The Latest Fishing Information
Spring Chinook salmon season on lower Columbia extended four days
Through Monday, the spring chinook count at Bonneville Dam was 222 adult fish. The five-year average for the date is 238 chinook.
It is extremely early in the upper Columbia spring chinook run, Whisler said. Typically, just 0.3 percent of the run has passed Bonneville by April 3.
The forecast for 2023 calls for 198,600 spring chinook to enter the Columbia headed for upstream of Bonneville Dam. The forecast calls for 117,000 lower Columbia spring chinook, which 71,000 are destined for Oregon’s Willamette River.
Oregon Free Fishing Days 2023
- February 18 and 19: President’s Day Weekend
- June 3 and 4: Traditional Free Fishing Weekend/Oregon State Parks free camping
- November 24 and 25: Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving
Washington Free Fishing Days 2023
“Free Fishing Weekend” is June 10-11, 2023, when fishing licenses are not required for anyone to fish for certain species in Washington.
Always Catchin' Dock Talk
Why Did They Jerk My Rod?
Have you ever had that perfect rod you found that you just love. It has the perfect action, feel, grip, weight. It becomes your best friend on the river. (You even talk to her so she knows you love her, and that she’s the best at catchin’ those fish.)
And then something terrible happens. She breaks! Whether its the big one that got away, someone steps on her, or she just wears out. Either way, you need to get her twin as soon as possible cuz the fish will start biting if you don’t have a pole.
So you go to the store, and where she used to be is an imposter! You search everywhere trying to find her, but she’s gone. You ask if they have any in the back, only to find out that they don’t make her anymore.
Well now what do you do?! Search for a new friend? Like that is easy. So you find something similar, hoping she will be as good as your last one. But the action is wrong, or the feel isn’t right. There’s just no chemistry. You talk to your buddies, hoping they can help you out. They give their recommendations, but she’s not for you.
Finally, after trying lots of different poles out, you finally find a new love! She’s not the same, but that’s okay. She feels good, the action is right, the chemistry is there. You have your new best friend.
