THE MINI-SEASONS OF SUMMER
Summer bass fishing throughout the Pacific Northwest can generally be split into three different parts.
The Columbia is no different and each of the miniature seasons last roughly one month according to Richland, Wash. tournament angler Ben Hanes.
The exact dates vary each year based on runoff levels, current, and temperature, but here is how Hanes breaks down each of the different periods.
EARLY SUMMER
According to Hanes, the timeframe from roughly June 15th to July 15th, can be categorized as the post-spawn.
“This is when you start to see fish move to the main river to feed, but it is very dependent on both water level and flow,” he begins. “It is also a time when I like to focus on deep-water and on the Columbia, that means 15- to 25-feet of water.”
When targeting deep- water bass, he relies on a dropshot, but he says there can also be a good reaction bite in shallower water with lipless crankbaits and he adds that this is when the topwater bite starts to be a productive way to land bass.
While the Columbia River is known for big and plentiful smallmouth bass, it also harbors some healthy largemouth. Hanes says this time of year is when the big ones show up at the tournament scales.
Fish reaching eight or nine pounds are
considered giants and not unheard of. Many backwater areas have the potential to produce heavy stringers of largemouth bass.
MID-SUMMER
The middle part of summer runs from approximately July 15th to August 15th on the river and Hanes says it can prove to be a difficult time to fish here.
“This is when the current and flow starts to back off, and it can make things interesting. The largemouth pull out from the backwaters, and the smallmouth can be either very shallow or deep,” says Hanes. “If there is not much current it can make things challenging.”
Hanes takes an experimental approach on these days and will fish known rockpiles both shallow and deep to see where the fish are positioned that day.
“I roll with how the day is going and decide if I should be fishing shallow or deep water,” he shares.
When it comes to bait selection, he focuses on a wide range of baitfish imitators and tries to cover water.
“Swimbaits, both hard and soft are
good. I’ll also fish topwaters and
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