Fall Angling. Source: Jim Bailey
The fall of 2024 has been an eventful one, especially on the Columbia River.
Anglers saw the river fluctuate several times, just to make the fishing more challenging.
Still there was no shortage of good days.
September was exceptional rainbow fishing. I had good results nymphing with strike indicator, along the drop-offs and in shallow water close to shore. A few times, I saw the rainbow take my fly in the shallow water and bolt for the current.
At times, I switched to hoppers in the late afternoon and coaxed a few to the surface. And of course, the October caddis dry fly patterns were productive in the evenings in the large back eddies.
Walley fishing was also incredible, but I didn’t find as many big ones as I usually do.
This could be due to the “Invasive Species Fish Out Derby” organized by Angler’s Atlas on the Columbia River in July.
The event was a huge success, with hundreds of walleye removed from the river.
Chris Joseph was the angler with the largest fish, a 72.9 cm (28.7-inches) lunker.
And the winner for the total length of the longest 10 fish went to Ryan Mitchell, who’s top 10 added up to 556.5 cm or a whopping 18.3-feet of walleye. Mitchell’s 10-best walleye measured between an impressive 51.5 cm and 60 cm.
The total length for the Top-10 angler’s 10 fish added up to 5,073.1 cm or 166.4 ft. That’s a lot of walleye.
It would be impossible to tell how many walleye were caught in total, but with 24 anglers competing, it was definitely in the high hundreds. The sheer number of walleye also may be cause for alarm, but the effort to reduce it definitely helps.
The walleye cull is also good for the salmon reintroduction programs initiated by Indigenous tribes, as walleye prey on eggs and larvae of all species including salmon.
A biologist confirmed salmon spawning activity and redd construction at Norns Creek fan and by Genelle in an October FB post.
Some are concerned with the potential impact of salmon reintroduction on the rainbow population, and whether, potentially, the thousands of salmon fry will outcompete local rainbow trout fry.
There is also a lot of controversy currently brewing between the tribes, and who should be the stewards of the Columbia River.
How these programs move forward remains to be seen.
In any case, enjoy your time on the river, and don’t let controversy or cold weather be an obstacle. Every day is a good day if you’re fishing the Columbia.
