Salmon Fishing In The Pacific Northwest

Stott’s salmon fishing guides have lived their entire fishing life in the Pacific northwest. So, they’ve chased salmon and steelhead on the most prolific rivers in the United States. These Northwest waters provide anglers some of the best salmon fishing opportunities in the world. The Columbia River is the gateway to many of the rivers tributaries which provide the spawning grounds for our rich salmon returns. The river’s headwaters are in the Canadian Rockies and its Snake River tributary, originates over in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming.

Awesome Salmon Fishing

The mainstem Columbia meanders through the heart of Washington State and then turns west toward the Pacific Ocean. Certainly large in size, it forms the boundary between Washington and Oregon. Through the stature of this incredible fishery, there are series of pools and riffles. The river can change with fluctuating water levels from the dams. The changing river and varying climates provide excellent habitats for the Columbia River’s salmon runs. There are many popular fishing spots on the river and our guide service works the best sections of the Columbia that produce greatest salmon fishing opportunities for our anglers. We also own 2 exclusive Clearwater River permits that provide awesome salmon fishing for our team of 6 fishing guides in the Lewiston Idaho area.

Springers Best Eating Salmon

The Columbia and Clearwater River has salmon returns in 3 separate runs during spring, summer and fall seasons. Spring chinook, better known as “Springers” are the considered the greatest prize of the salmon. These Chinook are rival to the famous Copper River Salmon and some of the tastiest fish anywhere. Spring Chinook start returning in the late winter and find their way to our designated fishing grounds as early as March. We’ll start springer fishing in the lower section of the Columbia River in early April and fish through May or until the end of the salmon run. Drano Lake & Wind River support a large return of Springers that our guides camp out here for 6 weeks of prime-time fishing. There is near-by lodging in the town of The Dalles, Oregon and camp sites along the river.

Spring Salmon Fishing

May fishing also brings anglers to the Lewiston, Idaho valley to fish the Clearwater River. We own 2 river permits and have 6 full time guides to operate business on. The Clearwater fishing season can change from year to year and is driven by a catch quota. Fishing is awesome and most trips our clients go home with some deep pink fillets for the BBQ. The valley has lots of lodging choices and we have a small airport that hubs Delta and Alaska airlines.

Summer/Fall Chinook Fishing

Summer Chinook are some of the river’s largest Chinook and show between the popular spring and fall runs. The June fish are a little larger than the typical Springer and fished for in the same areas. The State’s fish biologist will determine if the runs are sufficient enough to allow harvesting these bigger fish. The Bonneville Pool section of the Columbia is our favorite fishing area that makes up our Drano Lake & Wind River fishing. Fall Chinook which is the Columbia’s largest run of Chinook start their journey in August and September on the lower river. We set up shop in Astoria, Oregon for the famous Buoy 10 fishing. Hundreds of thousands Chinook and Coho salmon return to the river’s estuary putting this world class salmon fishery on the map.

Huge Salmon Runs

We share 3 of our premier salmon fishing guides with our clients for a month of killer fishing. After Buoy 10, we move up – river to the Hanford Reach area which is the last free-flowing section of the Columbia. This central Washington section of the Columbia hosts a huge salmon run that is referred as “Up River Brights”. These Big fish are the same Buoy 10 Salmon that many anglers don’t make it over to Astoria to fish for. We have 3 guides that cover this fishery from above the Vernita Bridge, Priest Rapids Dam down river to the White Bluffs of the Ringold area. There is plenty of lodging options through-out the Tri Cities area and near -by camping for the camping enthusiast. The Tri-Cities has a small airport that hubs Delta and Alaska airlines.

Best Sponsors-Best Team

Our river fishing guides are committed to becoming the best salmon fishing guides on the water. We’ve teamed up with the best sponsors in the industry which allow us to fish the finest rods and reels in the world. We stay in the loop and remain pro-active in using the newest fishing tackle and techniques. Our custom boats are wrapped with our signature fishing brand that Mel Sr, Mel Jr, and our fishing team proudly built. We hope our anglers will be proud of our brand too!

Experience

Steelhead

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Sturgeon

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Walleye

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Bass

Salmon fishing on the

Drano Lake & Wind River Springers

April - June

Home To Thousands of Salmon

Drano Lake is a super popular fishing lake in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge on the Washington side of the Columbia River. The Little White Salmon River feeds cooler water into Drano Lake which creates preferred water temperatures for resting Chinook Salmon. These fish seek out the colder water temperatures that typically come from the warmer, main stem Columbia River. Drano Lakes soft current flows and cooler water temps have built a reputation of producing harder fighting fish than the lower Columbia fish. In good years, we see hundreds of thousands Chinook Salmon return to this area which also creates higher boat traffic.

Drano Lake Fishing Techniques

The Lake is primarily a trolling fishery and there are lots of trolling techniques used to catch fish. Our best success comes from trolling Flashers and cut plug herring, Brad’s Super-baits, Prawn Spinners and Kwickfish wraps. We pay attention to the fish counts daily that pass over the Bonneville Dam and when we see 10,000-15,000 fish. Best get in your rig and get here. Drano Lake fishing starts in the 2nd week of April and can fish good through the month of May.

Our Company has 3 top notch salmon fishing guides to provide our great Stott’s fishing service.

Perfect Salmon For Dinner

The Wind River is about 10 miles west of Drano Lake and surrounded by the beauty of the Cascade Mountain range. The Wind River has similar characteristics of the Drano Lake fishery producing trickles of snow melt run off that spill into the mouth of the river. Fish love to rest here and like the Drano fishery, produces a healthy return of Springers. Anglers that have fished here will tell you that the Columbia River Springer tastes better than any other salmon caught in our rivers. They have an extremely high fat content and super oily that makes this moist fish perfect for the BBQ.

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Idaho

Washington

Salmon fishing on the

Clearwater River Springers

May - June

Best Kept Fishing Secret

Clearwater River is best known for the famous B-run steelhead run that our guides fish the fall and winter for. What our loyal, clients also know about the Clearwater is how good the Spring Chinook salmon season really is. If you couldn’t get to the Wind River & Drano Lake fishery, that doesn’t mean you have to settle for a less desirable tasting fish. The Clearwater Springers are also high in fat, super oily and pink moist, fillets perfect for the BBQ. The average fish weight 12-15 pounds with many pushing the mid 20’s class. We have 6 full time guides and own 2 exclusive river permits to operate business on a 50 mile stretch of world class fishing.

Clearwater Diver and Eggs

The Clearwater fishing is quite opposite of our Columbia River fishing. As an example, back-trolling diver and eggs is the most effective method. Mountain snow melt can raise the river from our typical 6,000 – 8,000 C.F.S to a roaring 40,000 C.F.S so it is wise to hire out a salmon fishing guides that are familiar with the changing water conditions. We start fishing the Clearwater in April around the Camas Prairie Railroad Bridge in Lewiston Idaho and work our way up to the U.S Highway 95 Bride at Arrow which is has some excellent resting water. When the fish arrive, they move fast, and it it’s not long before all our guides are working the upper end of the Pink House – Boat Ramp near the town of Orofino.

Successful Salmon Fishing Trips

We have excellent success in putting our clients on plenty of fish. There are special years that we limit out all our angler’s but it’s our wish that each angler enjoys the entire experience of fishing with us. We have lots of options for lodging and camping between the towns of Lewiston and Orofino Idaho. Our local airport, hubs both Delta and Alaska airlines for guests that fly in.

Salmon fish for

Buoy10 Kings

August-September

Legendary Salmon Fishing

Astoria Oregon is one of the great fishing towns in the world and is famous for the legendary Bouy 10 salmon fishing. The town of Astoria sits on the southern shores of the Columbia River, 10 miles from the Columbia’s entrance where it joins the Pacific Ocean. There are lots of attractions in the Astoria area making it enjoyable for the entire family. Great coastal weather and cool local vibe is as special as the world class fishing. The Buoy 10 fishery might be the largest salmon fishery on the continent with a Chinook and Coho run of over a million. Buoy 10 Chinook salmon start arriving in early August and will hang in the Estuary through September. Both A can B run Coho will arrive middle of August and make the Columbia River journey early October.

Fishing With Precision

Fishing can be very technical at times. Keeping up with tidal schedules, staying in touch with guides and dealing with boat traffic can be hectic. Besides that, pinpointing the right technique and bait adds to it. Both Coho/Silvers and Chinook has its challenges and place. Most of our fishing is around the mouth of the Columbia from Hammond area, North to Cape Disappointment. This section is flooded with anchovies that have been pushed in from the NW winds. Coho tend spend most of their time on the upper 35 feet of the water column and the Chinook seem to be everywhere. We also move a little more North to the Long Beach area and find biters feeding off the shorelines.

Trolling Flashes & Herring

Trolling anchovies or herring behind in line flashers or using the Pro-Troll system seems to be the most productive method. There are times spinners can be the hot- ticket but the key is to get the bait down on their nose and let the fish be your guide. Every year fishing changes and so do the conditions.

Chrome Pacific Northwest Salmon

There’s nothing like catching bright chrome Pacific Ocean fish that are full of sea lice and weigh 30-40 pounds. We have 3 guides that make Astoria their home for 6 weeks before they head upriver to the Hanford Reach fishery. If you don’t make it to Alaska, this is your fishery!

Fish Salmon on

Hanford Reach

September-October

Crystal Clear Waters

The Vernita/Hanford Reach area is a spectacular fishery that has the longest free flowing stretch of water between dams. The 50 mile stretch has crystal clear water, creating perfect spawning grounds for hundreds of thousands of fall Chinook salmon. The Hanford King Salmon travel more than 400 miles up the Columbia River which are the same fish that we catch at Buoy 10. The fish go through some color change, mainly due to the long journey in warmer water conditions but still has that nice pink, oily meat.

Hard Fought Fishing Battles

The Hanford Reach Kings are hard fighting fish and thought to be a tougher strain than Columbia’s down river fish. The medium sized river has 50-foot deep holes, fast runs, trenches, broken water and channeled banks that create perfect habitat for holding fish. Fishing the Hanford Reach is a lot less crowded than some of the lower sections of the Columbia River and the kicker is catching 30-50 pound fish. We have 3 Stott’s Fishing Guides that work the Hanford Reach King season starting early September, fishing through middle October. We launch at both Ringold and the Vernita Bride boat ramps, all depending on fishing success. The most common area is above the Vernita Bridge towards the Priest Rapids Dam. Salmon Holes such as King Hole, China Bar, and Midway drift, Vernita Bar are popular amongst the guides.

Fantastic Salmon Fishing

We really like the White Bluffs/Ringold area which is an incredible stretch of the Upper Columbia River that has fantastic fishing. The Ringold water can fluctuate as much as 5 feet in a day due to discharge from Priest Rapids Dam. Our boats have jet pumps so that we can access the right location when rising water and active fish take place. Fishing methods range from trolling Cut Plug Herring, Super Baits, Kwik Fish, Down-Hill Spinners, Diver and Bait, and back-bouncing eggs.

Fishing changes every year and our guides are sure to keep up with the newest and greatest tackle and techniques. Lodging is available in the Tri Cities area and primitive camping is along the river. Cool mornings, warm days and hot fishing make this Upper Columbia River Fishery a real treat.