Tri-Cities

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ben Holten on January 21, 2010 at 2:10pm

It is pretty frozen up here although I did see a guy out on the reservoir last week. He had to launch at a crapy boat launch and only the main lake was open.

Permalink Reply by David Parnicky on January 21, 2010 at 5:18pm

The Yakima river mouth and lower Yakima river should start picking up around mid-late March. Further downriver, the sloughs that are way off the main river channel like Villard, Casey's, and Patterson should be picking up around the same time. If you get too restless you might want to look into the Chiawana drift. I am not sure exactly where it is and I have never fished it before but I know it is somewhere a little ways downstream from the mouth of the Yakima river on the opposite side of the river. I have heard stories of people doing decent through that stretch of river on winter smallmouth.

Permalink Reply by P.J. Koshi on January 21, 2010 at 6:05pm

I don't bother going over and bass fishing around Potholes until March...

Permalink Reply by Jeff Grimes on January 21, 2010 at 11:23pm

I have caught all my biggest SM from March 19th to April 6th on the Columbia. Of Course the conditions are a factor, but the better time to fish is after 1pm as well. You don't catch a lot of fish, but the ones that bite are usually over 3...and up to 6 and a half lbs.

Like david said.....the Sloughs and off river flats downriver are good then too. The Lower Snake usually turns on for me in Mid April.

Potholes .....Smallie fishing can be great in April and early May if you know what to do...and where to do it.



David Parnicky said:

The Yakima river mouth and lower Yakima river should start picking up around mid-late March. Further downriver, the sloughs that are way off the main river channel like Villard, Casey's, and Patterson should be picking up around the same time. If you get too restless you might want to look into the Chiawana drift. I am not sure exactly where it is and I have never fished it before but I know it is somewhere a little ways downstream from the mouth of the Yakima river on the opposite side of the river. I have heard stories of people doing decent through that stretch of river on winter smallmouth.

Permalink Reply by bogey4444 on January 22, 2010 at 10:24am

I did very well last year there right after ice on in either late Feb or early March.

P.J. Koshi said:

I don't bother going over and bass fishing around Potholes until March...