Re: Salmon & the Columbia
Remember in the lower Columbia, all the salmon are going somewhere else. Maybe one of the tributaries (Elocman, Cowlitz, Lewis, Willamette, or Snake), or up-river (Hanford Reach). If they're in their destination river, say, the Kalama, they'll hang around in pools while waiting to spawn, or until conditions are right. Sometimes....particularly fall salmon....they'll hang around the mouth of the tributary river waiting for the fall rains. But in the spring, water levels are not usually a concern, so they're zipping right along.<br /><br />Link is right, they're not interested in eating....but they are very territorial, and the prevailing wisdom is that they're hitting your lure because of the instinct to chase away any predators, or because of that instinct to eat (remember, they've just spent the last 3 years eating almost continuously). Except in the upper tributaries, where we get the milling around like Link talks about, unlike Hoods Canal salmon, Columbia river chinook (and cohos to a lesser extent) hit pretty hard, and will bend the pole immediatly (is there a neater sound in all the world than a reel zzzzz .....zzzzz ....zzzzzzzz!? <br /><br />Because of the need to conserve energy (Snake river origin fish will be traveling hundreds of miles up the Columbia), they need to keep moving, not in the middle where the currents are strongest, but along the sides where the currents are slower. That's where we anchor and/or set up our hog lines. For Willamette fish, we troll @ the mouth or canals.....very slowly.
<br /><br />Bright green K-lures in spring, size 14, 15 & 16, depending upon the current and the color of the water. Use a little smelly stuff (herring) on a piece of house insulation or foam tied on, or tie on a chunk of sardine. No divers, unless you're using cut plugs like 9.8 merc does.<br /><br />Anchor in a hog line, or if you're shy, in 25-30'. Best current is 2-3 mph, 4 tops. Fish on out-going tide, or any tide change. Troll @ the mouth of the Willamette, again slooooowwww. The big discussions are whether treble or single siwash hooks work best.<br /><br />In late spring, summer, switch to Alvins, Brads or whatever the new hot spoons are. Bright orange, reds early on, blue and darker greens toward July, August. 2003 was a silver/chrome blue or dark green year, 2004 was hammered brass with light green (gee...is it because the fish go after those colors or because everyone uses those colors? Could it be fishermen are superstitious???!!!) 
