®
spinnerbaits,” says Hanes. His fishing style for the Columbia River is to move and search for active fish, but he adds that finesse techniques like dropshot rigs can also produce.
LATE SUMMER
From the time of August 15th until the waters begin to cool in late September, the final segment of summertime on the Columbia occurs.
Hanes says that fishing this period has changed over the years due to the changes made in current flows to accommodate the annual salmon and steelhead runs.
“The current used to be running this time of year, but now it is basically nothing until October. This changes how the fish act and the bass do not rely on current as much to feed like they do other times of the year,” says Hanes.
The lack of current makes this stretch of the river fish more like a reservoir and the bass can be found shallow, deep, or suspended in the middle of the water column.
“Early in the morning you can get on a good topwater bite, but sometimes it will last all day long. I’ll start to focus more on contours, weedlines, and deep roadbeds because the fish are not as reliant on where the current is because there is so little of it,” he says. “It is a great time to throw a large hard swimbait or to fish a soft swimbait on a heavy jighead both down deep or for suspended bass.”
is no shortage of willing bass, but the big ones can be more temperamental. During the summer, each period produces a little differently when it comes to fish size.
“The big fish show up more in the first and last section of summer. The middle part is not nearly as good for big fish, but you can still catch plenty of fish,” adds Hanes.
“Big fish” is relative to where you live, and on the Columbia, a 20-pound five fish limit is considered a good one, but those reaching 25-pounds or more are possible under the right conditions.
The Columbia is home to big water and some truly giant
bass. While there are plenty of places in the
Northwest that are known for producing
hefty bass, “the river” as it is often
simply called, has long been one of the
best. •
QUALITY OR QUANTITY
Most of the Columbia River is full of smallmouth bass. It is one of the crown jewels for the fishermen in the region. Generally, there
page 28