69 in September near the mouth of the Cow and the bite was slow! The year before during this same week the bite was red-hot and the temps were a degree or two cooler. It sure doesn't seem like two degrees would make that much difference though.....sure wish we would have temps in the lower 60's for this fishery.

RM

Many a year I have put the "Temp" myth to bed :grin: It's just one of those things you learn while fishing...you have to find a "Spot", A fish highway....I am pretty close to 6' tall and my dropper is measured to my forehead.....That's a clue guys, I drop anchor in 24' of water. I wonder if Jennie remembers a glory year or two of mine???? p

ShallowWaterLou

:lurk:

 

[KeepFishingFun]

Ok, so that brings up another question. As far as dropper length goes, who is using what? I have always used 3-4 feet in the spring, and 5-6 in the fall. Im not sure why, but in the fall, longer does seem to be better. Anyone else have input here?

 

[wannacatchem]

My dropper is measured by the span of my reach. Maybe a bit more at times. I'm 5'11", not sure what the span of my reach is, buts its close to six feet.

same with my leader

 

[Just Fish]

The reason I use a 5/6 foot of drop is I usally am running a heavy ol wobbler so if your leader is lets say five feet your wobbler is goining to be 3 and 4 feet obove the bottom of the river curent will ajust how far of the bottom your offering is.

 

[Dave G]

That is some good info. Is there some web page that would have the current river temps? FISH ON!!!!! Oh sorry, just day dreaming.

 

[RiverMan]

I have noticed that when the fish are moving good they are often even more than 5' off the bottom. In 40' of water it seems the majority of fish will be moving past at say 32'..........maybe 8' off the bottom. Last year I tried a longer leader on several occassions and yet we kept catching them on the standard 5' drop.

RM