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Fall fishing brings many opportunities to fisherman on the Columbia River. The best part about this time of year is the size of the fish. Chinook are the main target on the Columbia, and there’s a good reason for it. Imagine hooking into a 40-50lb salmon and bringing it to the boat. Well this is the time of year for it. With anticipated strong runs of salmon migrating up the river many fisherman are looking to hook into the big one. Nothing is more relaxing than sitting on a boat with friends enjoying the warm weather and hooking monster salmon. With these simple tips and tactics you can go out and hook one yourself.

Fishing for salmon this time of year is a little different but very easy and straight forward. With warm water temperatures, it can be a struggle to get a bite at times. Your best luck will be found in the deeper water where the water will be cooler and fish will be more active. Try and locate water between 40-50ft but be careful not to get into the shipping lane or you and your boat will end up at the bottom of the big C. To start out you’ll want to check the tides for the area you are fishing, because you’re always going to be fishing the outgoing tide. Fishing the outgoing tide will allow you to stay on anchor and for your lure to properly work. The setup is simple, I start with my main line which is around 50 or 65lb braided line. I connect the line to a spreader and then attach my weight. As far as line lengths go, the most typical setup is a 5x5. This means 5ft of leader from the spreader to the lure and another 5ft from the spreader to the weight. Just because a lot of people use those lengths doesn’t mean it’s the only thing that’s going to work so don’t be afraid to vary lengths until you find what is best for the day. All that’s left on the setup now is just run your leader to your lure. The main lure used this time of year is called a wobbler. There are several companies that make these lures, top choices are, the Simons, Alvins, Clancy, and Brads Wobblers. Colors will always vary from day to day so carry a selection. Reliable colors are blue and nickel or chartreuse and nickel. As far as how much lead to use, it will depend on how deep you are and how strong of a tide you have. I will use anywhere from 8-12oz of lead most of the time. Sometimes as an extra attractant you can add scent there are many to choose from but my favorites are shrimp, sardine, WD40 or herring.

With these tactics you now have the basics on how to fish for fall Chinook on the Columbia. All that is left to do is head out to river and put it all to work and enjoy the weather and fishing with your friends Get off the computer now and get out there and put a 40 pound Chinook in your boat!

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