Salmon Fever?

I just drove by Chinook Landing, a local boat launch area for the Columbia River. The parking lot is completely full! Almost 200 trucks with trailers are in the lot. But where is the Salmon? Well, they aren’t quite here yet. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife monitors the catch rate on the rivers. Last Saturday there were 3248 boats on the river. Only 209 salmon were caught. Bonneville Damn fish ladder has counted less then 700 salmon this month. It’s just too early to be salmon fishing! Monitor the fish counts at Bonneville. When the daily counts reach the 500 mark, it’s time to go.

So why are so many people Salmon fishing? Most are afraid they will miss the season. Last year the river was shut down mid-run, because the catch rate was so high. I believe that many are fearful of something similar happening this year.

That’s why I don’t guide for Salmon. I want my clients to have the best opportunity to catch fish.

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC

Let’s Go Fishing

It’s time to dust off your fishing gear! The opening of Henry Hagg lake is March 7th. This lake is home to some of the largest Trout in Oregon. It is a common sight to see an 8-15 pound Rainbow Trout being weighed at the Lake Stop Grocery, just down the road from the lake.

Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) is scheduled to stock the lake with 18,000 Trout a week prior to the opening. The lake receives more then 70,000 Trout throughout the year. There are also thousands of fish, which are holdovers from the previous years. These fish have not seen any bait or lures since Thanksgiving last year, so they should be ready to attack your line and give you a good fight.

The lake is also home to State Record Smallmouth Bass. The best time to catch one of these beauties is Mid April to the first week of June while they are in the flats during the spawn.

You can also see Bald Eagles and Osprey feeding on the fish in the lake.

The lake is located in Scroggins Valley, just south of Forest Grove, Oregon and off highway 47.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

BALLOON FISHING

Before I had a boat, I would get frustrated when I could see the Trout jumping and feeding on the surface, but I could not cast that far. I knew if I could get my bait or fly out to the fish, I could catch them. If only I had Jesus shoes, so I could walk on water. I later discovered balloon fishing.

To make it work well, you will need the proper conditions. You will probably want the wind blowing at your back, so that it will carry the balloon further then you can cast. Next you will want a simple balloon. Nothing fancy. The cheaper, the better. I like the small round ones that you can get at the Dollar Store.

There are a couple of different strategies. If the fish are on the surface, then blow the balloon up about half to three quarters of the way full. The wind or breeze will cause your bait to cover a lot of surface area. In these cases tie the balloon to your main line about 3’ above the hook. Cast it out and let the wind do the rest. This works especially well when fishing for Brown Trout. They tend to get spooked easily. Fishing a long ways off will preventing spooking the fish. That is also why you will need a lot of line out when trolling for these beauties.

The next way is if you want to drop your bait into a deep hole far from shore. This time you could blow the balloon up full. Tie it to your line and allow the heat of the sun to continue to expand the balloon until it pops. It will then drop your bait to the bottom. It’s sometimes difficult to calculate the exact location with this method.

The most calculating method is to use a thread to tie the balloon to your line. You don’t need much. about six inches is plenty. When the balloon has reached the correct location, pull hard on you line and the thread will break. A word of caution when using this method, you will need to cast gently. Otherwise the thread will break during the cast.

So get some balloons and give it a try. Let me know how it works for you.

Ken Bear Cole
Fishing with Bear LLC

A Lingcod Trip

In today’s information age, new ideas and developments are constantly emerging in all industries. Fishing is no exception. Companies continue to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on research and development of new products. I am constantly testing new techniques for catching more fish.

This past weekend I was able to treat myself to a fishing trip on the Oregon coast. I went out with Captain’s Reel Deep Sea Fishing, out of Newport, Oregon. We were bottom fishing. I have been bottom fishing in Southern California previously, but this was different. I am used to locating the fish, anchoring and jigging for the fish. The skipper of the boat located the fish, stopped the boat and then drifted over the fish. We made a number of drifts over various schools of fish. Some of the fish must have been taking an exam, because they simply were not hungry. We did not do the fast jerking I was use to, but rather we were instructed to reel slowly to the surface. If you did not catch a fish, drop it back down and do it again.

I was a little skeptical of the new method, so I decided to try my old method first. I jerked it off the bottom and bounced it on the rocks below, to no avail. After about five minuets I tried the new technique. I started to reel slowly towards the surface. It didn’t take long for a hungry Lingcod to attack my jig. It was great to see the rod bend in half as the Ling started to strip off some line. The deck hand came over and told me not to pump the fish up. Apparently Lingcod have soft mouths. If I fought it like a bass, the hook could tear through the mouth of the Ling. I just needed to keep constant pressure on the fish, while continuing to reel slowly.

It didn’t take long to see the ugly sea monster, but this one was too small. It needed to measure 28” or more. We sent this one back to grow up. I ended up keeping one Lingcod and four Sea Bass.

It was a wonderful trip. It was nice to not need to run the boat, or net the fish. I could have taken my boat out, but I don’t know the holes, or productive lures. It was much better to go on a charter with seasoned professionals. It’s always good to fish with a knowledgeable pro!

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC