A fantasy comes true: two spring salmon on two herring in three hours

Spring Chinook are nearly as mythical as steelhead. Persistence, skill, tools and a really lucky day are key to success. My recent trip to the Willamette River was heavily weighted on the last one.

Work had consumed me for the past month and I needed a day in the kayak. I woke up Sunday morning torn between fishing for trout or salmon. Based on my previous salmon trips, I was leaning more towards trout. But, I also wasn't interested in driving two hours in hopes of catching a couple large trout that had recently been stocked in Timothy Lake. Besides, it was cold on the mountain.

I spent an hour getting ready and as I pulled out of the driveway with the trailer and kayaks I decided I would mull it over on my way to get coffee. I had two fly rods, a sturgeon rod and a salmon rod and gear so no matter what choice I made, I was prepared.

I walked into Safeway, grabbed three nearly expired yogurts that were 50 percent off, and stepped up to the Starbucks coffee stand. I ordered a large coffee, paid the barista and headed out the door. I pulled out the parking lot and headed north to Swan Island boat ramp. As I pulled in, I was pleased to see a nearly full lot of bass boat trailers. OK, I thought, salmon it is, with sturgeon a strong second.

Since I had no bait, I drove to the nearby Fred Meyer, bought a tray of green label herring and another coffee and headed back to the ramp. Within the hour I was trolling herring in the Hobie Pro Angler and marking several fish on the fish finder. I trolled downriver with no luck and headed back. Soon the rod bent once, twice, and then started dancing. I grabbed the rod, felt the fish and immediately started fumbling with the remote video switch. This is usually when things go wrong. In the next minute, I had to extend my net, turn on the cameras and keep tension on the fish. Somehow I did all three. Then I realized how bad my kayak netting skills were as I missed the fish about five times and had to one-hand the rod as I turned the kayak so I didn't run ashore. Somehow through all this, the fish stayed on the hook, which was barbless, and I finally landed it.

It must have been my day because within 30 minutes of landing the first fish, I was hooked up with a second Chinook which I landed quickly after a short fight. I had just caught two spring Chinook on two herring in less than 3 hours.

There was no way to top that and as the guy on the dock said "I would go home now." So I did.

Check out the video. And Go Farther. Catch More.

Popular posts from this blog

Starting The Season With A New Fleet

Image
The blog has received little love over the past year, so it was time to write a post. It's not that I have been fishing less, it's that I haven't taken the time to post and work on the videos. The 2022 salmon season was not nearly as epic as the 2021 season especially with the limited fall salmon season. This was mainly due to a unique hatchery Tule Chinook salmon return where the Spring Creek Hatchery upstream of Bonneville Dam had about 100,000 Chinook return - twice the average. The Tule is an endangered species in the rivers below Bonneville Dam and due to some complicated issues,  caused a closure in the lower Columbia River during the height of the season. Hobie PA17t The 2023 salmon season is off to an unseasonably cold start with winter holding on and March coming in like a lion and going out like a lion. No lambs this year. Hopefully better days await in April and beyond. I did reorganize my fleet buying and selling some kayaks while still ending up with a tandem,
Read more

A Productive Salmon Season in a Year of Low Returns

Image
This year has proven one of my best yet for putting salmon in the kayak. After a slow start in March and April, I hooked eight and landed six spring Chinook "Springers" on the Willamette River. All were hatchery fish and most were 30-plus inches. They were all caught with my red and orange hand-tied spinners and Pro-Troll 360 flashers. The Springers were caught in May and June, typically the end of the season. These two months seem to be my most productive. Two years ago, I landed six, and had two, two-fish days. This year, I never hooked two fish on the same day, although I had more days catching fish. Most days were spent focusing on the tide changes, and I was usually off the water by noon. I was fortunate because the run was about 25 percent lower than expected and many anglers had a rough season. I spent July fishing for smallmouth bass in the Willamette and Columbia, and spent a few days in August anchored in the Columbia fishing for fall kings. The fall season p
Read more

The 2021 Fishing Season Recap

Image
Welcome to the 2021 kayak fishing season recap. Last season was exceptional with lots of salmon on the kayak, a few trout on the fly rod, and a nice halibut on the boat.  I spent most of my time fishing the Willamette and Columbia rivers with my friend Mark. Fishing less than 30 minutes from home in a kayak also reduced my carbon footprint, especially when transporting the kayak on my 16-year-old Ford Escape hybrid.  Fishing close to home also allowed fishing trips before and after work, which were key to my success in 2021. The season highlights included fishing in five different Hobie kayaks and catching salmon in four of them and hooking salmon in all five. This season also included two friends and my brother catching their first salmon in the kayak, fishing a new area with new techniques, and earning a limit of a king and a coho before noon.  Although I would hook more than 30 fish this season, I only landed 24 and tagged 19, falling just one short of filling my salmon tag. Most
Read more