It was a pretty,  Good Friday:

It was a pretty good, Friday:

I hit the Columbia on Good Friday since the wind forecast was looking sweet. I was super excited to get back out on the river since my trip 2 weeks ago was such a good one. When I got to the river I was dismayed to see that the river was close to chocolate milk color. I was really surprised since we have not had all that much rain. Not sure how the water was so off-color. Visibility was 6" to 1'.

Oh boy, cold muddy water. That's always a tough nut to crack.  Also, the current was flowing reasonably strong as well just to make things more difficult. I have to say I was a little worried.

The other thing that was weighing on me was the number of bass boats on the river. I counted 10 boats and most of them were fishing in areas where I normally fish. So on top of having tough conditions I also was limited in where I could fish. I decided to head straight to the spot where we had success 2 weeks ago. Now with the water so muddy and the current not quite as strong I was not sure if that spot would produce but at least I had the spot to myself.

It did not take too long to pick up my first fish of the day on a drop shot, and I had a couple of other bites that I missed, but it was clearly not going to be on fire on that spot. I think that maybe with the dirty water that the fish would be pushed close to shore and I was going to head in from that spot to the nearest shore but there was already a boat working that area so I took off downstream.

I was peddling to a well-known spot that sometimes holds a ton of fish around this time of year. I was about 1/2 way there when a bass boat sped by me and stopped on that point. Dang it! So I just kept pedaling and went downstream even further to fish some less desirable water. I have to say I don't think my heart was truly in it and i spent most of my time berating myself for not taking off sooner to fish that second spot.

However, from where I was I could keep an eye on the spot and so I was just casually fishing but mostly just waiting and hoping they would leave. Luckily they left after about an hour. They may have caught something but I never saw them hook up. I did not care since that spot can be tough to fish.

I got onto the spot and started straining the water with my drop shot. I started shallow, about 10' deep and made several passes. Then 15' deep for several passes. Then 20' deep. Then 25' deep. It turns out that 25' was the magic number. I caught 2 bass on back-to-back drifts. A couple of guys who watch my channel came over to me and said hi and said that they saw me catch those fish. I told them that it had been super slow and that those were the first fish I had caught in quite a while.

Of course, I thought it was going to be on fire and of course it wasn't. I went back to fishing that spot but went a little while without a bite so I started expanding the area. The wind and current would push me a little crooked with respect to the depth contours so I would start in about 30' and drift until I was in about 15', probably over a couple hundred yards.

The fishing was not fast but every once in a while I would hit a spurt and catch 1 to 4 bass in short order and then catch nothing for quite a while. The funny thing was I started rotating through different presentations: drop shot, wobblehead, Carolina rig, Ned rig. It seemed like every time I switched presentations I would catch a fish - often just the one. It was very confusing.

After a while I decided to try a blade bait even though the bottom at this spot is quite grabby. I figured that in the dirty water I probably had to pretty much hit them in the face with the soft plastic but perhaps the vibration of the blade bait could draw them from a bit further away. That seemed to work! I quickly caught 3 bass on 4 drops. I felt like the master of the river!

Of course, the river decided enough of that and stole my blade bait in the next drift. Aargh!  I tied on another blade bait and went back to fishing but the fast action was over. Not sure if I had drifted away from the school a bit, if they had moved while I was tying on or just went back to sulking on the bottom.

The funny thing is that every once in a while I would catch a little clam about an inch across. I guess the bottom there is jclam/mussel bed. I probably reeled up at least 10 of those little guys during the course of the day. After a bit I saw a fellow kayaker approaching and it was a fellow I had met two weeks ago (youtuber @fishingthepnwwithdave7833 ). I had 13 bass at that point and Dave said he only had one. I told him what I was doing and welcomed him to join me.

He fished a bit downstream from me and was rewarded with the big fish of the day, a big old 4lb 9oz fatty!  He only caught the two fish but any trip you catch a bass over 4lb is a great trip! While we was doing that I picked up a couple more fish. When he came back up to near where I was I caught my heaviest fish of the day, a 3lb 1oz. Nothing compared to Dave's but I do think he was good luck

He fished with me for about an hour but eventually said he was going to head on back. I stayed and fished that spot for a while longer but the wind started to pick up and I decided it was time to head back. I felt pretty good about scratching out 16 bass in those conditions!

It had been fairly sunny and warm all day so on the way back to the ramp I decided to pull into one of my favorite spring-time shallow water spots (3-8' deep) and toss an orange jack hammer around for a bit. I really did not expect much but I just love throwing a moving bait. I started casting and within 10 casts I felt a thump and set the hook into a pound and three quarter or so bass! That was my first bass on that orange jack hammer. I was fired up! 

A couple of casts later I had a massive strike on the jack hammer and it snapped my line. Dang, I was so mad. I probably had a little nick in my line or something. That fish hit like a freight train and felt big but my line should not have broken. Of course, I only had the one orange jack hammer. So, I tied on a white one and went back to fishing.

About a dozen casts later it felt like I had a bite but it did not stick and I kept reeling then about 20' later it thumped it good and I had another pound and 3/4 bass. It was getting late and I was pretty tired so I made another 10 casts without a bite and decided to continue on back to the ramp. I wanted to stop and fish one more spot.

There is a pier where cruise ships tie up. There was one tied up in the morning but it as gone now. Once again this is a spot where bass sometimes group up before the spawn. It was about 20' deep  so I dropped down my blade bait and on the first cast hooked a decent fish and what would be my last bass of the day. I tried a few more drops but did not get bit so I packed it up and headed home.

Overall it was a decent day in tough conditions. Water temp was 48F, visibility 6" to 1', mostly calm but breezy later in the day. I caught 19 bass with the best 5 going 14lb 3oz. I had two of 3lbs or more but nothing close to the 4lb 9oz my friend caught. My smallest of the day was a 1lb 9oz so at least all the bass were fun sized and a bunch of them were over 2lbs. So it was not a great day of fishing but it was a pretty good Friday.

Way to make it happen my friend. Especially in that muddy water. At least you got to wear sunglasses. Mostly, Thank You very much for taking the time and making the effort to write these detailed reports. I so much enjoy following you along as you hunt those gorgeous smallies in that most majestic river. Now, go respool that bladed jig rig with new/heavier line ! And go get the Kraken !

A-Jay

Thanks @A-Jay ! I still have no idea why the water was so muddy. We have not had much rain. I definitely need to get better at periodically checking my line for nicks. I am sure I got what I deserved. Hopefully the lesson lasts for a while :)

Your lead photo looks like Heaven.

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

I got onto the spot and started straining the water with my drop shot.

I once was a writing teacher and I would have given your trip report an "A" for using "straining" like you did above. I told my students, "Verbs are the best words. Adverbs are the worst."

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

It seemed like every time I switched presentations I would catch a fish - often just the one. It was very confusing.

I've been in just this situation. The new lure catches a fish and then nada.

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

After a while I decided to try a blade bait even though the bottom at this spot is quite grabby.

Dang, dude, you sure can write! I love "grabby."

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

I quickly caught 3 bass on 4 drops. I felt like the master of the river!

Been there. Felt that.

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

Of course, the river decided enough of that and stole my blade bait in the next drift.

Yep, pride before the fall.

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

sulking on the bottom.

"Sulking!" Love. It.

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

I felt pretty good about scratching out 16 bass in those conditions!

You earned that good feeling.

3 hours ago, pdxfisher said:

I caught 19 bass with the best 5 going 14lb 3oz.

For me, a bag's weight is the clearest measure of the day.

@Swamp Girl thanks for giving me an A grade on a B fishing trip on the big C :)