Springer season was fantastic!

[Shocktower]

I can`t wait when the hit the Clak :f ood-smiley-014:

[Davy]

Originally Posted by Shocktower

I can`t wait when the hit the Clak :f ood-smiley-014:

uh huh,

It was a great time, 14 boatable ones , 5 fins

[TimeOut2_DH]

Yes, it was not bad on the Big C this year! No need to post numbers but did have a blast out there. I will second 5 for Fighting in saying that I'm not giving up because they closed it below the Big Wall. Gotta luv 2 fish limit's up above with years like these

[catch and eat]

Oh it ain't over by any stretch of the imagination. Went out with the "Sellwood Savage" Teton last night for our after work fishing on Wednesday night. Watched the Sultan jump aboard his boat for all but 5 minutes and hook a hatchery keep and then jump back off his boat and head home. He was not even suppose to be there. wonder how he explained the fish to the wife? he he.

We both agreed that if we did not hook anything by 7pm we would call it a night as the weather was just miserable. Talk about close timing. We were just finishing up our troll across the river when I get hooked up with a fish. 7:03pm! Crackered that fish and stomped around the boat like a 6 year old. Finally got my composure back and put on another herring as the "Sellwood Savage" announced we are staying now. There is a fish here! He turned the boat around and went right over the spot where I had just lost the fish. Back in the water again and I am bouncing along the bottom as we start to climb back up the shelf. "Dave, I'm getting bit again!" Dave replies "no way!".

After what seems an eternity of doing the statue imitation the fish starts swimming up river with my bait. "time to set the hook". "FISH ON!" I begin to yell at this fish telling it what was about to happen to it. I'm sure Dave had not seen this side of me before but I wanted revenge. I'm almost convinced it was the same fish that bit just a few minutes earlier. 18#'s of springer hen came aboard to which I offered her Knighthood with the wood shampoo'r. Hatchery tag number one is full. Heading to Joe's tonight to purchase another one.

Springer season ain't over baby!

[catch and eat]

Maybe I should change the title to Springer season is not over.....yet. Pop left the house at 8am this morning for a short troll in the Willy. 10:50 hookup and one hatchery springer in the boat. He's still got it.

[Fred Archer]

DANG! Bernie, I was hoping to get an EggSpider up there for you to try on those springers, but was too wrapped up in other stuff to get to. They're catching the heck out of konkanees and lake rainbows and I sure was hot to see what would happen with them spring things! Interesting thing to me is those other fish are only hitting the chasebait (chase egg) and not the pod (cloud?) of eggs in front of it. I guess those other fish eat eggs one or two at a time? Shoot! I dunno.

They would pick this year to shut down the salmon down thisaway!

Oh, well...

[catch and eat]

Fred, I think it goes back to the weakest, easiest bait in the spread to take just like the tuna and salmon dredges you designed. I'd love to give one of those a go up at Bonneville behind a jumbo diver with a small cluster of egg as a chaser.

Wonder how they would work in the Portland harbor trolling suspended with a cut plug herring chaser? I bet they would be the shizzle.

My 8 year old son Daylin and I took the Glacier Bay out for a pre halibut shake down run yesterday. We launch in the Columbia and did a run up into the Willamette all the way up to the Fremont Bridge. Had a couple of salmon polls along so we decided to give trolling a go. Now the Glacier Bay has twin 150's and no kicker so we move right along at 2.8 mph on one motor trolling down hill. We like to zig and zag to slow progress down hill and this seems to entice the bite a bit more and we cover a lot of water this way.

We were trolling about a 1.4 mile and I was pointing out a fish here and there to Daylin on the fish finder. We were zigging to port and cutting across the river toward the other side when DAylin said, "Dad, look at all the fish on the finder". Not knowing if they were shad or salmon I decided to make a lap up river and cut back through the group of fish he had spotted.

As we turned back down river another boat asked if we had anything and I replied no but we were marking fish in the middle of the river. That boat had not been marking anything until they two moved out. Just as I straightened the boat out to Zag the other way Daylin yells about his rod. I run back and grab it, no body home. Darn, missed our chance.

I told him to reel up we were going to run right back up to the top again and hit that school of fish. Biters had to be in that school. Up we went and once again deployed our gear. I got on the phone and called my dad to tell him what had just happened. As we were talking I told DAylin to keep a sharp eye on his rod. FISH!!!!! he exclaimed. I threw the boat in N and got the rod with the fish on it out of the holder and handed it to Daylin. This was one hot fish. blistering runs, zig, zag, down, whatever this fish was going to give it his best. Daylin was having a blast with this fish and did a great job getting the fish to the boat. This fish was not done though. It jumped right at the boat and landed on the leader. The fish was now tail wrapped and it was the fish that was now in control. Daylin could not control this fish as it blistered off more line. I reached down and tightened the drag in what I now feel was a bit hastly of an action. Instead of chasing down the fish we opted to try muscle. We chose poorly. "Tink", and now nothing but the weights on the line were felt. The beast had broken the bottom hook off the herring rig and regained his freedom.

This was not a huge fish but a respectable 18#'r that was one of the hottest fish of the season. Daylin did a great job and should be proud of his effort on this fish. It was just not meant to be for some reason.

"Dad, I will never forget that fish. I'm gonna remember that fight for a long time". Beaten but not defeated Daylin remain a happy camper just having the fight of his life with a fish that just wanted to live more than Daylin wanted him for dinner. They boy has a great attitude and perspective. "We don't have to kill everything right?" He's heard me say this from time to time and he is most certainly right.

Great weather, great weekend and great opportunities abound. Hoping for calm seas this weekend for the CR halibut opener. I'm ready. Hope you guys are too.

[glockem]

This morning on the Willy: two lost, one wild released, and a 17 pounder in the box. Naked spinners. Not much pressure.