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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...

Trolling for kings on the Willamette. What a wet winter it has been. This is an obvious statement to anyone living in Portland this past winter. Record rains, snow and cloudy days are actually normal for Oregon and since the past couple winters and summers were relatively dry I suppose we are experiencing the swings that create the "average." What seems to be missing in all this water are fish, especially spring chinook. The counts have been low on the Willamette and Columbia and the fishing tough. At least for me. I have plied the Willamette for several days with not a single bite. The only solace in my efforts is that I haven't seen anyone around me catch a fish either. In fact, I have yet to see a single salmon caught this year. That's not to say they aren't being caught. Several of my fellow kayakers have posted happy selfies with big fish. I have not lost hope. In fact I expect the high water is causing the run to be late and by May and June, my lu...

This year promises a record run of salmon on the Columbia River. Follow the record sockeye run earlier this summer, more than a million chinook salmon are expected to make the journey inland to spawn and die and hopefully create a new record run. According reports, the majority of fish are headed for the Hanford reach and Idaho tributaries . Although the Columbia may be experiencing good chinook runs, our neighbors in Alaska are not, at least the late run Kenai salmon . In preparation for the run, I picked up a new 10-weight fly rod, floating line and a reel (all for less than $150) that I am hoping to test on a strong chinook. And I want to catch it while standing up on the Hobie PA14. I figure I have about three weeks to accomplish this and I hope to a have successful report soon. Stay tuned for more.