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Our last day of Fish Camp and one more shot at Columbia Fall Chinook. Where else but at the mouth of the Deschuetes river. Aaron and I are again fishing with Bruce Warren of Fishing For Fun Guide Service (http://fishingforfunguideservice.com/) (253) 208-7433. We are also fishng with Steve Ichinokuchi, the president and CEO of Izorline International,(http://izorline.com/), and his associate Jim Duntley, and Rob Holman of Livin' The Dream TV Show from Spokane (http://m2ddream.com/).

The Battle Plan was the same as our past three days, hoover fishing with eggs. On a side note, I did ask Bruce about the trollers we saw today, who I noted did catch some fish as well. The water depth in this area ranges 13-30 feet. The trollers I saw were using flashers and "something". Bruce suggested that bait wrapped Quickfish, plugs, and inline attractors to bait would all be effective as well. I mention this because after four days of hoover fishing I can say that while it is a simple technique, it does require a high level of concentration and attention to detail. When that "pull" comes it can be a very brief window indeed to set the hook. If sitting back and relaxing is your style you may find it a bit of work.

Today was our first day of mild wind conditions. What a pleasant change, and it was a lot easier on the boat operator, not to mention easier for the anglers to see/feel bites. Today's action was "fair", if you can call six chinook in the boat as "fair". I must be getting spoiled - no, check that, I AM getting spoiled. It's been four super days of fishing. Today I managed another two chinook (limited) while Aaron got one. His, Rob, and Bruce's fish came on eggs with a small red smile blade in front(http://www.mackslure.com/). Mine came on straight eggs. My fish were hard-fighting chromers that ran 8-10 pounds, which were about the boat average. Sad to sad, the Izorline guys had no luck. The bite just died after 9:30am for us, while around us we saw some being caught, until around 11am when it seemed no nets were flying. In past days there wasn't quite such a bite change.

We called it a day at 11:30 and headed back to Fish Camp. Ed Iman has put on another great event. Aaron and I got to experience a new fishery, bring home lots of salmon, and learn some of the latest new innovations coming down the pike to anglers. We'll be sharing some of those with you in the weeks to come. Of interest, a new Work Sharp Tool and Knife sharpening machine (http://www.worksharptools.com/) that takes suggestions the company recieved from users and delivers a very nice "version 2" and some innovative rigging techiques that Loren Dunbar of HeviBeads shared with me (http://www.hevibeads.com/).

If you want to go fishing with Northwest legend Ed Iman you can contact him at ((503) 658-3753). Ed specializes in walleye and salmon fishing.

salmonbarry

9/19/2013 7:49:00 PM

Thanks Mike for all the great reports from over there and yes, hover fishing is a technique in itself. I did it with a guide on the Lewis last year and it took me a while to get that bite; which sometimes was just the rod tip lowering slowly and then back up. If you didn't hit it on the down, you didn't get a fish! What an awesome trip for you and thanks for sharing!

downriggeral

9/19/2013 9:51:00 PM

Thanks for the reports Mike. We trolled the same area last week using 11" pro Troll flashers with kick fin and the original Brads Super baits loaded with tuna. I like to rig with a 5/O siwash Gamagatsu hook for a deep hook-set around the jaw. The trolled bite was typically very early as the sun came up and only lasted an hour or so. We do catch fewer but bigger fish overall. You can see some pics on my earlier post.

Will have to try the egg thing next year when we are down there.

AJ's Dad

9/20/2013 7:04:00 AM

Sounds like a great trip. I'm surprised anything could be caught down there. I just went from Spokane to Portland last weekend and could not believe how many nets were strung out on the river. Amazing there are any fish that get through them.

downriggeral

9/20/2013 7:49:00 AM

Fishing is definitely better when the nets are out.

Mike Carey

9/20/2013 8:17:00 AM

The fish are thick at the mouth. Marked like crazy and jumping like crazy. A trip to remember for sure. 7 nice kings in four days.

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