River Fishing Reports

Here we are a gain with another Spring Salmon season, and the fishing has been nothing short of spectacular.!!! With potentially record breaking runs returning to the Columbia River system, we are catching these fine tasting Columbia River Salmon.!!!
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We've started the season around the I-5 Bridge area, and always limiting before noon...The bait of choice, of course, dyed blue herring.. rigged up with flasher, 6 oz of lead and dragging the bottom..!!! With the season in this area closing April 18th, we moved up to the Drano Lake/Wind River area, Prawn rigs...seemed to be the bait of choice and a close second were the bait wrapped Mag Lip Flatfish ( formerly the M2-SP) in the lake itself... I like to fish the mouth of Drano Lake early in the season for the fish that tend to nose around, before heading back out to the Columbia River.....but some fish tend to stick around and stack up in the lake itself....With the Prawn Rig, I'm fishing anywhere from 18 to 24 feet deep, and I noticed that some anglers are picking up fish just right off the bottom, but getting hung up frequently if not paying close attention...Early in the morning until around 9 a.m. the fishing in the Lake itself has been doing very well with bait wrapped Mag Lip Flatfish fished about 60 feet behind the boat... The bank anglers have been doing extremely well, casting Fatfish (from Yakima Bait) and Magnum Wiggle Warts in Flo. Pink, Flo. Orange, Flo. Red and the Red Tiger....These colors seem to be the most popular and the fish are being caught..!!!! The guys on the Columbia River side fishing off the bank have been doing extremely well also, casting plugs when the wind is not blowing very hard, and plunking with shrimp and spin-glos. The counts over Bonneville Dam have been consistent on a daily basis lately and the fishing at Drano Lake and Wind River should produce well until the end of May.. This year I'm heading back to the Alaska's Nushagak River around June 1st and plan on running a boat for Alaska King Salmon Adventures until Mid-July. The fishing is nothing short of Spectacular..!!! Feel free to visit their new website at www.alaskakingsalmon.com ....I can't say enough about the camp but you will be well taken care of....The scenery and wildlife is breathtaking.....they have heated Westport Tents with plenty of room with nice comfy beds, the food is awesome, hot showers, flushing toilets...you just can't go wrong..!!! As of now I do have a few openings during the weekdays and a couple of weekend days open through the end of May, so if your interested in catching some springer's please feel free to give me a call @ 503-997-2279 or visit my web for more info @ www.hookedonfishingguideservice.com Most likely I will not post another report until I get back from Alaska, so if you want to book a trip for after Mid-July, just shoot me an email and when I return I will contact you....I'll be booking for Columbia River and Drano Lake Summer Steelhead, Sturgeon, Columbia River Fall Chinook up to Priest Rapids/Hanford Reach areas and Klickitat River Coho.. Hope to hear from you and/or see ya on the water.... Dave @ Hooked On Fishing Guide Service 503-997-2279

Fishing Reports Below Are From:

Mah-Hah Outfitters
Fossil, OR 97830
(toll free) 1-888-624-9424
fax: 1-541-763-3579
website: www.johndayriverfishing.com 
e-mail: mho.bassinbuddy@yahoo.com 

May 1: I took long time friends Chris Copeland and Kirby Hess fishing today. I took them in early March last year, and we had a "fishless" day. So they were back for their free trip. We guarantee "Fish-On" on our regular trips, or the next trip is free. We're off to a great year this year, and have not had any off with our clients, on the regular full day trips, get skunked (plus some really nice huge smallmouth this year). It was 40 in Fossil at 5 Am, 50 at the river, water was running 51 degrees, 3810 CFS and falling, 4-5 clarity, and a slightly overcast morning. Chris caught the first fish at 7:45 AM, and Kirby was close behind him. They ended up with 16 fish by lunchtime, and as Kirby said he was 9 times better than last year (he had 9 at lunch). A heavy cold-front and wind gusts came in at lunchtime, and slowed the fishing down, but they ended up with 25 smallies, and they each boated one over 15". They could have caught more fish, but they were only going for the big ones and using big fish techniques.
We talked about the big fish being ready to spawn a couple of weeks ago, and they were with 55-59 degrees water temperatures. But, the big rain storm on April 20 and 21 ran lots of snow melt into the river and dirty water, which lowered the temperature and stained the water up. It's hard to predict, but it will be a couple of weeks before the big fish head for the spawning beds. So, now is a good time to catch the huge pre-spawn fish, and we boated and released 4 last week.

April 30: I took Steve Fletcher on his second day, and friends Larry Duckett and Randy Johnston, 541-969-8834. It was 27 in Fossil at 5 Am, 44 at the river, the water was 51 degrees, 4380 CFS, 5-6 clarity, and a very clear day. Randy caught the first fish at 7:55 AM, and they had 6 fish by lunch. There was a slight cold front that came in and the bite died for awhile. We ended up with 12 fish, and Randy reeled in a very nice 19 1/2" in the late afternoon. It was a great day on the water, and lots of great stories were shared.

April 29: Was a cold and windy day on the John Day River. I took Master Angler Steve Fletcher, and a great Father/Son Team of Brad and Nick Staub, 541-281-2150, of Tulelake, CA. It was 34 in Fossil at 5 AM, 48 at the river, the water was 50 degrees, 4880 CFS and dropping, light overcast, and 7-8 for clarity and getting cleaner. The first fish did not come till 11:15 AM and Brad brought it in. I started to get the feeling that this one lure would become important. I'm down to 8 lures of one type that they don't make anymore, and trying not to lose any more. There were a couple of hangups and breakoffs involving this one lure, but we got it back each time. Well at lunch time we had boated 4 fish. The weather got cooler and the wind really started to blow after lunch. We ended up the day with 12 fish. Oh, that lure I was telling you about, Brad caught a Master Angler 20 1/2" X 14" toad with it. Yah when the last of the eight is gone it will be a sad day in my house.

April 28: took long time friends Kevin Howard and Doug Greenlee, 503-869-7163, on the river today. The river came up, but was still fishable. It was 35 in Fossil at 5 Am, 48 at the river, was was running 50, 7-8 clarity, slightly overcast, 4370 CFS and rising. Devin caught the first fish at 9 AM and by lunchtime we had 5 smallies, with Doug boating two fat Master Angler smallmouth bass, 20 3/4" X 13 3/4" and 21 3/4" X 14". They were great fish, and Doug did a great job fishing for them and bringing them in. It was warm at lunch, and then turned cool and a slight rain. It was tough fishing in the afternoon with the water getting dirty and higher. Doug hooked another toad just above the take-out, but lost it after a short fight. Shoot that would have made three in one day!! Kevin and Doug have fished together for a long time and they were lots of fun to be with. Hope Kevin buys Doug another Birthday trip for next year!

April 27: took old client and Master angler Dan Ross, 503-784-4936, and his friend Steve Kirsop. It was 48 in Fossil, 57 at the river, the water was 51 degrees, 3780 CFS and dropping, 6-7 clarity, and overcast. It was raining in Fossil, but dry at Service Creek when we got there at 7:45 AM. Steve caught the first fish at 9 AM. About 10:30 Dan hooked into a fish that gave a little fight until it got to the boat then it went nuts on us. Dan made a couple fo great moves and I netted the second biggest smallmouth bass I've ever seen, 23" X 16 1/4". It was an absolute hog. We had 6 fish by lunch, and it was warm and the sun was shinning. Then about 3:15 the heaven opened up and it poured on us. they ended up the day early with 10 fish, 5 each. Great fish for Dan, and a wet time for all!

April 25: I took long time friends from the Mount Vernon, Oregon area: Don Miller, Dave Fronapel - 541-932-4977, and Red Iler. These guys are all good fishermen, and a fun bunch to be with on the river. It was35 in Fossil at 5 AM, 48 at the river at 7 AM, 51 degrees water, 4070 CFS, 5-6 clarity, overcast, and a dropping river. Don caught the first fish at 7:55 AM, and they boated 16 fish by lunch, and Dave had a Trophy 18 1/4" smallie. A front came in and shut the fish down early in the afternoon, but the fellows ended up with 33 smallies. Don lost a huge fish at the take-out when it jumped out of the water. Red said " it was too bad" (inside joke).

April 24: took past Master Anglers Mike and son, Mark (503-580-1856), Sliper today. It was 38 in Fossil at 5 AM, 52 at the river, and the water was running 51 degrees, 5160 CFS, 7-8, and overcast. Mark caught the first fish at 8:30 Am, a Master Angler smallmouth bass, 20 1/2" X 13". They boated 10 fish by lunch and the sun came out and it got warm. They ended up with 16 smallies and the river was getting cleaner by the minute. Should be good fishing for a while.

April 22: Took Don Miller of Mt. Vernon, and Jeremy and Brandon Russell of Hayden, Idaho fishing today. The river blew out yesterday evening and went to 7000+ CFS, which is the highest flow so far this year. It was running dirty, and lots of loose grass in the river. We went on over to the Private Largemouth Lake and had a great day in the sun and clean water. They boated 39 fish and young Brandon was the winner with 16 fish. The river is headed back down and on Friday at noon around 5000 CFS, temperature dropped back to low 50's, and cleaning itself up. Should be "okay" to fish this weekend, and very nice weather. Good Luck!

April 19: Took friends from Olympia, WA, Art O'Neal and Emmett Dobey today. It was 41 in Fossil at 6 AM, 64 at the river at 10 AM, water was 54 degrees, 4010 CFS, 8 clarity, and a very clear day. We launched late today and Art caught the first fish at 9:40 AM. We had 3 by lunch and ended up the day with 11 smallies. it was a tough day of fishing with the water turning off-color in the last two days. Even though the flow is not particularly high for this time of year, it is the highest so far and picking up dead grasses from the river bank and pushing them down river. The slow Carolina rigs in the slow water flats worked the best. The water will continue to rise and get dirtier for a while. I'm looking for my lucky "rabbits foot" for the next trip.

April 18: took a new boat owner, John Tremper, on a 1/2 day trip: Service Creek to Twickenham. He just bought a brand new 18" Clackacraft Max, and wanted to see the section with a guide on his first trip. He's one of our clients, but owns property in the Spray area and plans on doing some fishing on his own this summer. He agreed with me, Clackacraft Max is the easiest boat to row he's ever been in. I've rowed them all, it is it far and above the BEST for the John Day River. Only problem is the bottom only has a 100 year warranty, yeah like I should worry about that!

April 17: We ran a half-day trip in the Spray area for six fishermen, three Father/Sons teams: Dale and Brock Pellow, pellowfamily@comcasat.net; Gary and Connor Woolworth; and Ron and Michael Strobe. The water was coming up and the highest so far this season at 3060 CFS and rising to 3600 while we were on the water, 68 degrees at 2 PM, 54 degree water, 6-7 clarity, and slightly overcast. It was the young men against the Dads, and the youngsters won by two fish. The score 2-0, yes it was a tough day but the young guys hung in there an

April 14: Meet Ed Larson and step son, Mark RafFnson, at my house in Fossil at 6 AM. Two great guys who fish together for a week once a year. Mark is from Lake Elsinore, Ca, and Ed is from Culver , Or. It was 29 in Fossil, 40 at the river, and the water was running 51 degrees, 2230 CFS, 2-3 clarity, and very clear and sunny. The weather was much improved over the last two days of stormy weather. Mark caught the first fish at 8:20 and they had boated 8 smallies by lunch time, and March had a nice 17 1/2" fish in the bunch. The air temp was 74 right after lunch and the water had warmed up to 55 degrees. The little fish (90 % of the population) are coming active, and the biggest fish will probably go into their spawn during the next week. This is one of the earliest spawning conditions I can remember. They ended up with 23 fish, and most were caught on crankbait, but everything was working.

April 12 & 13: We ran an overnight trip with five good friends: Dan Hawkey, Craig Dewey, John Stilwell, Joel Dvino, and Bill Luettgerodt. They were great guys and we went out to the Private largemouth lake for two days of fishing and camping. The weather fronts were coming in every 2 hours, and we could see it raining/snowing all around us, but only sprinkled on us during the days. Monday night was different, it poured late during the night but we stayed dry. Skip Geer, Mayville Flat Shooting Preserve, was the other guide and he squired the pontoon boats around the Lake, and tried to figure out what the bass wanted. The Lake water was 58 degrees and very clear. They caught fish, but the fishing was slow, and the biggest fish was 19 inches. Great bunch of guys, and hopefully they will come back next year.

April10: I went to the airport in Condon and picked up Dean and brother Lamont Miller, 503-651-3126, and Dean's brother in law, Tobin Cooley. Great bunch of guys and good fishermen. It was 20 in Fossil at 5 AM, 42 at the river, the water was 48 degrees, 2020 CFS, 4-5 clarity, very clear morning. Dean caught the first fish at 9:35 AM and they had 5 fish by lunch. Lamont caught an 8 pound carp, steelhead, and a Master Angler Smallmouth bass 20 1/16" X 13 1/2" in the afternoon. The group ended up with 14 bass and a great day on the water. I took them back to the airport at Condon and they took off at 7 PM and headed back to Aurora.

April 9: What a difference a day can make. Today, I took Steve Fletcher and Brad Bell. It was 19 in Fossil at 5 AM, 32 at the river, 48 degree water temperature, 2040 CFS, 5-6 clarity, and not a cloud in the sky or a breath of air moving. It was calm all day and Brad caught the first fish at 8:20. We had 4 fish at lunch, and ended the day with 9. Slow day of fishing, but a beautiful day on the water.