pdxfisher

Use a wobblehead (or football jig) instead of a CR.

I bought some of those last year but have not tried one yet. Next time I have a slow day I will break one out.

I use 3" paddletail or baby goat (about 3" long). I think any trailer in that size range is good for smallmouth.

Thanks @Rockhopper! Makes sense that some are spawning and others are waiting for the upcoming full moon next week. Did you launch at Big Ashes or did you go in through the tunnel? I have gone down to the mouth before but never went in (that was during the summer). This year I did go into Rock Cove a few times and saw some folks launching in there. I talked with a guy a few weeks back who was launching at Stevenson and going down to Ashes to troll for trout. One of these days I am sure I will see you out on the water!

Nice @Rockhopper!! Those numbers with a 4lber in the mix is a great day!! Columbia? Were the fish pre-, post-, or mid-spawn?

She cleverly tired you out with all the canoe paddling then gave you a paddling with the bass

It is hard to beat a wacky rigged worm or a Ned rig on a tough day. Great job in dialing it in!

Sounds like the fishing was hotter than the air temp!! Toughing out those conditions in the yak really paid off but I bet you had a headache the next day after fishing in that heat (but sounds like it would be worth it!).

Glad you could get out and have some success! Hope you feel stronger soon!

Probably 10 to 20% of the smallmouth I catch have red eyes. It is pretty common.

That just sounds like a magical place!

Wow! What a great trip! Catching 58 bass but 58 really nice bass! You probably have to carb load before you go fishing!

Looks like a wonderful day on the water! Thanks for sharing your happiness!! That was some fancy footwork (rod work) in landing that big pike!!

I got skunked a lot more often when I lived on the East coast compared to out here in the PNW. One thing I don't miss about the East coast is how variable the weather is and how much it affects fish behavior. The Columbia river flows and clarity don't vary hugely for a given time of year. That makes fish behavior and fishing a lot more predictable (and easier). I wish you better luck on your next trip!

If it is deep then a wobblehead or swing-head jig. The football head shape is good around rocks. How deep is the spot? If it is shallow then a wacky rigged senko would probably work well. Also staying above the snags with a swimbait or jerkbait would likely also produce.

When you say the fishing is hot you mean the fishing is hot! Nice fish on a brutal sounding day!

Beautiful fish and water! 56 is sore wrist time! You are the only person I know who has to be careful to leave enough strength in your arms to get back to your launch

Thanks! I love Patrick McManus! Laughing at days like that is better than crying about them

...unfortunately so were most of the trout I guess I should not complain since I did catch 24 trout but I would guess I missed at least 2 or 3 for every one that I caught. Plus add in the number I lost right at the kayak and it could have been a monster day but overall it was still a good day. There are trout everywhere! You could see them rising and splashing on the surface all over the no-wake zone all day long. There were sections where they were denser but it seemed like you would be hard pressed to find a stretch of water that was not showing some activity. I probably got a bite about every 5 minutes or so pretty much all day long. The trout were really trying hard to get caught all day long but I felt like I was doing everything in my power to make that not happen I think I peaked my ineptitude half way through the morning when I hooked a double and lost each fish right at the kayak as I was reaching for them with the net. Maybe I got so many bites because they knew they were pretty safe in biting my line The only thing I found that seemed to make a difference is that once the wind picked up a little I seemed to get bit more often trolling downwind as opposed to upwind. I was guessing that perhaps when there is a steady breeze that the trout tend to face into the wind to feed on the midges as the wind sweeps them by. I caught most of my fish on my usual 1/24oz roostertail and trailer hook with a 1/2 nightcrawler. I also caught fish on small flatfish and on a small minnow plug. I am not sure if it even mattered what I was trolling. Depth made seemed to make some difference. I started the day with 1/8oz on the dropper and 60' of line out. As the sun rose that bite slowed so I went to 80' out and that worked for an hour or two. Finally I increased the weight on the dropper to 1/4 oz and 80' of line out and that worked the rest of the day. I was excited to try out my new Daiwa Lexa 100 LC reels. I was replacing some older Daiwa ICV (digital LC reels) that I could that had some issues and I could not get parts for - even from Daiwa (they said they are too old for them to stock parts). Recently I was able to find a place in Florida that had some parts and I was able to mostly repair them but since I had the new reels I figured I would fish with them and just keep the ICVs as back up reels. I will say that I really love the new Lexa's. They performed great. The free spool nicely and the drag is buttery smooth. Now the biggest trout I caught were probably 15 or 16" so it was not an acid test but when the fish surged the drag was silky. Plus I don't have to worry about the battery dying on them while I am out on the water. Water temp was 63F when I got there and was 66-67F in the afternoon. I brought some bass gear but never picked it up. My shoulders were happy to keep trolling all day long. Water clarity is great. I did not use any kind of dodger or flasher in front of my spinners. Maybe having that erratic action would have caused the trout to bite harder but it is more fun to reel in the fish without that extra stuff on the line. I would say if you pretty much want some guaranteed action get out to Hagg. Here is a picture of one of the average sized trout just to include a picture and a video from the day.

Agreed that we are lucky to get to fish in productive waters that are not over pressured. Wow! That is a great landing ratio!!

Good thing you could keep yourself warm reeling in those beautiful bass

I would say most of the time I am in the same "boat" as @Swamp Girl but if I think there is a chance a fast moving bait will work I always start searching with one first. I rarely search with a slow bait unless I have already established that it is the only way to get bit that day. The definition of a fast bait changes depending on what I am targeting. If it is a 6' flat it will be vibrating jig or perhaps a 1.5 and my slow bait is something like a Senko. If I am searching rockpiles in 20'-30' of water my "fast" bait is a wobblehead and my slow baits are a drop shot or a Ned rig. I think I am doing what 99% of folks do. Trying to eliminate unproductive water as quickly as possible and spend as much time as possible on water that is holding fish. The one thing I have become much better at the past few years is not staying on a spot after the bite has died on that spot. I used to waste so much time fishing a spot that gave up a few fish long after I had my last bite. Basically, if I stop getting bit on one lure I will quickly cycle (a few casts each) through my other options and then if I have not had a bite I will leave.

I check the wind multiple times a day. I try to stop but I can only go so long before I need a fix. I check the windy.com, windfinder.com and on my phone I paid for windy.app (yes that is the name). I also look at the wind forecast on wundeground and finally I have a subscription to a daily wind assessment for the Columbia Gorge from the https://thegorgeismygym.com/ Basically I never stop monitoring the wind. I will fish through any kind of precipitation and any temp above freezing as long as the wind forecast is not dangerous. The Columbia river in the gorge can turn into a washing machine with several foot waves in no time flat. That is bad news in the kayak!

Not enough info about lake to really respond but in clear water the two approaches that tend to work for me are very natural presentations or very high speed/erratic presentations. Natural presentations would include a Ned rig, slider head with a small worm or tube, shaky head, wacky rigged senko, 3" swimbait, spy bait. Fast/erratic would include burning a crankbait, jerk bait fished fast or a topwater walking bait.

When I get out I make a day of it. I spend 6-10 hours on the water depending on conditions. I feel like the long days allow me to be relaxed while searching for that first bite and I don't mind experimenting with new techniques since I plenty of time.