Pacific NW Photos & Video

The non-stop wind here in the Pacific Northwest has been making things pretty tough for kayak fishing on the Columbia River. Even on small mountain lakes, double digit wind doesn't do much to enhance the kayak fishing experience. Whenever we get out on the river, the fishing has been good. Exploring the PacNW looking for kayak fishing spots sometimes pays off more than expected, like this new(to us) spot we found not far from where we live. Drove past it dozens of times going somewhere else.



With afternoon wind a sure thing, we are on the water early; the only calm time of the day.



The Columbia River is a natural wonder, but almost everything you see is not natural.



The smallmouth bass fishing was good. A lot of smaller and spawned out fish.



There are bigger bass there as well. You never know what you're going to get.



July 4th is the unofficial start of summer around here and everyone heads to the river, including the local wildlife.



Now we are back on kayak fishing hold, waiting for the wind to stop.

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The wind is still putting a major damper on the 2019 fishing season, but we managed to get a couple days of calm wind for some great smallmouth bass fishing on the Columbia River.

Out long before sunrise because there were calm winds and it gets really hot here in the afternoons.



The fishing by the light of the moon and the rising sun of long PacNW summer days was very good.



Plenty of kayak fishing action for smallmouth bass. We caught fish all day long.





We caught the biggest bass of the trip just before sunrise, but plenty of nice fish were caught during the daytime as well.



The wind came up in the afternoon and so did the temperature, but by that time, we had put in a long day of kayak fishing and baking in the sun.



We left the hot and windy Columbia River for the cool Cascade Mountains and Goose Lake.



The lake water levels were mid summer low, but the wild stocked trout were ready to bite.



The lake was crowded with summer campers and fishermen, this is a popular weekend spot for the Portland/Vancouver metro area and can be a bit overrun at times. If the lake is stocked again before winter, we may check back after Labor Day. If there is no salmon fishing season again, we may have to settle for rainbow trout.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

We were able to get a couple days of smallmouth bass fishing in while the pervasive Columbia River wind took a break. The fishing was good, but it was very hot.



We got out early wanting to beat the wind and midday heat and found the smallmouth bass ready to go.



Plenty of kayak fishing action.







The smallmouth bass fishing has been good, but it's almost salmon fishing season. Whether the salmon will show up or not is anybody's guess.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Finally, the fall salmon fishing season has begun on this part of the Columbia River. The returning fish numbers are way down and it's pretty likely the salmon fishing season will be closed early, perhaps any day now, depending on the fish counts. The disappearing salmon are big news in this part of the country, you can read more about it on my blog post.

Our "home" fishing spot is a bit off the beaten path. If you view your kayak as an investment, or use it as a floating tackle shop, this probably isn't the place for you. In an area known world wide for it's kayaking, this is a regular kayak launch and haul out.



The first salmon caught for the 2019 season was a small native Coho that was caught and released unharmed. All native fish must be released.



There is no night fishing for salmon, fishing starts one hour before sunrise, about 5:20 AM on the days we were fishing. Kayak fishing for salmon is challenging enough, even more so in the dark!





This was a hatchery Chinook salmon. After these two fish, I did not get a bite the rest of the day. The following day, I did not get a single bite. With about twenty boats fishing, I did not see a single fish landed. That is not good news. We are back on it tomorrow for a couple days of calm wind. The fishing is not good at all, but the season will probably end soon, so you pretty much have to go if you want even a chance at catching salmon.

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Working hard to get that one fish per day limit here on the Columbia River.



Most of the action has been in the early morning, not many photos or video.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

The 2019 fishing season in the Columbia Gorge was a big disappointment. Too windy for smallmouth bass fishing most of the season and the salmon fishing season, formerly the highlight of the PacNW fishing season, was a total bust once again. I only caught four salmon in about three weeks of intensive fishing. Three hatchery Chinook and one native Coho, which was released. I also got a $150 fine for not having my salmon catch card on my wet kayak. Not my fishing license, which I had. More fishermen, as there are every year with the rapidly expanding Portland metro area, and less fish makes for a very competitive fishing experience. Along with a one fish daily limit, salmon fishing season was closed a few weeks after the peak of the fall run again this year.



We gave up on salmon fishing because the fishing was terrible and crowded, and then it got cold and began to rain. We headed east for sunny skies and uncrowded water.



We caught a few smallmouth bass, but the fishing was slow. When you can't catch smallmouth bass on the Columbia River, the fishing is really bad.



We are headed to the desert southwest, hoping the largemouth bass are more cooperative.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Back on a mostly windy and rainy Columbia River where nearly everything is closed but the smallmouth bass are biting.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Between the wind, rain and pandemic restrictions, kayak fishing in the PacNW has become a rare event. Complaining about wind and rain here is like complaining about getting wet in a swimming pool, but it's been ridiculous. After a long winter, you hope to see a couple nice days in a row about this time of year, but no dice so far. Add the closures of nearly all public lands and facilities due to the coronavirus pandemic and you want up watching the days of your life ticking away while the country falls apart at the seams.

We try to go kayak fishing every chance we get, but so far this year we've only managed a few fishing trips. The fishing has been good each time, that makes not being able to fish even worse.

A rare calm morning between storms on the Columbia River.



The smallmouth bass fishing has been good. Plenty of kayak fishing action.





Not sure what is going to happen. Personally, I think camping, fishing and other outdoor activities in an area that lives and breathes on the outdoors, is not going to happen this summer. Summer is beautiful here, but extremely short. By the time public land and facilities are completely open, which may never happen, summer will be over. Then again, if the pandemic and civil unrest continues, outdoor activities may be limited to living in your car.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Hope all is well. Miss the regular posts.

Fishing is dead here. The non-stop wind and virus closures and restrictions have kept us off the river all summer.
It's salmon fishing season. The crowds here at our small fishing spot are HUGE. There are few salmon being caught, first time in 15 years, no salmon fishing for me. Just not worth it.
Same story on the Colorado River, there may be no largemouth bass fishing this year.
We are in big trouble, hope everything works out.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Time to wrap up a fishing season that will go down in the books as one of the worst of all time. The wind and pandemic closures have made kayak fishing here a tough job. The salmon fishing is so poor, for the first time in many years I did not even give it a try. The crowds fishing for salmon, especially on weekends, have been off the Richter. Battling fifty boats filled with desperate fishermen with a kayak is not a whole lot of fun. The future of sportfishing for salmon on the Columbia River looks pretty bleak. The wind died down and the weather got nice so we headed out for one last kayak fishing trip on the Columbia for this year.

Wildfires have made smoky days a regular feature of late summer and early fall here in the PacNW



Paddling out on a calm Columbia River under the October harvest moon



Orange full moon and red sunrises from the fire smoke



Kayak fishing action for smallmouth bass on the Columbia River









As winter approaches and the situation in the desert southwest stabilizing somewhat, we are getting ready to head to the Colorado River for some largemouth bass fishing, provided no further disasters occur. Stay safe everyone.

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog

Really beautiful images..

That could now be considered "the good old days"

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Waterman at Work - Kayak Fishing Photos, Video,Kayak Rigging - Blog