Nothing gorge-ous about that wind....

[pdxfisher]

There is a saying "There are liars, d**n liars and statisticians". Well way below that are the folks predicting the wind  I was really stoked to fish on the Sunday (the 1st) because the wind forecast looked good and had been looking good for several days. That is just the thing they do to lure you into the gorge and like a dumb monkey I can't resist that juicy banana and I fall right into their trap.

 

I got to the water around first light and was surprised that there was an East wind to start the day. Everything I had seen for days was indicating next to no wind until late in the afternoon. I was not too concerned since sometimes there is an East wind first thing in the morning that quickly dies off. Well, this one had a little bit of legs to it. It was not a fierce wind but even a 10mph East wind starts to create pretty good sized waves around Stevenson. So that is how the day started. Fishing in rolling East wind driven waves. The wind would die briefly before picking up and becoming greater than 20mph by the afternoon. Some of the gusts that hit me broadside definitely had me feeling that if I did not lean into them I was going to be tipping over. Just got kind of brutal. I think it really came down to the wind gods being angry that I teased @ol'crickety about not fishing in 10mph winds. I formally apologize from the bottom of my kayak

 

Well enough of my whining, lets get to the fishing report. It was a tough day for me. I ended up only catching 14 bass while probably pedaling close to 10 miles during the day. My best fish were a few 2+lb fish and nothing was even close to scaring 3lbs. I can't report any lengths since I did not my measuring board over the side while untangling my spinning rod from my camera battery wire. I watched it gracefully sink to oblivion while I had both hands full and was turned around backwards in my kayak. Yes, quite a day

 

I started out throwing topwater and had a series of blowups that I missed before finally getting one to stick on the walking bait. I was almost relieved once they stopped biting that thing since I could put it down and stop missing fish. After that I headed East since I like to go in the direction of the wind. That way if things get worse the wind and waves are pushing me back to the ramp. I mostly focused on fishing rock in 10-25' of water since that had ended up being the ticket the previous week. There were fish to be caught but I had a hard time finding quality.

 

The wobblehead with Zoom speed craw was what I threw the most during the course of the day. When there are good sized waves it is the easiest deepwater bait to keep contact with. I did switch from a 1/4oz to 1/2oz part way through the morning and that helped a lot. I like the 1/4oz when I can get away with it but man that extra weight is really necessary on the days the wind is constantly spinning me around. 

 

Eventually when I was on a spot about 1.5 miles East of the ramp the wind shifted around (pretty quickly) and started blowing out of the West. i decided at that point that I did not want to have another really long slog into the wind late in the day so I bailed on fishing East and headed back past the ramp and further West. Just to be spiteful as soon as I got past the ramp the wind just completely died. I think it was just trying to lure me back East but at least this time I was smart enough not to take the bait

 

I spend the rest of the day working further and further West. So many of the spots that normally hold at least some fish (and often a lot of fish) seemed barren. I struggled with controlling the the kayak in the wind and current and I don't think I was being as effective as I usually am. I think that was part of it but I also think the bite was just rather tough. For most of the day I was scratching out a fish here and a fish there on the wobblehead  but eventually I did manage to catch some fish on a drop shot, including 3 on back-to-back-to-back casts. That was really shocking since most of the day was so incredibly slow. I thought I was finally going to really rack up some good numbers but just as quickly as it started the bite on that spot stopped.

 

I eventually worked myself about 2.5 miles West of the ramp. By then the wind was truly blasting. I still manged 3 or 4 bass on the wobblehead from that last area in those conditions. I was actually amazed I was able to catch anything sine most of my concentration was focused on staying upright in the wind. That area has a fair bit more current since the river narrows down there but even with the faster current the wind would blow me upstream at 2mph if I did not fight against it. 

 

So, in the end I just looked at the day as being a heck of workout. It was fun pedaling back to the ramp at the end with the wind at my back. The wind was blowing waves upstream way faster than I could pedal and they would pick me up and jet me forware. I would watch my speed go from 3.5mph to 4.5mph each time it happened. Way better than pedaling into the teeth of that stuff!

 

Anyway here are a few pics and some video from the day. (The final annoyance was all the bouncing around disconnected my camera from the battery multiple times during the day so I ended up missing a handful of fish on video). Still, even with all the challenges I was thankful and happy that I could be out on the water!

 

 

 

 

My one spinnerbait fish!

 

 

Action shot, you can see the wobblehead hanging out of its mouth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rockhopper]

Glad you got on some fish. I had the day to myself today, so I threw the kayak in and headed to the ramp. I could tell immediately coming over the hill and dropping into the 'shoug that I wasn't going out. Still drove on up. Parked at the ramp and walked the bank just to check things out. There's some really nice areas just east of the ramp, but really no way to get out past that weed line without the kayak. I fished inside the weed line for about an hour and got on one. Got tired of the wind, so I drove up to Drano and threw a few casts, then back down to little ashes this time and picked up a small LMB, then threw a few casts one more time just below Bonneville. Tried to sweet talk an old Indian into telling me where to catch the bass below the dam, but all he really knew about was his nets. Not much about bass fishing. 

[Swamp Girl]

6 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

I think it really came down to the wind gods being angry that I teased @ol'crickety about not fishing in 10mph winds. I formally apologize from the bottom of my kayak

 

The wind is a harsh mistress. Whether I was backpacking, bicycling, or paddling, there are days beyond counting that I have rued her.

 

7 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

Still, even with all the challenges I was thankful and happy that I could be out on the water!

 

Now, that's the spirit. The $19.99 I paid to join your fan club was the best money I've ever spent. 

 

[Swamp Girl]

Robert Service was writing about you here: "There's sunshine in the heart of me, My blood sings in the breeze; The mountains are a part of me, I'm fellow to the trees."

[pdxfisher]

9 hours ago, Rockhopper said:

Glad you got on some fish. I had the day to myself today, so I threw the kayak in and headed to the ramp. I could tell immediately coming over the hill and dropping into the 'shoug that I wasn't going out. Still drove on up. Parked at the ramp and walked the bank just to check things out. There's some really nice areas just east of the ramp, but really no way to get out past that weed line without the kayak. I fished inside the weed line for about an hour and got on one. Got tired of the wind, so I drove up to Drano and threw a few casts, then back down to little ashes this time and picked up a small LMB, then threw a few casts one more time just below Bonneville. Tried to sweet talk an old Indian into telling me where to catch the bass below the dam, but all he really knew about was his nets. Not much about bass fishing. 

 

I have seen videos of folks bank fishing around cascade locks. Lots of deep rip rap. I have not fished there but I think it solves the weed problem.

 

The weeds are definitely super thick right now! 

6 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

The wind is a harsh mistress. Whether I was backpacking, bicycling, or paddling, there are days beyond counting that I have rued her.

 

 

Now, that's the spirit. The $19.99 I paid to join your fan club was the best money I've ever spent. 

 

 

She is harsh and fickle! At least she gave me a push back to the ramp this last trip

 

Ha ha, I actually have to pay you to join my fan club.

 

There is something exhilarating about being out there in the middle of that mess and actually catching some bass!

 

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, pdxfisher said:

There is something exhilarating about being out there in the middle of that mess and actually catching some bass!

 

So true.

 

1 hour ago, pdxfisher said:

I actually have to pay you to join my fan club.

 

So not true.

[Alex from GA]

The wind is not my friend.  Once I spent 3 days fishing a river in FL going downstream and the wind blew me back upstream all 3 days.  This was in a kayak.

[TnRiver46]

@Alex from GA, at least you didn’t need a shuttle 😂 

[Alex from GA]

The problem was we had a truck 5 miles downstream.  I was in a borrowed Coosa which was a ***** to paddle.

[Zcoker]

I’m just the opposite with the wind because big bass take advantage of it. This gal was caught with a strong wind pushing me sideways. Some of my bigger fish come on the windiest days…or nights. Wind is a good friend that I’ve learned to “get along with”, which is the key. 

 

[pdxfisher]

2 hours ago, Zcoker said:

I’m just the opposite with the wind because big bass take advantage of it. This gal was caught with a strong wind pushing me sideways. Some of my bigger fish come on the windiest days…or nights. Wind is a good friend that I’ve learned to “get along with”, which is the key. 

 

 

Some wind definitely helps the bite. The 5lb smallie I caught the week before bit after the wind came up to a brisk 15mph or so. It is just challenging to be fishing in waves that are several feet high when the fish are in 20-25' of water and in the river current.

 

 

[Bird]

Meteorologists have the easiest jobs, stress free.

They consistently miss the forecast and get paid regardless. 😁

 

Due to the gin clear water that I fish, wind can be an issue.

To put fish in the boat consistently it's mostly done with a finesse technique.

Lighter weight is more negatively influenced by wind.

A big arc in the line almost eliminates sensitivity.

Another words...... give me glass water. 

[pdxfisher]

18 hours ago, Bird said:

Meteorologists have the easiest jobs, stress free.

They consistently miss the forecast and get paid regardless. 😁

 

Due to the gin clear water that I fish, wind can be an issue.

To put fish in the boat consistently it's mostly done with a finesse technique.

Lighter weight is more negatively influenced by wind.

A big arc in the line almost eliminates sensitivity.

Another words...... give me glass water. 

 

Water clarity varies from 5' to about 12' in the Columbia. The fish are not too pressured so some days I can power fish but some days I need to spend most of the day with a drop shot or Ned rig in my hand. I agree that too much wind in those finesse situations makes it pretty challenging. The wobblehead has been working well lately for me and I am grateful for that!