Columbia salmon

[klikboom]

I'm up in snoho county and I plan on taking two trips to the Columbia this year to try for kings. My father in law and I have not done well fishing for kings up here (caught a few last year around whidbey). When is the time to go down there for best chance at Kings? I heard on 710 they were talking like it's easy peasy right now for springers at Stevenson. Is it l the best time right now to go? We have a river boat.

[Badhabit]

Check out the Bonneville Dam spring chinook count. Fishing is picking up in the Wind and at Drano. Lots of info on both at Ifish.com. Best days are during the week. Weekends are getting seriously silly with poor sportsmanship, bad boating skills. Some call it combat fishing. If you fish Drano try not to go the day after the Natives have netted it, as you can guess the numbers are down. If you're really a thrill seeker you can get in line and do the roundy roundy at the bridge. Lots of fish hooked there, don't cross the boundary into the bank fisherman's designated area or your boat will become target practice for weighted plugs and other cast projectiles and obsenities only deciphered by old salt sailors.

[SteelheadDC]

It is ifish.net and there is a ton of info on that site.  Badhabit is right on about drano and the wind, although I think drano is worse.  And you can catch salmon out in the big lake, maybe not quite as good but well worth not dealing with that cluster in the circle.  Good luck

[WSU]

Do you want springers or just kings at any time? 

[klikboom]

I just want kings in the freezer, not necessarily springers or fall.

[WSU]

Pm me your phone number if you would like to chat.

[h2ofowlr]

It is ifish.net and there is a ton of info on that site.  Badhabit is right on about drano and the wind, although I think drano is worse.  And you can catch salmon out in the big lake, maybe not quite as good but well worth not dealing with that cluster in the circle.  Good luck

The toilet bowl on Drano is a train wreck!

[Badhabit]

The "Toilet Bowl" isn't too bad if you're not the skipper and in a low profile boat. The big sleds with a little wind and no drift socks out on the bow makes for a good show.
A few years ago I took my parents out fishing on the Wind. Geez the bank fishermen were right past the RR bridge fishing the boat channel, they cussed me out to the point where I was going to walk back to them and push them in the water to cool off. Kind of silly to think the boat channel is not for boat traffic and get upset at boats coming and going.

[Stein]

I just want kings in the freezer, not necessarily springers or fall.

Head to Astoria in the fall.

[thegeneral]

Just upriver from the Longview Bridge (Lewis and Clark Bridge) 1st week of September. Put in at Rainier, OR and you have to motor less than a mile, pitch the the hook in about 45 fow.

[WSU]

I just want kings in the freezer, not necessarily springers or fall.

Head to Astoria in the fall.

This is what I had planned to tell you about.  Almost can't miss once you figure it out.

[eastcoastguy]

Just took my first guided trip on the Cowlitz on Monday. We killed it. There running great now.

[klikboom]

Who did you use on the cowlitz? How much? That's a lot close than columbia. Anything special as far as tactics?

[eastcoastguy]

I used robert kratzer.catching them on 3.5 mag lips and also herring. We hes priced at 225. Highly recommend him. He's on facebook.

[WSU]

Doing well on springers is tougher than fall fish.  If you just want volume, fall is where it's at.