Columbia Gorge trip

The primary goal was lots of shad on the 5 & 6 weights without being elbow to elbow. Mission accomplished by heading a couple dams upriver of the Bonneville circus.
The faithful IMX 5wt with a OPST Commando Smooth and a S6 5' tip did well with a jig, but the more enjoyable tip was an old 10 or 12' extra fast Airflo poly leader and a small bonefish fly like this.
20220622_095107.jpg

People will tell u they like pink, they like chartreuse, they like red....they like the flash the best. Gorge Outfitters in Rufus said "the #1 seller was blue, wait no green, one guy swears by orange." They all have the same crystal flash. 😁

For the record, the green (chartreuse) did well for me. I struggled to find even a bite while trying my green and orange creations. And then I found that hot green jig hanging in a snag. 😁
I ended up buying 3 of them from Gorge Outfitters the next day.
My tug addiction has been met. Caught a bunch on the swing (with a little jig action) and even more stripping once in the swing.
This one got to the last 4 wraps of my fly line!
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The green jig also caught a pretty decent sucker!
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And the bonefish fly caught a couple smallies!
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I also tried a few of my old bass spots, but the wind and dirty water made that a no go.

I also went to a couple of my old carp snagging spots to see if I could get them to eat. Hold on there junior, it used to be legal to snag them so no lectures please. You could shoot them with a damn arrow too. Anyway, the old haunts were also a bust. Milfoil has completely destroyed one and an RV park has taken over the other. I bet they found a lot of carp skeletons when they put that in!

I got lucky today though and hit a pond I've wanted to fish. Most carp were either sunning or on the move. I took up station in about the only spot I thought had a chance and found a couple eaters. I blew my chance at the 1st one that went about 20, but 2 more came along and this 10 lber ate a falling Hybrid about 2 feet above the bottom. I'll take it! When he was fighting 3 or 4 other carp were chasing him. 2 of them were twice as big. Not sure the 8wt would have kept those bruisers out of the grass!
Need a bigger net.
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I then enjoyed a nice drive down the gorge on HWY 14 before making my way home (not so nice drive) to CovTown in time to see 2 good kids get drafted #1 & #2. It was a good trip.

A few more for fun.
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Definitely not the zoo at Bonneville.
20220621_150522.jpg
 
The primary goal was lots of shad on the 5 & 6 weights without being elbow to elbow. Mission accomplished by heading a couple dams upriver of the Bonneville circus.
The faithful IMX 5wt with a OPST Commando Smooth and a S6 5' tip did well with a jig, but the more enjoyable tip was an old 10 or 12' extra fast Airflo poly leader and a small bonefish fly like this.
View attachment 19619

People will tell u they like pink, they like chartreuse, they like red....they like the flash the best. Gorge Outfitters in Rufus said "the #1 seller was blue, wait no green, one guy swears by orange." They all have the same crystal flash. 😁

For the record, the green (chartreuse) did well for me. I struggled to find even a bite while trying my green and orange creations. And then I found that hot green jig hanging in a snag. 😁
I ended up buying 3 of them from Gorge Outfitters the next day.
My tug addiction has been met. Caught a bunch on the swing (with a little jig action) and even more stripping once in the swing.
This one got to the last 4 wraps of my fly line!
View attachment 19621

The green jig also caught a pretty decent sucker!
View attachment 19622

And the bonefish fly caught a couple smallies!
View attachment 19623

I also tried a few of my old bass spots, but the wind and dirty water made that a no go.

I also went to a couple of my old carp snagging spots to see if I could get them to eat. Hold on there junior, it used to be legal to snag them so no lectures please. You could shoot them with a damn arrow too. Anyway, the old haunts were also a bust. Milfoil has completely destroyed one and an RV park has taken over the other. I bet they found a lot of carp skeletons when they put that in!

I got lucky today though and hit a pond I've wanted to fish. Most carp were either sunning or on the move. I took up station in about the only spot I thought had a chance and found a couple eaters. I blew my chance at the 1st one that went about 20, but 2 more came along and this 10 lber ate a falling Hybrid about 2 feet above the bottom. I'll take it! When he was fighting 3 or 4 other carp were chasing him. 2 of them were twice as big. Not sure the 8wt would have kept those bruisers out of the grass!
Need a bigger net.
View attachment 19626

I then enjoyed a nice drive down the gorge on HWY 14 before making my way home (not so nice drive) to CovTown in time to see 2 good kids get drafted #1 & #2. It was a good trip.

A few more for fun.
View attachment 19633

View attachment 19634

Definitely not the zoo at Bonneville.
View attachment 19635


Used to catch some good largies in that lake until the slide filled it up.. been years since I fished it.. try around the culvert..
 
Great report!
I hope to be chasing some large Bluegill and Smallmouth in some of those backwaters tomorrow.
 
I feel like I should report this post to zuckerberg so they can put a false news disclaimer on it. Everybody knows the gorge is only good for dusty salmon, the unicorn steelhead, and the only place to catch shad is right below Bonny.
 
Its the folks having to live in that hell hole I feel sorry for. Huge tick and rattlesnake populations.
I was actually sort of disappointed that I didn't see a single rattlesnake. But also relieved when walking through brush in shorts and shoes. 😁Only saw one small bull snake.

The gorge has too many ospreys eating all our fish. It's a terrible place that nobody should visit and really shouldn't fish.
 
I was actually sort of disappointed that I didn't see a single rattlesnake. But also relieved when walking through brush in shorts and shoes. 😁Only saw one small bull snake.

The gorge has too many ospreys eating all our fish. It's a terrible place that nobody should visit and really shouldn't fish.

The only rattle snakes I have seen in the Gorge
Have been on the back side of Locke Lake. It's the first lake east of Bingen, where the "new" trailhead is. Used to be a great place to car camp until it became a popular spot.
 
Awesome photos and great report. That pond and scenery are way too cool. Makes me think I should try and get into some shad before I move out of state.
 
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