FISHING
After the spawn, walleye work up an appetite, and you will too after frying up their flaky white meat. (ANDY SCHNEIDER)
are only present in one Oregon lake (Phillips Reservoir in Baker County), they are actually in very good supply in the Columbia. And since most salmon and steelhead anglers in the Portland-Vancouver area are pretty familiar with the big river, this should be a very easy transition. Walleye are found in the Willamette, Multnomah Channel and throughout the Columbia from Troutdale upriver, with very healthy populations of these delicious fish in The Dalles and John Day Pools.
GETTING STARTED IS as easy as repurposing your steelhead plug rods for walleye trolling rods (don’t worry, you can switch them back at anytime without anyone being the wiser). One of the simplest ways to target walleye is by trolling downriver, very similar to salmon. Start by running your mainline to a 3- to 4-ounce bottom walker. Twelve- to 20-pound monofilament or 30- to 50-pound braid works well for trolling. Behind the bottom walker, add one of the many pretied Yakima Bait walleye rigs, such as the Hammer Time Walleye Spinner, Walleye Delight, Walleye Elite, Rufus Special or Walleye Magic. Add 48 Northwest Sportsman
MAY 2017 | nwsportsmanmag.com
a large nightcrawler to any of these spinner rigs and slowly troll them downriver, keeping in close contact with the bottom. Walleye have great vision, due to a special pigment layer in their eyes that reflects light very effectively. If you have your flash on when taking a picture with one of these toothy critters, it is easy to see, as the eyes seem to glow like bicycle reflectors. Due to their good eyesight, they tend to be finicky about color at times. With our Columbia usually running with a very distinct green tint, purple and copper finishes tend to be best during low-light conditions, while lighter colors tend to be more effective during full light. But walleye can also be fickle, just like salmon and steelhead, so trying a variety of colors until a clear winner emerges is the best way to dial in the bite. The fish tend to hang in 10 to 30 feet of water, and like many other species, they will move in shallower or deeper to feed as needed. Walleye can be found along sandy and weedy flats, and along structure. The most common place on the Columbia is within 60 yards of the river’s banks. Very rarely will walleye be found
in the main channel, where there is a lot of current. If you’re still thinking like a salmon or steelhead angler, you are probably picturing some pretty promising water at the mouths of tributaries where you find Chinook, coho and summer-runs staging before leaving the Columbia. Tributary mouths are an excellent place to target walleye in May as the fish start to recover from their spawn. Just as with salmon fishing, by trolling downriver you can cover a lot of water, and that is what is needed at times to locate these fish. Once you hook one, mark that spot on your GPS so you can make another pass, as walleye tend to hunt in the same area. The fish do like a slow presentation, so utilizing sea socks or an electric motor will ensure that you bring your troll to a crawl.
HARDCORE SALMONID ANGLERS may consider walleye to be on the wettowel end of the spectrum when it comes to the fight. But a 2-pounder in the warming waters of the Columbia will put quite a bend in a steelhead rod and not come all that easy to hand. Having a net ready when the fish gets close to the surface will ensure that you will be hearing the