Snake River

[sisu]

Never fished the Snake in Washington. Is the Lower Granite any good for salmon or are there other areas on the Snake that are better. Saw someone catching a big salmon by the Lewiston Bridge today. I was watching how they anchor in the river and drift their lines behind the boat.

[gene]

sisu i fish the snake every year there at lewiston and clarkston they will hold up in the water that the snake and clear water comes togather untell the high water comes down

[huntnphool]

I watched the guys on Hawg Quest fish for steelhead and they must have hooked 20 fish. I would be interested in booking a spot on that boat with some of you guys if any of you the details, where, when, cost etc.

[jackelope]

the hawgquest guys are fishing upriver further into hells canyon 99% sure. i think there might be special permits required to run the canyon, but i'm not sure if that applies to private boats. the good fishing in the deeper water where the non-jet boats can go is around the confluence of the snake and the c/w like gene said as far as i know. that is big water for sure. there is an old river channel through there where  a lot of the fish hang if i remember correctly. we fished it up by asotin last year in a little prop-motored boat and it is big water that is tough to read, a good depth finder is a must to find that channel. floats and jigs tipped with shrimp are real popular there for steelhead. upstream from asotin is a little smaller with faster current and more obvious seams and holding water, but a jet pump is a must up from asotin.

[BLUEBULLS]

A few years ago, one of the prizes for winning a walleye tournament was a trip with Hells canyon sport fishing. we were lucky enough to go on a few free trips and if anyone is considering a guided trip up that way I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed with these guys. We caught about 20 fish per trip and they said that's average to slow. They've been slamming the springers on the clearwater this spring. It's a fun trip with great scenery.

[gramps]

I have fished the Snake from the mouth to 95 miles above Lewiston for steelhead.  Hell's Canyon is an awesome place.  A lot of cool history.  A good way to see it and sometimes fish a little is to book a trip with the mail boat.  It is usually a two day trip once a week when they deliver the mail from Lewiston up river.  I sold my jet boat in 1999, so it has been a few years since I have been up there, but Beamer's used to have the contract to deliver the mail and they went up to Sheep Creek...95 miles up stream.  I did not make the mail run per se...I followed a guide I knew to learn a little about the river.  It has a few nasty spots.

Behind the dams, we just trolled plugs for steelhead.  In the faster current, we 'back trolled' plugs or plugs and shrimp.  I am not up to date on the regs, but there was a catch and release fishery for sturgeon up the canyon and we caught some nice bass up there also.  The guides have names for the big fish..some of 'em are 8 to 10 feet long and they catch the same ones over and over.

[huntnphool]

The Hawgquest boys were in a large open jet boat that had about 8 people on it.