LOWER COLUMBIA WALLEYE FISHING BY LANCE MERZ | MACK’S LURE PRO STAFF
I had the opportunity to fish with Mack’s Lure Pro Staff Ted Beach, a professional walleye angler whose knowledge compares to that of an encyclopedia. When Ted talks about fishing, people listen. He gives various seminars throughout Washington each year and loves to teach how to fish for walleye — and there is an art to fishing this species of fish.
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MOST ANGLERS WILL TELL YOU THAT IF YOU CAN CATCH A WALLEYE, YOU CAN CATCH JUST ABOUT ANY SPECIES OF FISH.
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Walleye fishing on the Columbia River is a destination hot spot for anglers who seek this predatory fish. In fact, most walleye anglers will tell you that if you can catch a walleye, you can catch just about any species of fish. Over the past two years, Departments of Fish and Wildlife in Washington and Oregon have lifted the limits while fishing the Lower Columbia for these fish. Studies are showing that walleye are eating the salmon and steelhead smolts and they want to eliminate the species all together. Only one rod is authorized per angler, but there is plenty of fish to be had for all.
We launched in an area of the Lower Columbia, just below the McNary Dam, in a place called Crowe Butte. We were fishing in attempt to find some fish to catch for Northwest Fishing Reports (NWFR). Due to the harsh winter that was felt by all, the current of the river was moving quite fast. Instead of moving into the main current, Ted sought his attention to areas of the river where current wasn’t as swift. Normally, these areas are closer to the shore and range in depth of 5- to 25-feet. We were trolling with bottom walkers with a 5- to 6-foot leader, primarily using Double Whammy® Walleye and Smile Blade® Super Slow Death Rigs tipped with a night crawler.
who knows the water. There are parts where channels are very shallow, which can take out a lower unit very easily. There are even areas of the middle of the river that can be as shallow as six inches. Ted and I fished throughout the day — a fish here, a fish there. The fishing was consistent, but it wasn’t lights out, for sure. The water temperature for walleye was still a bit chilly — about 57 degrees — and the clarity of the water was the color of chocolate milk. Then, the wind picked up. It is imperative that if you’re operating a boat on the Columbia River, that you are aware of the weather conditions at the time you are going to fish. Without warning, the chop on the water can produce 5- to 6-foot swells and without enough knowledge of boat operations, it could be catastrophic.
It wasn’t long after we started trolling that the first fish of the day came into the boat — a 16-inch walleye that knocked the funk off. A slow troll downstream revealed a few more fish in the live well — this was going to be a good day! There are parts of the Columbia River that can be very intimidating and if you’ve never been on that particular area of the river, I’d recommend going out with a guide
Since the wind was so severe on the main channel, Ted decided to tuck into a slough, which protected us from the wind. Not only did we
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