The smallmouth bass were nowhere to be found last week, but we had much better luck this time around. It’s still pretty early in the season, so at this time of year, you may not catch many fish, might not catch any at all, but if you do find the fish, they are bigger than your average bass. The water in the Columbia River is warming up to the point where bass will start moving. The water level in the Columbia River is governed by the huge dams, the “pools” between dams is just like a big bathtub. When the water level change is sudden, the smallmouth bass don’t seem to bite as well, but it looks like the smallmouth fishing should be picking up for the spring.
It was a beautiful early spring day in the Columbia River Gorge, calm wind, sunny and warm. Still plenty of snow in the nearby mountains and the river water is still cold.
I fished for a few hours without much success, so while I was heading in I decided to try one last stop. It was worth it because I caught the first fish of the year, a decent size smallmouth plus bass number two and bass number three were bigger! Always nice to know the fish are still there.
We think the smallmouth bass fishing will start picking up, especially in the shallow sections of the river near drop-offs. It’s a good time to try for that trophy bass.