Buzz Ramsey, center, and friends celebrate landing a 32-pound Chinook caught last year at Buoy 10. Chinook could be in short supply this season. (Photo courtesy Buzz Ramsey) Photo Gallery
The largest salmon fishery in the Lower 48 kicks off Aug. 1 at Buoy 10 of the Columbia River, but the season and limits have been reduced because of poor projections for returns of Chinook and coho salmon.
The biggest question mark is whether the Chinook will return in strong enough numbers to allow the fishery to run through the full season, which is scheduled to close after Aug. 24.
As for the coho, they are expected to be down as well, but there are reasons to believe they may have fared a little better.
More than 360,000 fall Chinook are expected back to the Columbia River, with more than 200,000 of those being the highly desired upriver brights.
However, if the two early runs of Chinook are an indication, then the fall run could come in poorly. Both the spring and summer Chinook runs had to be downgraded this year.
Ryan Lothrop, the Columbia River Fishery Manager for the state of Washington, said there’s other indicators that are not good.
“In southeast Alaska they fish on those Columbia upriver brights, and they are not doing well,” he said. “The stocks crashed and the jack counts are very poor.”
Conditions in the Pacific Ocean are improving, but it will take some time before the runs recover. Lothrop knows things will turn around, but when?
“Is this the bottom,” he asks, “or is there another bad year?”
The news isn’t as bad for the coho returns, although projections of 228,700 adults is well below average. Catch rates in the salt off the mouth of the Columbia are encouraging, and the fish seem to be in good condition.
Columbia River fishing icon Buzz Ramsey of Yakima Bait is searching for silver linings.
“It’s a short season and a one-fish limit, but that could mean less fishing pressure,” he said. “Back in the day we did not have the big runs, but we still caught fish. With the Chinook and coho combined there will be 600,000 salmon out there.”
Added seasoned fishing guide Bill Monroe, Jr.: “It’s not all doom and gloom. This year will probably be a year of mixed results. The ocean is fishing OK, not good, but OK.”
Monroe added he believes the coho run could salvage the season.
“We’ll be able to get after the coho when the river closes for Chinook,” he said. “It’s probably not going to be as bad as everybody says.”
Lance Fisher, fishing guide and host of the Northwest Outdoor radio show, is also searching for those silver linings.
“There’s a lot of downward pressures, including a poor spring Chinook run,” he said. “But, I’ve seen larger runs that did not fish well.”
Fisher believes river conditions often have a bigger impact on the fishing than low returns. If good conditions prevail anglers could find some good bites.
Keying in on the good tides
Good fishing tides are part of the equation that Fisher talks about, and tides are one of the most important things to consider when fishing Buoy 10.
There’s good tides beginning Aug. 16, Fisher said.
The last week of the season, in particular the final three days, tides will be optimal. Also, the run will build toward that week.
Many guides and fishermen believe this could be a year for some short-day trips, instead of the more usual lengthy stays and long days of hard fishing.
“Folks head out at 6 a.m. and fight a tough tide all morning,” Fisher said. “It’s a waste of time. Go eat breakfast and wait for the good tides to fish.”
That is exactly what Ramsey will be doing this year.
“If there are good fishing reports, and a mid-day tide, I’ll drive down and fish that tide and the slack,” he said.
Most Buoy 10 anglers like to target the softer outgoing tides, when the fish all turn their noses upstream. The tactic is to troll downstream so that you put your bait in front of more fish.
Think of it as driving the wrong way down a divided highway. You will pass far more cars doing this than driving down the correct lane, and the same is true of trolling for salmon. You want more fish to see your baits in order to find the biters.
Ramsey believes the heavy incoming tides can actually set up a good bite.
“Those tides can funnel fish into key areas,” he said. “They try to stay out of those strong currents.”
The dead-end channel on the Washington side just above the Astoria-Megler Bridge is a good example. High tides push the fish into that dead end, and the fish keg up there. Once the tide slackens these fish will go on the bite.
Bait or spinners?
When it comes to the business end of the line, bait rules Buoy 10, but spinners have a place, too.
“Bait is the most popular,” Ramsey said. “In the mid estuary, it’s mostly an anchovy show. Further up it can be spinners. Up by the bridge there are times when spinners are better than bait.
“Spinners also get the bigger fish.”
Regulations
Anglers may keep one salmonid a day, either a Chinook, a hatchery coho, or a hatchery steelhead. Barbless hooks are required for salmon fishing in the Columbia River. Check the regulations for more information.
