Chinook SSSF
06-10-2009, 02:35 PM
By Matthew Clark SSSF Staff
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs1bsm.jpg
One could expect a typical "lets hop in the jet boat, get the shad and go after the oversized" post from the title, and there is certainly nothing wrong with such a post by any means. That said, lets knock it back down to ground level for a few and hang out with the bank anglers and sturgeon that crawl out of the urban woodwork for the anticipated annuall Columbia River shad run! Man that sound cool dont it! So now that we are back down on planet earth where the little guy and the half day angler can go out and smack around a bunch of giant herring for just a few bucks and do it on just about whatever gear you like best...
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs4sm.jpg
The Bonneville shad fisherie always interests me because there is this sort of elemental boundry line at the waters edge where humans and beast meet without conflict for the soul purpose of finding these tasty large scaled fish. Many things in our environment have now come to depend on these non-native fish. For the sturgeon this is partly due to a man made illusion of a feeding lane created by bloody piles of shad at the edge of the river. The blood trail attracts fish from miles down river. Having fished for American shad [Alosa Sapodissima (http://northwestfishing.info/showthread.php?t=54)] in many places in California and Oregon I feel this is truly a unique place with some very unique happenings.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs6sm.jpg
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs7sm.jpg
Fishing is very good as the peak of the shad run loads the system and all walks of life are looking to get into the action. It is not uncommon during the peak to see many fish hooked at the same time with tripple headers in your visuall range almost constant as batches of fish in the thousands pass by. This is a crowded fisherie and you need to know what you are doing, not only to catch the fish but to blend into the working crowd of lines and flying shad darts. Remember, you have the option to sit down and observe how anglers are fishing for a few minutes before you try your luck.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs2sm.jpg
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs0.jpg
My gear for fishing this area and others near bye consists of a standard Lamiglas steelhead 8,6 drift rod with 12 lb mono or 30 lb spider wire. I often use the spider wire here because the fish bite soft at times and the no stretch braid line aids in automatic hookups while reeling in with virtually no need to set the hook.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs3sm.jpg
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs5sm.jpg
The last 2 seasons I have been running shad darts by T&T Jig Supply Co. [Our own TTJLN and Wormslayer] and I have found these to be right on par with what I need. They attract fish very well and the paint holds up great in the harsh rocky tailrace at Bonneville. darts in all green or a combo of green and blood red are my go to colors although there are certainly many other colors to try. I fish these shad darts rigged just like a steelhead drift rig with about an 18" leader of 12lb mono between the jig and swivel. I add a 2" or 3" section of 1/4 hollow core to the swivels snap. The lead is attached with the use of hole punch pliers. This rig is casted out and slowly reeled in until a strike occures. The idea is to reel in slow while the current causes a slight drift. Your not trying to achieve a drift but to get a deep swinging retrieve that tends to entice the fish into striking.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs8sm.jpg
One of the days I recently fished for Columbia River shad some 77,000 fish had crossed over Bonneville dam so I ran up to Cascade Locks and sure enough, the fish had arrived in full force. Anglers fish a little different here with a heavy 2oz lead being tied on the bottom and 3 darts are attached going up the main line in 12 inch increments. This rig is swung left to right close against the inside walls of the locks.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs9.jpg
The area within Bonneville Power closes at 5:00 PM sharp each day but there are other areas to consider such as Hamilton across the river on the Washington side or around The Dalles dam farther up river. cascade locks is just a few miles up the road from Bonneville and offers plenty of bucket filling options for those wishing to fish through the evening. I enjoy all of these areas because I preffer to stay in the Columbia Gorge each trip just long enough to catch the always stunning sunsets.
..............More info on American Shad fishing. Video, links and photos! (http://northwestfishing.info/showthread.php?t=54)
..........
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs1bsm.jpg
One could expect a typical "lets hop in the jet boat, get the shad and go after the oversized" post from the title, and there is certainly nothing wrong with such a post by any means. That said, lets knock it back down to ground level for a few and hang out with the bank anglers and sturgeon that crawl out of the urban woodwork for the anticipated annuall Columbia River shad run! Man that sound cool dont it! So now that we are back down on planet earth where the little guy and the half day angler can go out and smack around a bunch of giant herring for just a few bucks and do it on just about whatever gear you like best...
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs4sm.jpg
The Bonneville shad fisherie always interests me because there is this sort of elemental boundry line at the waters edge where humans and beast meet without conflict for the soul purpose of finding these tasty large scaled fish. Many things in our environment have now come to depend on these non-native fish. For the sturgeon this is partly due to a man made illusion of a feeding lane created by bloody piles of shad at the edge of the river. The blood trail attracts fish from miles down river. Having fished for American shad [Alosa Sapodissima (http://northwestfishing.info/showthread.php?t=54)] in many places in California and Oregon I feel this is truly a unique place with some very unique happenings.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs6sm.jpg
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs7sm.jpg
Fishing is very good as the peak of the shad run loads the system and all walks of life are looking to get into the action. It is not uncommon during the peak to see many fish hooked at the same time with tripple headers in your visuall range almost constant as batches of fish in the thousands pass by. This is a crowded fisherie and you need to know what you are doing, not only to catch the fish but to blend into the working crowd of lines and flying shad darts. Remember, you have the option to sit down and observe how anglers are fishing for a few minutes before you try your luck.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs2sm.jpg
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs0.jpg
My gear for fishing this area and others near bye consists of a standard Lamiglas steelhead 8,6 drift rod with 12 lb mono or 30 lb spider wire. I often use the spider wire here because the fish bite soft at times and the no stretch braid line aids in automatic hookups while reeling in with virtually no need to set the hook.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs3sm.jpg
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs5sm.jpg
The last 2 seasons I have been running shad darts by T&T Jig Supply Co. [Our own TTJLN and Wormslayer] and I have found these to be right on par with what I need. They attract fish very well and the paint holds up great in the harsh rocky tailrace at Bonneville. darts in all green or a combo of green and blood red are my go to colors although there are certainly many other colors to try. I fish these shad darts rigged just like a steelhead drift rig with about an 18" leader of 12lb mono between the jig and swivel. I add a 2" or 3" section of 1/4 hollow core to the swivels snap. The lead is attached with the use of hole punch pliers. This rig is casted out and slowly reeled in until a strike occures. The idea is to reel in slow while the current causes a slight drift. Your not trying to achieve a drift but to get a deep swinging retrieve that tends to entice the fish into striking.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs8sm.jpg
One of the days I recently fished for Columbia River shad some 77,000 fish had crossed over Bonneville dam so I ran up to Cascade Locks and sure enough, the fish had arrived in full force. Anglers fish a little different here with a heavy 2oz lead being tied on the bottom and 3 darts are attached going up the main line in 12 inch increments. This rig is swung left to right close against the inside walls of the locks.
http://www.smallstreamsalmonfishing.com/sssfimages/hostedimages08/bs9.jpg
The area within Bonneville Power closes at 5:00 PM sharp each day but there are other areas to consider such as Hamilton across the river on the Washington side or around The Dalles dam farther up river. cascade locks is just a few miles up the road from Bonneville and offers plenty of bucket filling options for those wishing to fish through the evening. I enjoy all of these areas because I preffer to stay in the Columbia Gorge each trip just long enough to catch the always stunning sunsets.
..............More info on American Shad fishing. Video, links and photos! (http://northwestfishing.info/showthread.php?t=54)
..........