After a few windy days, things calmed down and we were able to get a few days of smallmouth bass fishing on the Columbia River. The river water has warmed up, in the low to mid sixties, maybe a bit warmer in the shallower spots. As is always the case on the Columbia, another variable has come into play; the level of the water in the river has come up quite a bit because a lot of water is being released from The Dalles Dam. Since the river flow has been increased, there are more currents and eddys, so you must be careful on a small kayak.
For a couple days, we fished the rocky banks on the main river. We caught a number of fish, mostly smaller ones. With the higher water level, the shoreline changes and the fish must be moving around with all the new underwater structure, so the fishing spots that were great last week are not there anymore. Smallmouth bass fishing here involves a lot of looking around, a fishfinder really helps locate underwater structure. So, smallmouth bass hunting we go.
Yesterday, when we arrived at the boat launch, the weather had changed a bit and it was obvious the wind was going to be a factor.
There are a number of small bays adjacent to the main river channel, because it was too windy on the river, we would be limited to fishing the bays. Being caught downstream with increased current flow when a 15-20mph wind kicks up is not where you want to be in a fishing kayak. The usual spots weren’t really producing anyway, might as well start looking for the fish 100 yards off the launch. Turned out to be a great day of fishing with very little paddling. Smallmouth bass move around a lot, when you find them, usually there’s good fishing in store.
After catching a few smaller fish, I started casting the trusty lead head grub near one of the small islands near the main river channel when a smallmouth came out of a couple feet of water and hit the grub about 15′ from the kayak. After a great fight on ultralight tackle, I had this nice smallmouth on the boat.
No more than ten minutes later, just a short paddle from where I caught one good sized bass, I had another big hit and another big fish on the line. After another great battle, I landed this really nice smallmouth bass. Definitely the biggest bass of the year so far.
This is one of the biggest smallmouth bass I’ve ever caught on the Columbia River. Not sure how big the bass in the river can get, but we are headed back out again as soon as the weather and conditions permit. With the higher river level, once the bass get settled in, the smallmouth fishing should be about as good as it gets.