Where to Fish - Columbia River

Smallmouth are aggressive Part of our series on fishing locally in the Hood River/Columbia Gorge area. Species:  Smallmouth bass, American s...

Smallmouth are aggressive

Part of our series on fishing locally in the Hood River/Columbia Gorge area.

Species:  Smallmouth bass, American shad, coho salmon, summer steelhead, carp.

Seasons:  Smallmouth - year-round.  Shad - June/July.  Coho - September/October (check regs for closures)

Location:  Between Bonneville and The Dalles Dams

The mighty Columbia is a juggernaut of a river.  A culmination of Public Works Administration dams has made this river into a series of slow moving lakes, albeit huge masses of water. 

Bonneville dam, the lowest dam on the river, sits at the lower end of the Colulmbia Gorge, about 20 miles downstream of Hood River.  The Dalles dam is about 20 miles upstream of Hood River, above the town of The Dalles and below the mouth of the Deschutes.  

The area between Bonneville and The Dalles dams has opportunities for some great fishing.  Many anglers show up in town thinking that we are fly fishing for steelhead and salmon on the main part of the river, but that is typically not the case.  It is a fantastic smallmouth bass fishery as well as a great place to catch American shad when they are in. Coho salmon can be taken on a fly in the Columbia, but it is not a very popular place to do it.  Very little fly fishing happens in the Columbia, and it is somehwere around 80% targeting smallmouth bass, 15% towards shad and the rest split between coho and carp and a couple of guys that target steelhead when in season. 

Most of the superb smallmouth fishing happens in the

Smallie from a float tube in the Columbia

spring. Big fish can be found in shallow water and are eager to take a streamer.  While most fly angling happens from a boat or float tube, there is some limited bank access on both the Washington and Oregon sides of the river.  Bank anglers must have the license for whichever state they are standing in, but boat anglers can have either license. 

Smallmouth tend to get a little deeper in the summer, but can still be found at a few places with bank access.  Locals like to fish the Hood River Marina for smallies during the summer.  No fishing from a boat is allowed in the marina, but there is sufficient walking access. It does get very windy here in the summer almost every day, so plan accordingly. 

The fishing gets better again in the fall.  The wind lays down and smallies move into slack water and gorge on baby shad. A little white popper or clouser is magic in September and October.  Fall is definitely the best time to crush big smallmouth on topwater patterns.  They chase streamers in the spring, but they really go after topwater in the fall.

Shad are a really underappreciated fish around here.  They were introduced into the Sacramento River, CA in 1870, migrated to the Columbia and have been increasing in numbers here ever since.  These fish are eager to take a fly, fight like a little tarpon and are rarely targeted by fly anglers.

There are a couple of places to catch shad locally.  The most popular is below and just above Bonneville dam on either side of the river.  Another is a bit of  drive, but just below John Day dam on the Washington side is an excellent area.  There is more room for fly anglers there than Bonneville.  While fly anglers are rare, plenty of spin anglers like to catch shad, and it can get crowded at the locations where the fish are easily caught.

Coho salmon do like to stack up off the mouths of tributaries and are often in shallow enough water to offer fly anglers a good day of fishing.  It is not incredibly popular to chase them in the big river with a fly rod, but it does happen.  I think most fly anglers prefer a more intimate setting of a small tributary instead of a river flowing at 250,000 cubic feet per second. 

Smallmouth are the most targeted species

Steelhead can be found in a couple of spots where small creeks or rivers dump into the Columbia.  There are a few dedicated fly anglers that use float tubes to target steelhead in the summer, when it is open. I do not recommend getting into a float tube on the Columbia River without some major experience and knowledge.  The river does move much quicker than it looks and the wind gets incredibly bad very quickly in the summer, and without knowing the exact spot that you need to be, you can get into trouble very quickly. 

Carp fishing is slowly becoming more accepted and popular.  More anglers anglers are doing it every year, and there are some great opportunities around here.  Several shallow flats exist where you can stalk a carp or two.  You just need a day where it is not windy, which is rare in the summer here.

While the Columbia River has more water in it than anyone could ever fish, it is not the primary or even secondary place that we like to use a fly rod.  It is a place where we might go out a couple of times in the spring for smallmouth and maybe a trip or two out to catch some shad each year, but most fly anglers do like to fish smaller, prettier water.  Ease of access and the variety of fish available is what makes this a fishery to explore.