High water River patterns?

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Permalink Reply by Greg Hatleberg on July 19, 2011 at 4:15pm

The lower River is always a different animal.  The fish relate to current more than a specific type of structure.  They are also very bait oriented and will move miles with their forage.  The big thing to keep in mind is we are way behind normal as far as the stage of the fish in their seasonal movements and patterns.  When the water is high, I look in the same areas that I normally catch fish and look for the same current conditions.  It could be 10' away or a 1/4 mile but those fish are still in the area.

Permalink Reply by Chris Lambert on July 21, 2011 at 6:25am

Did you check to see if the fish were still spawning? Everything is so far behind this year and I would be willing to bet that they're still on beds in that pool.  I fished a tournament on the Umatilla pool last weekend and was surprised to find that some fish are still spawning.  I didn't have a stellar tournament and it seemed to me that most fish were in that tough transition time right after the spawn but I was interested to find that they were still on beds.  I would say to keep an open mind and forget about what time of year it is and what the fish "should" be doing.