Columbia River Smallies

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jordan Doucet on March 3, 2009 at 10:32pm

Mike Matkowski, Marc, I'm looking at you guys for this one... Great question C-Ride

Permalink Reply by Brian Walters on March 3, 2009 at 11:10pm

Well from what I know (and that is not alot about the river) is that when there is now current the fish tend to really spread out, and its not that they are not eating is just getting something in front of them. Its hard to get a bait in front of a fish that is roaming a football field compared to one that is sucked up behind a current break. As for changing baits I dont really know. So thats all I got.

Permalink Reply by Shawn O'Connell on March 4, 2009 at 2:48pm

I live on the Columbia on Lake Pateros and am on it every chance I can get. When the water is high and the current is cooking the fish are on fire. When they slack the water you can still catch them but they are not nearly as active. I don't know if it is like that on every reservoir but it is up here.

Permalink Reply by David Parnicky on March 4, 2009 at 6:20pm

Ive fished for 8 years on Lake Wallula and Lake Umatilla. Im no expert by any means but I can share a bit from my experiences on the river. The water level and current definately plays a big role in fish location, behavior and activity but on these two reservoirs there are many variables that also have to be taken into account which is why consistently finding big fish on the Columbia can be so easy at times and such a challenge at other times. For the most part, I have found that the water level and amount of current play a bigger role on the more upstream areas of these two reservoirs (above Richland on Wallula and Just below Mcnary to about the Blalocks on Umatilla). It seems the lower portions of each reservoir have much less fluctuation in water level and current speed and while these two factors still do affect the downstream fish, it will be a lesser affect than it will be on the fish in the upper ranges of these two reservoirs. I have found that when the Reach is running fast and high, the fish move shallow and feed aggressively on any current break you can find (boulders, point ledges, up and dowstrem ends of humps and islands, etc.). These fish also seem to be closer to the bottom than fish in slower water unless their current break allows them to suspend (i.e. a bridge piling). Tubes, dropshots, grubs, and carolina rigs do very well on these fish. However, when they are aggressive, just because they are in a current break close to the bottom doesn't mean they wont dart out real quick to grab a fluke, spinnerbait, or lipless crank. Same deal below McNary dam, the more gates open on the dam, the shallower and more aggressive those fish will be on your typical current breaks. However in both of these areas you can get days when the reach drops 5 + feet over night or almost every gate on McNary is closed. During these times the fish move deeper and become much harder to catch. There is usually still enough current in the reach to keep them from suspending but below McNary they will suspend in certain areas if enough gates on the dam are closed. It is during these times that I prefer to fish the lower portions of each reservoir where the water level doesn't drop as drastically, there is more deep water available, and the fish are accustomed to spending their lives in slower current. However, thse fish behave much differently than the upstream fish.. I have found that the fish in the lower portions of each reservoir suspend a lot over open water, particularly in the summer after the American Shad have spawned. If you want to catch the bigger fish in the downstream portions of Lake Wallula and Lake Umatilla during the summer time, it seems you have to fish up in the water column with topwaters, flukes, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and lipless crankbaits...anything that can imitate a young American Shad. The most important thing is not to fish the bottom in this situation! These roaming supsended fish always seem to be near structure but never right on the structure unless the wind is blowing hard. One tip is to start fishing near a piece of structure and watch for circling birds and shad skipping on the surface...if you ever see shad skipping on the surface get your bait where the fish are skipping as soon as possible! This will almost always result in a 2.5 lb or bigger smallmouth. Often you will see the shad start skipping and a school of big smallies start breaking the surface right underneath them...it is very cool to see! Its amazing in the gorge portion of Lake Wallula how far they will stray from structure suspended under American Shad. I have seen and caught them chasing shad on the surface over 70 feet of water in the middle of the river channel two football fields away from the nearest point! Taking advantage of the fish chasing American Shad is a surefire way to catch some big summer smallies when the upstream areas of Lake Wallula and Lake Umatilla are low, slow and dead.

Again, I still have lots to learn but I thought I would share my experiences on how water level and current affect the fish on the Columbia. Hope my ideas help a little.

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on March 4, 2009 at 6:38pm

Awesome post, David. Awfully well written and very informative.

Permalink Reply by troy kelly on March 4, 2009 at 7:03pm

i was fishing a club tourney last august at tri-cities. on our way downriver in the MIDDLE of the channel this fish comes nearly out of the water right next to the boat. i looked at my fishing partner and said "dude that looked like a big smallie". Since then i've heard others say just what david has said and that is some of those fish relate very little to structure, current, and hell anything. their sole objective is to follow shad around and kill and eat. how one would fish for these fish is beyond me.

troy

Permalink Reply by Marc Marcantonio on March 4, 2009 at 7:40pm

Great post, David! I agree with every single point you made.

Some things regarding fishing hold true almost universally, and current and feeding bass are one of those universal tenets. Everywhere I have fished from Europe to Mexico indicates that current flows position bass into feeding situations. Bass are predators, and a predator can only make a living if it consumes more calories than it burns chasing its dinner.

Bass are hydrodynamic, allowing them to hold their position in current, especially if there is a current break like a boulder or piling. Current seams concentrate plankton, oxygen, insects, and other macroorganisms that baitfish consume. Of course this means bass learn that current seams are smorgasbords of fast food, WITH DELIVERY!

What many don't understand is that current exists in lakes and even ponds, although it is at a much reduced scale. The reason points are magnets for bass is because wind and temperature changes cause current to occur in lakes, and points speed current up as water is channeled out of bays and pushed around the point.

Wind pushes the lowest elements of the food chain into areas and concentrates it, and the diffusion of light and noise probably helps to disorient baitfish; all of which make feeding more successful for predatory bass.

So yes, current is one of the most important factors to consider when fishing, and whenever you have the opportunity to fish in areas with current instead of still water areas, it is usually better. One exception is for largemouths in cold, muddy water. This is a time to avoid current. Another is during wintering situations on tidal water, like the Delta. Still water will produce better in the winter than current areas due to the cold water causing the bass' metabolism to be lower. Bass have to expend too much energy to fight current in the winter.

ciao,
Marc

Permalink Reply by Thayne on March 6, 2009 at 10:28am

Great Info

Permalink Reply by Mike Matkowski on March 7, 2009 at 9:43am

I think you guys covered about everything as a far as currents effect on feeding fish. The only thing I might add are some general rules I consider when going out for the day when current is fluctuating. This is sure to occur about any time the spring run-off ends. You can always count on raised steady water for a couple days when we have the July 25-26 Hydroplane races and when they transport a defunct nuclear submarine reactor up to Hanford.

Check Priest Rapids flows to see if they're dropping (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv?cb_00060=on&cb_00065=on&am...)
or have already significantly dropped. In this scenario, after the early morning hours, it can be a very tough bite upriver. It will also be very, very difficult and destructive to get into the upriver sloughs. In the spring, this is crucial. If your in a Reach slough, make sure you watch the water and make sure you don't get stuck.

On clear, hot summer days, the good fish can just seem to dissapear later in the morning or become very spooky. Yet as someone mentioned earlier, they can just appear out of know where and anywhere while chasing bait. This is obviously a very unreliable "tourney pattern". On the other hand, on a one day event, there has been more than one tourney won on a single point when the team happen to get there at the right time. Hobbs is one of the few who has figured out how to be consistent up river.

Did I mention that that the fishing can turn on "really, really well" in the middle of the afternoon upriver. The current, as well as weather, determine this. Much better chance when the clouds and storms are happening.

If your on the Snake in the spring and their is no flow, get off it!! I have no idea what happens to the good fish, but they disappear. Above the dam, the big Snake fish are really hard to find all summer and this is partly do to no current in a vast, deep reservoir.

Slower current won't effect the early year fish as much as the post-spawn, summer and fall fish. however, dropping water-whenPriest stops flowing and McNary contineus to spill- the pool drops throughout and it can kill a backwater bite.

A heavy spring runoff can keep the water temperatures lower, thus delaying the spawn, and this can keep some of the better fish shallow longer into the year. These fish are scattered and it can make fishing really difficult to find numbers of good fish, especially if low current hinders agressive feeding. Heavy run-off also impacts river weed growth, and this can change the reliabilty of previously identified hotspots.