It’s mid summer, pretty hot, water temps are up and the water level in the Columbia River is low; not an ideal situation for smallmouth bass fishing, but with light winds and a sunny day, why not give it a try?
It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm with light and variable winds, although they did kick up to about ten miles an hour or so. Along with the strong currents of the Columbia River, it’s always a lot of paddling. The idea is to cast the lures up against the rocks that line the riverbank. It drops off pretty quick and the bass hang out along these steep river banks. The river is at least ten feet below prime conditions so the bass move a little deeper.
Given the mid summer conditions, the bass were biting pretty good. In the morning, they were hitting the green and orange spinnerbait, as the sun came up they really went for a shad swimbait that went a little deeper into the water
Seven hours of paddling and casting, where’s the beer?