We had another great day fishing the Snake River out of Heller Bar. We ended our day 9-11 and kept 5 nice fish. Fishing the Snake for Steelhead continues to be a great option and we really think it’s going to fish great well into February! Again today our key was fishing coon shrimp in our concoction. This mix just keeps on kicking out fish! We have openings over the next few weeks so get in on this while the getting is good! Ohh and did I mention that we had the river all to ourselves?!
Snake River Steelhead Fishing Report
We had another fantastic day at the entrance to Hells Canyon out of Heller Bar. We continue to do very well on Steelhead and we have been finding lots of keepers. Success came today drifting shrimp put up in our little mix. This has been a great little trick for us. Stay tuned as we continue to develop a specific snake river recipe! We might even share it with our readers.
We have openings next week so get in touch with Dani in our Office at 208-669-1569 or click Here to book online.
Snake River Steelhead Fishing is Going Strong
Take a look at these beautiful Snake River Steelhead. Fishing is great right now out of Heller Bar at the entrance to Hell’s Canyon. These fish are in great shape and it’s hard to beat the scenery. We have dates open this week and next to get in on the action. Give Dani in our office a call at 208-669-1569 and let’s get your Snake River Steelhead adventure on the books.
Snake River Steelhead Report
We had a fantastic day today on the Snake River at the entrance to Hell’s Canyon for hard fighting Steelhead. Nothing quite like fishing for Steelhead in January with the temperature at close to 50 degrees! We landed a bunch of fish today and lost even more. We did very well side drifting both beads and shrimp. By the great number of fish around the Heller Bar area we expect the fishing to be good well into February. We have openings the next few weeks, so give Dani in our office a call at 208-669-1569 and let’s get your trip booked.
Snake River Steelhead Fishing Report
We had a great day of Steelhead fishing today in Hells Canyon. We fished out of the Heller Bar area. Today was a mixture of frustration and jubilation as the river went from decently fishable in the morning to pretty much puke brown by lunch, but by 1pm we found a little section of fishable water and that’s when things got interesting, before lunch we had only one small Chinook and one wild Steelhead to the boat, but in the two hours between 1 and 3 we hooked a total of 10 steelhead landed 6 and kept 4.
Today was one of those days on the water were determination and perseverance paid off. We notice some very subtle changes in river conditions and took advantage of an opportunity to put fish in the boat.
I think later this week and next week look great for the Snake River in the Heller Bar area as these storms and high water should bring a bunch of fresh fish into the area. We have openings Monday through Friday of next week and Fishing is going to be fantastic! This fishery will continue to be very good all the way through November and December. To book your next trip with us visit the Book online Now button on our homepage or visit the Snake River Steelhead section on our website for more information.
How to Cure Coon Shrimp for Steelhead and Salmon Fishing
Coon shrimp and specifically cured and dyed coon shrimp are a staple in our bait cooler. They are our bait of choice for both Sockeye Salmon and Summer Steelhead, and we often use them for Spring, and Summer Chinook. Many anglers are confused at how to go about processing their own coon shrimp, but luckily we have many over the counter ready to mix cures and brine’s that help make curing coon shrimp a consistent and easy process. This is a very simple process, and if you have ever cured your own salmon roe you can cure coon shrimp. Most of the available commercial egg cures will also do a fantastic job of curing coon shrimp.
Ingredients:
Pro-Cure Egg Cure (original double red hot stuff) Buy Here
Frozen Coon Shrimp ( make sure you buy good quality Shrimp)
Rock Salt
Freezer bag
Pro-Cure Slam-ola powder Buy Here
Scents ( the sky is the limit here but my favorite are the line of Super Dipping Sauce.) Buy Here
Step 1:
Fill your freezer bag with approximately 3 inches of Coon Shrimp
Step 2:
Add enough cure to get a good covering of the Coon Shrimp ( 1/2 cup of cure is a good starting point)
Step 3:
Add 1 tea spoon of Slam-ola Powder
Step 4:
Refrigerate at a minimum overnight. Your Shrimp can be fished as early as the next day, but you will get a better result by letting them cure for 3 days.
Step 5:
Add 1 cup rock salt. I do this after 3 days of curing. Adding the Rock Salt is optional, but it will toughen up you shrimp very well. We often use Coon Shrimp for side drifting Steelhead in Hell’s Canyon and this step gives us a very durable bait.
For a chance to win a free fishing trip with us click HERE. We select a random person from our newsletter list each and every month to win a free fishing trip with us!
Sturgeon Fishing and Relaxing on the River
The past few weeks have seen us transition from our intense up at 2am, fishing at daylight spring Chinook routine to a much more laid back approach sturgeon fishing, bass fishing, and enjoying the beauty of the lower end of Hell’s Canyon. We have been having a blast catching fish ranging from 4-9 foot sturgeon and averaging 50 + bass/ day. The month of June is a time of year we look forward to every year, when we wind down a little and enjoy the river around us a little more. While we may start our days a little later and take in the scenery more often we are still fishing hard! The huge white Sturgeon of Hell’s Canyon will test your strength to the core. For those of you who have ever done battle with an 8 foot prehistoric giant of a fish you know what I am talking about! Many people walk away from our Sturgeon trips saying that it was one of the best times they have ever had fishing! We invite you to enjoy a day on the water with us and let us show you how special of a place we call home and what its flagship fish have to offer. For the rest of the month of June we are offering Catch and Release Sturgeon trips in Hell’s Canyon. Give us a call or check out the rest of our website for more information on these great trips. This is the perfect outing for family’s and people just looking to take in some sun and enjoy a relaxing day on the water.
Snake River Spring Chinook!
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Hells Canyon Sturgeon Fishing
We snuck out yesterday for an early Sturgeon fishing trip on the Snake River out of Heller Bar. With our steelhead season behind us we have been switched over to targeting catch and release sturgeon. The weather was a little unsettled, but the fish were cooperative. We landed a small 3 foot fish and one monster 8 footer. We also had a few other bites, but considering we only fished for a few hours I think we did fantastic.
Our bait of choice is salmon bellies and scraps from salmon season. We find this to be the most consistent bait, but we often fish other baits such as squid, roll mop herring, worms, or any fresh cut bait we can get our hands on.
Catch and release sturgeon fishing will be great from now through the end of June. On our sturgeon trips we average multiple fish landed per day with the fish ranging from 3-11 feet in length. We also offer sturgeon trips with the possiblity of keepers on the Hanford reach during this same time frame. These trips are a great experience that all should see. The power of these large sturgeon is amazing.
Hell’s Canyon Steelhead Fishing
Here is a video shot earlier this month fishing the Snake River out of Heller Bar! We had a fantastic time chasing fish in the canyon all by our selves. We fish steelhead in this area starting the 10th of October – the end of February. We fill our fall season very quickly so if anyone is interested in fishing with us please book your trips early to ensure you get the best seats available.
A big thank you to the guys at http://northwestfishingreports.com for filming and editing the video. If you are looking for current fishing reports for almost any area in the northwest you can most likely find them here.