In the midst of this COVID-19 stay at home order, we all just have to get out now and then.
After Washington closed all recreational fishing, Oregon quickly followed suit and closed the Columbia for all salmon and steelhead fishing. They allowed fishing on the Columbia for all other species which tells me this closure has absolutely nothing to do with the pandemic crisis and more about bad fish management. I will leave it at that for a discussion another day.
Anyway, back to my post…..I thought I had read that Oregon also closed the state to all recreational fishing like Washington. I had not seen any posts of anyone fishing. I basically wrote off springer fishing for 2020. After some time, I did start to see a single post here and there of people catching springers. At first, I assumed this was just people posting of fish caught in past years. I finally got curious enough and talked to someone that was apparently in the know more than me and they said they have been fishing the past few days and caught one the day prior. Holy Cow!!!! I have been missing out on some quality water time!
The very next day, my wife and I headed out. I saw a post from one of the many guides I follow showing a fish they just caught in the location I was planning to target. I was having a good feeling. Got out and had our lines in the water about 2 hours before the low tide. 10 minutes into the first pass, the rod goes down. It had been so long since I caught my last salmon and dragging the bottom the way we do, I first thought I was snagged. I grabbed the rod out of the holder and immediately felt the head shakes. Adrenaline started to pump and the fight was on. The only thing going through my mind at this point was “DO NOT LOSE THIS FISH.” 🙂 After a couple of runs, the fish finally got tired enough to bring it to the net. With my wife’s excellent netting skills, we got it in the boat. F@#K YEAH!!!! The first springer of 2020. It is by far the latest first fish of the season for many years, but I will take it.
We had a couple other drive bye’s, but nothing stuck. They were just ripping the bait and not coming back for seconds. After the tide change, we did not get another bite or saw any action on any other boat.