Columbia River Kayak Fishing

Things have been a little slow on the kayak fishing front lately but the wind calmed down for a couple days and allowed us to have a couple great days kayak fishing on the Columbia River. Fishing from a kayak is a different approach to fishing and we are always looking for new places to fish. You can’t cover as much area as a power boat, but a kayak can get to places a boat can’t go. Kayak fishing for smallmouth bass at a great smallmouth bass fishing spot on a beautiful summer day is tough to beat.

The wind may have died down, but the temperature went up. The past couple days have been in the mid to high nineties. That’s real hot on a kayak with no shade so we got an early start to beat the midday heat. About 70°F with a light breeze just before sunrise, the most comfortable part of a very hot day.

Columbia River just before sunrise

About an hour after sunrise, we noticed smoke off to the west. Looks like a small wildfire. It is pretty close to the interstate highway so they should be able to get control of it relatively quickly. The fact there is no wind to speak of will help the firefighters. Unfortunately, this won’t be the last time we see fire smoke this year.

Wildfire smoke over the Columbia River

We were fishing for smallmouth bass and the fishing was very good

Kayak fishing for smallmouth bass on the Columbia River

If we cast against the rocks in the shallower water, we would catch smaller bass. If we fished underwater structure in deeper water or tolled along the edge of underwater weeds we would not catch as many bass, but the fish would be bigger.

Columbia River smallmouth bass caught while kayak fishing

The Columbia River is a very active place as far as wildlife goes. The river is controlled by huge dams and Columbia River basin has been changed dramatically, but the wildlife still finds a way to survive amid all the human development. Here is a family of ospreys living on an old river dock piling. There were three healthy chicks in this nest so the fishing must have been pretty good for mom and pop osprey. The young osprey are testing their wings.

Osprey nest on the Columbia River

On the way in from fishing, I talked to a fisherman who was wading and fishing for salmon. He told me he hooked a fish and lost it in the abundant seaweed. There were tribal gill nets nearby so it was a pretty good indication that some salmon or steelhead had come over the downstream Columbia River dam. Everything seems “early” this year so an early start to the salmon fishing season would be OK as well. We got the bobber fishing rig ready to go and planned on taking the cured prawns the next day to try for an early, early, early season salmon or steelhead.

It’s a good thing we took the bass fishing gear along with the salmon rig because after an hour of watching a bobber float along without a nibble, I was ready to go catch some fish. The salmon fishing wasn’t there(even the tribal fishermen picked up their gill nets), the the smallmouth bass fishing was as good as a fisherman could expect.

Kayak fishing for smallmouth bass on the Columbia River

We checked in with the osprey family, the chicks were really giving their wings a workout. These young birds would be taking their first flight later in the day. Pretty cool to see.

Young osprey ready for first flight

The ospreys have seen us in our kayaks for awhile now. Mother osprey is always on guard, but the eight week old chicks might be a little curious about the humans in the kayaks.

Young osprey on the Columbia River

The wildlife was interesting, but we were also interested in smallmouth bass fishing. For a couple days on the Columbia River, the kayak fishing for smallmouth bass was as good as it could be. We caught a few small fish, a lot of one or two pounders and a few really nice smallmouth bass.

Columbia River smallmouth bass caught while kayak fishing

This is the best time of the year in the Columbia River Gorge and we will try and get the most out of it. The wind is howling again today and it could be a few days, at least, before we can get out on the Columbia River again. We will start checking the fish counts over the Bonneville Dam and probably be taking salmon/steelhead gear on any remaining smallmouth bass trips. Then it will be salmon fishing season. Then it will be winter, so if you want to go fishing, now would be a good time.

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