Trolling for Spring Salmon

Since this weekend was the closure of spring salmon on the Columbia, we made another push to get onto a fish.

We worked hard trolling around Sand Island just off from St. Helens, OR... alot of fish caught around us, but no love for our boat!

The day started off cool, but not cold, and we were positive we'd see a fish...


As the current picked up, and sun came out, we anchored up along the island to fish kwikfish plugs.

The weather was beautiful, and the youngest quickly got bored.

Note to captain - bring some electronic devices next time for bored 8 year olds...



There were alot of boats out there! About 200 of our new best friends out trying to find a fish.

We didn't see the boats below us ever hook a fish.






We did see the bankies on the island catch a few! They really did well this weekend - we saw one camp land 7 fish, with a double hookup!

It was like kicking an ant-hill... a bell would ring, and people would stream out of the big tent and race to the fishingpoles...

Next time we're going to take a cow-bell in the boat to mess with the bankies!

The boat next to us had a fire-drill... and put a nice fish in the boat, too.


Still no fish for the boats below us, but this gave us renewed hope.





And that hope paid off! The rod went down, the hook was set, and the fish was ON!

This teenager got his first springer. A nice 15 lbs fish without a fin. Hooray!

Suddenly, the day was worth every minute of it...



We asked if it was the fish of his dreams... "eh..." he replied. "it was ok, but not really too big..."

Thats the trouble with this boat crew - too spoiled with 30 lbs fall fish! Still, he was happy and that is worth it.

This was HIS favorite picture of the day...



We waited out the rest of the tide under the cover of the boat top - it got hot out!


No more action for our boat, but we all had a big smile on our faces.







This was DAD's favorite picture of the day...


Fresh BBQ fish - yum!

It was good to get the stink off the boat and take a fish home. The effort paid off in that we also found some good spots for the next trip. Will we get another fish? Stay tuned!