Snake River – Jones Sport Fishing

January 13, 2018

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.

November 7, 2017January 11, 2018

Snake River Steelhead Report

Over the weekend we spent some time fishing in the Heller Bar area of the Snake River, and despite the low return numbers and the negative Steelhead press we did very well. On Saturday I had two customers hook over 12 Steelhead and land 6. Numbers like that are great when we are talking Steelhead fishing. These are great fish that fight hard and have great meat quality. We have lots of open dates for the rest of November so if you are interested get in touch with us and we can get you set up on a great day of Steelhead fishing!

October 18, 2016January 12, 2018

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.

October 8, 2016January 12, 2018

Snake River Salmon and Steelhead Fishing Report

We had a great day today chasing salmon and Steelhead in the Heller Bar area of the Snake River. Although we mostly caught Fall Chinook today we did manage to find a few Steelhead. The river is absolutely loaded with fish now and should continue to fish fantastic for the next few weeks for salmon and Steelhead and well into February for Steelhead. This is a very active fishery where we mostly side drift bait, so you are actually responsible for catching your own fish. We have quite a few openings for this fishery, so get with us now to book your trip. To view our open dates click on the Book online now button. On our home page. We fish most of our fall snake River dates out of Heller Bar.

June 21, 2016January 11, 2018

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

how to cure coon shrimp — How to cure coon shrimp

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.

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June 7, 2016January 12, 2018

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.

May 31, 2016January 12, 2018

Snake River Sturgeon and Bass Fishing Report 5/30/16

We had the great fortune yesterday to spend a wonderful day on the Snake River near Heller Bar chasing oversize catch and release sturgeon and small mouth bass. Both the sturgeon and bass fishing can be fantastic this time of year and spending warm late spring days in the canyon is a real treat. We landed a total of 4 sturgeon with one being a very nice 6 foot fish that gave everyone in the family a chance to try to pull him in. We also put a whacking on the prolific bass in the area. I think our total for the day was close to 50 fish landed. Most of these bass are on the smaller side ranging from 6-12 inches, but the action is non stop.

The Sturgeon and Bass fishing will remain very good for the next few months and we will be out chasing them. We also offer a chance at keeper sturgeon on the Columbia River in the Hanford Reach. If you are looking for a fantastic dedicated sturgeon trip I really recommend fishing this area with us.

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May 17, 2016January 12, 2018

Snake River Spring Chinook!

This report is for both Sunday the 15th and Monday the 16th of May. We fished out of Clarkston for both days of the Snake River Spring Chinook opener in this area and fishing was absolutely fantastic!

Sunday morning we started off trolling herring and Brad’s Super Baits behind Short Bus and Fish Flash type flashers. We had a fantastic morning bite and had 3 keepers in the boat by 7am. After the initial morning bite things kind of slowed down for us and we hooked and lost a few other fish. All our bites while trolling came very near the bottom with heavy lead ( 10-12 0z.). Our best producer was the Seahawk brads cut plug, but cut plug herring dyed blue and chartreuse was a close second.

Around noon we decided to change things up and join the hog line above us. This was the best decision I made all day! In just a few hours we had 15 or so bites and landed 2 more nice keeper Chinook. We ended our full day trip around 3pm and dropped my first set of customers off. I had two guys jump in with me for the evening and we returned to our anchor spot. In 3 hours we had another 12-15 bites and landed 5 Chinook with 3 of them being keepers.

Monday morning I started with the same program from the night before. We anchored up in the Hog line and started hooking fish almost immediately. Again we had 12-15 bites hooked 9 of them, lost 3 at the boat, landed 3 of which 2 were keepers. I only had one customer with me yesterday so we were done and limited by 10am with a great day of action.

While on anchor I had the most success fishing tuna wrapped Kwickfish and Brads Killerfish in the 15 size. I added Garlic Super Dipping Sauce, and Anis/Krill Super Dipping sauce to two separate batches of tuna, and we had great success with both concoctions. I change my bait wraps every 15 mins, and feel that this is a major factor in my success.

I have some openings this upcoming weekend if we get another opener for the Snake. Friday/Saturday is open at Ice Harbor, and Sunday/Monday is open at Clarkston. The Snake currently has a two fish limit so this is a great opportunity that we don’t often see. Give me a call at 208-861-0654 and lets get your trip set up.

Don’t forget to enter to win a free fishing trip with us!

March 13, 2016January 12, 2018

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.