No fish counts today!
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The site has been down now for a couple of days.
Got two reports from friends fishing the Snake R. above Clarkston over the last few days. Both reports were not great as water temps are very close to 70 F. They were not picking up fish where they on most years take many.
The last fish counts showed that between 5 and 9 thousand fish a day were moving through the Snake R. dams. I would suspect that they are all hanging out right at Lewiston where the Snake and Clearwater join. It would be fun to scuba dive in that area and see if there is a huge build up of steelhead swimming in circles waiting for cooler water to go up river.
It's strange that there are so many fish this year and yet things are really slow so far.
I'll be headed over there Oct 11 for a couple of weeks of work related duties and fishing. Hope we get some rain and some snow up high that will melt during the day, got to get the temps down to at least 60.
If anyone gets over there a couple of reports would be great.
OC
Got two reports from friends fishing the Snake R. above Clarkston over the last few days. Both reports were not great as water temps are very close to 70 F. They were not picking up fish where they on most years take many.
The last fish counts showed that between 5 and 9 thousand fish a day were moving through the Snake R. dams. I would suspect that they are all hanging out right at Lewiston where the Snake and Clearwater join. It would be fun to scuba dive in that area and see if there is a huge build up of steelhead swimming in circles waiting for cooler water to go up river.
It's strange that there are so many fish this year and yet things are really slow so far.
I'll be headed over there Oct 11 for a couple of weeks of work related duties and fishing. Hope we get some rain and some snow up high that will melt during the day, got to get the temps down to at least 60.
If anyone gets over there a couple of reports would be great.
OC
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19,140 Posts
Steve -
If they are stacked I'll bet they are hitting and hitting hard at the heads of aerated pools at the first hint of glow on the morning horizon, and a few are going to take during the magic hour at dusk close enough to dark to need a flashlight to walk back to the truck.
Man, what I wouldn't do to test that theory...
If they are stacked I'll bet they are hitting and hitting hard at the heads of aerated pools at the first hint of glow on the morning horizon, and a few are going to take during the magic hour at dusk close enough to dark to need a flashlight to walk back to the truck.
Man, what I wouldn't do to test that theory...
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131 Posts
Ya right there Juro.
More people need to start to look for moving water along the shores of every dammed up river. We all seem to just look at free flowing rivers but I have found steelhead holding in the Columbia along the reservoir side of dams where rock out cropping and gravel bars stick out into the lake. Seems like no one ever fishes this water but heck it's so easy to swing a waker through the current. It's amazing how many fish can be hooked along the shore even up by Clarkston if you just look for where the original river hits up against the bank. Usually just driving the road one can see water movement along the shores for a hundred feet or so before it turns back into a lake again.
As for the first light thing you are right on, even a half hour earlier than the 1st bit of evidence of light. Of course standing in the Snake or Clearwater in total darkness is dangerous fun and a mistake can cost you your life. But it is amazing how steelhead can see a dark colored fly fished just under the surface in the dark. On good days on the Snake one can hook 3 or 4 steelhead before the first jet boat starts its noisy run at 0730 just 20 feet from you.
Better jump on a plane and come back out again !
OC
More people need to start to look for moving water along the shores of every dammed up river. We all seem to just look at free flowing rivers but I have found steelhead holding in the Columbia along the reservoir side of dams where rock out cropping and gravel bars stick out into the lake. Seems like no one ever fishes this water but heck it's so easy to swing a waker through the current. It's amazing how many fish can be hooked along the shore even up by Clarkston if you just look for where the original river hits up against the bank. Usually just driving the road one can see water movement along the shores for a hundred feet or so before it turns back into a lake again.
As for the first light thing you are right on, even a half hour earlier than the 1st bit of evidence of light. Of course standing in the Snake or Clearwater in total darkness is dangerous fun and a mistake can cost you your life. But it is amazing how steelhead can see a dark colored fly fished just under the surface in the dark. On good days on the Snake one can hook 3 or 4 steelhead before the first jet boat starts its noisy run at 0730 just 20 feet from you.
Better jump on a plane and come back out again !
OC
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19,140 Posts
Thanks for the invite, boy I wish I could get there for a weekend without spending a day traveling on either side! I don't mind traveling as many hours as I do fishing (and have done it often) but when that time is measured in days my employer and wife would both have "issues". Still, as much as I love the coastal flyfishing scene a part of my heart will never leave the pacific northwest. Someday we might have travel options that would allow us to fish opposite coasts over a weekend (super-conductive rail?).
Also I look forward to getting out for stripah with you when you visit here again. Why don't you drag Sinktip out here sometime?
Also I look forward to getting out for stripah with you when you visit here again. Why don't you drag Sinktip out here sometime?
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131 Posts
Don't know what it is about the connections one gets to where he or she originally comes from. In a day and age where people are so mobile there seems to be few roots to hold on by. Seems any more our roots are memories of another time. That black & white picture over in the saltwater section of the 54 lb striper caught in 1952 is as real to me as can be. That was my childhood, fishing with men who smoked big cigars and followed the tides quietly and secretly day and night. As you are a transplant from West to East, I am A transplant from East to West. As much as I love the mystic steelhead and the traditions there is nothing for me that stirs the soul as the sparkles of light on Cape Cod bay, the smell only the New England sea can have. Movements of tides across powdered sand and granite alike. And most of all knowing Rockus could be lurking just about anywhere, from behind a local dock not far up Weymouths Back River to the rocky night coast of Cuttyhunk where Church caught what once was the world record 73 pounder in 1917. How dare the new record come from NJ it only belongs in New England.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is I know your yearning and love for steelhead fishing and being far away from it. I could never go back to Weymouth to live because there is more to life than fishing yet the urge to hunt stripers is very strong and still consumes much of my imagination.
As for sinktip and me coming out to fish, I'll get him out in the next couple of summers that I promise. That guy is a class act who tips a good double malt on any river and I'm sure could do just as well on a shaded evening porch after a great day on the Bay. And he knows how to fish too.
Also need to thank you for the saltwater page it makes me feel at home and I can feel the excitement all the great guys over there get as April turns into May. Looking forward to meeting them all someday.
OC
I guess what I'm trying to say here is I know your yearning and love for steelhead fishing and being far away from it. I could never go back to Weymouth to live because there is more to life than fishing yet the urge to hunt stripers is very strong and still consumes much of my imagination.
As for sinktip and me coming out to fish, I'll get him out in the next couple of summers that I promise. That guy is a class act who tips a good double malt on any river and I'm sure could do just as well on a shaded evening porch after a great day on the Bay. And he knows how to fish too.
Also need to thank you for the saltwater page it makes me feel at home and I can feel the excitement all the great guys over there get as April turns into May. Looking forward to meeting them all someday.
OC
After talking to you the other night and reading this thread, I am very intrigued about this 'stillwater' steelheading. I read an article in the Steelhead Journal about stillwater steelheading but they were fishing down lower on the Columbia at the mouths of rivers and places like Drano Lake that caught my attention. It just seems that hooking up with a summer-run in such a wide open area would be blast...that fish could really tear you up with all that room to run.
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131 Posts
Ryan,
It's all there for anybody that wants to explore. I first discovered it 4 years ago while doing a lot of water quality monitoring along the Columbia. Just remember the great Columbia and Snake Rivers are still there don't let the damn dams fool you.
OC
It's all there for anybody that wants to explore. I first discovered it 4 years ago while doing a lot of water quality monitoring along the Columbia. Just remember the great Columbia and Snake Rivers are still there don't let the damn dams fool you.
OC
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