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Wife and I just returned from chasing Kings and Silvers up on the Columbia River for a few days. The King run was fantastic this year. Lots of Silvers in the 10# range, too, but. Many were natives that had to be released. Largest King was 28#. During one stretch had 5 on in an hour ... only boated two of them.
Long pull with the boat ... 17 hours to Ilwaco, but it was worth it to us. Can't wait to go back next year, God willing and the creek don't rise!
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That's a pretty stellar weekend! I'll make it up there some day....
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I was up there on the 12th with three of my son in laws. We caught our kings, largest 33 lbs. See attached picture. We also caught three Coho that had to be released.
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Beautiful fish.
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Congratulations on a great catch. We were there from the 10th thru the 18th and stayed up on the peninsula with some family. Next year we're going to rent a house for the entire month so we don't feel we have to fish every day.
Again congratulations. You are lucky to have such good son-in-laws!
Trueblue2
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Did you catch them on this side of the bridge, or were you out beyond the breakwater?
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We were between buoy 10 and about half way to the bridge. The Kings were all on the "red line" on the south side. We caught the silvers all on the north channel.
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Not being familiar with the area I have a couple of questions - if you do not mind:
1. are you fishing upstream of the Astoria bridge? (not sure where buoy 10 is located?)
2. Being on the south side, does this require an Oregon license?
3. What are the regs for taking kings and silvers?
BTW - very nice fish & thanks for the report. We passed through Rainier, Oregon the last week of July & talked with a couple of the locals and they had some nice kings 20 - 25 lbs.
4. How long are these fish running?
Those are some nice fish - both post with photos! Congrats.
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This is how I understand it, but we fished with a guide.
1. are you fishing upstream of the Astoria bridge? (not sure where buoy 10 is located?)
[#ff4040]This is what I read online. "Buoy 10 is at the mouth of the Columbia River, just before the jetties.[/#ff4040]
[#ff4040]Among anglers, the term “Buoy 10” refers not just to the buoy marking the western end of a fisheries management zone, but really the entire lower estuary fishing area from the buoy clear up to Tongue Point just east of Astoria".[/#ff4040] We caught (3) Kings in the morning downstream from the bridge and (1) in the afternoon upstream.
[#ff4040][/#ff4040]
2. Being on the south side, does this require an Oregon license? [#ff4040][/#ff4040][#ff4040]To fish the Columbia River in this area you must have an Oregon or Washington license. We were staying in Washington, but purchased our license in Oregon because it was a little cheaper.[/#ff4040]
3. What are the regs for taking kings and silvers?
[#ff4040]When we were fishing it was (1) King adipose fin clipped or not, and (1) Silver adipose fin must be clipped. Or (2) Silvers with fin clipped. August 24th they made this change for Kings, (1) King and adipose fin must be clipped. Starting Aug. 30th to Sept. 30th all Kings must be released[/#ff4040].
BTW - very nice fish & thanks for the report. We passed through Rainier, Oregon the last week of July & talked with a couple of the locals and they had some nice kings 20 - 25 lbs.
4. How long are these fish running? [#ff4040]Not sure, but our guide says it usually peaks around the 3rd week of August.[/#ff4040]
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If anyone is interest I will try to post a link to a video of our Chinook fishing trip on the Columbia River. Be warned it is about 11-minutes long.
Sorry could not embed the video.
Try searching the title below in YouTube:
"2015 King Salmon Fishing Columbia River "
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Awesome report! It makes me hungry for salmon and even hungrier for salmon fishing!
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Thanks for sharing your salmon adventure.
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Did those pesky sea lions give you any problems?
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Thanks for the reply! Great info.
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Interestingly, we saw more whales in the lower part of the river than sea lions. They were humpbacks and seemed to travel q hickey. Tried to get pictures but couldn't catch up with them.
Several sea lions were hanging around. We left the area when we saw them and were able to avoid a confrontation! I guess I should saw I think we didn't have a confrontation ... We lost so many salmon that it's possible they stripped one or two from us.
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Thanks for sharing your trip and pictures.
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Did you hire a guide or trailer your own boat up?
I have never fished up there but would love to plan a trip next year. Could a guy trailer a boat up there and do reasonably well?
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I've been up to the Columbia four times in the last 10 years. I take my boat so I can go out as often as I want. The pull to Ilwaco takes about 17 hours. I've never had an incident on the road, but I do serious maintenance before I start out with the trailer.
I don't like going with guides. I realize that won't be a popular statement, but I don't like anyone touching my rod but me and sometimes the guides can be downright ornery. Anyway, I do my own research and its ok if I make some mistakes.
The season for Kings is only the month of August and you will need to get reservations for accommodations early. The marinas are usually booked up a year in advance so you will likely have to launch each day.
I can give you more info if you want. Just send me a PM if you are interested. Trueblue
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] Thanks for sharing!
