Spring Fishing Opportunities

Columbia River Walleye

Columbia River Walleye, CJ Strike and Hells Canyon Sturgeon, American Falls Trout, and CJ Strike Crappie!

These are just a few of the options that we have right now to get you out on the water this spring with us. March is our official kickoff for our Columbia River Walleye season, and we couldn’t be more excited to chase these tasty and challenging fish. Walleye are one of the most sought after fish in the Columbia basin, and we cant wait to be out on the river chasing them.

March also means the giant white Sturgeon of the Snake River really start to wake up and feed.  We have already had some fantastic Sturgeon fishing the past month or so, and that will just continue to get better as the weather warms, and water temps make getting in the water for a glory shot even more enjoyable.  We are having great success on CJ Strike Reservoir located and hour south of Boise, ID as well as on the lower end of Hell’s Canyon near Lewiston, ID.  Both of these fisheries are a great way to get out on the water and enjoy one of the coolest fish that swims in our Idaho waters.  

March is also our kickoff for trophy trout on the Snake River near American Falls, as well as American Falls Reservoir.  March is one of the best times to spend a day in one of our drift boats fly fishing for the huge trout that call the Snake River home.  This is an amazing opportunity to try and break the 10 pound mark on some huge fish.  As March moves on and river levels rise with spring flows the power boat fishing on the river becomes the hottest bite around.  This is a fantastic fishery and its all catch and release with no bait through the Saturday of memorial day weekend.  The river fishery at American Falls is our bread and butter, and we would love the opportunity to show you why we love this place so much.  

Along with the Snake River at American Falls March also means its time to chase trophy rainbows on American Falls reservoir.  Last year Brett broke the catch and release state record with a 31.5 inch rainbow caught of the reservoir.  While this is a great fish its not even considered a monster on this system.  The huge Rainbows, Browns, and Rainbow/ Cutthroat Hybrids that prowl this huge reservoir are breathtaking, and we have the inside knowledge to put you on these amazing fish.  Along with awesome trophy opportunity we can also target the plentiful 18-24 inch rainbows that are amazing table fare.  the trout limit on the reservoir is 6 trout, although we only advocate harvesting rainbows and hybrids, as the natural reproducing browns and cutthroat are a true gems worth retuning to the river.   

Finally how can we forget the fantastic Crappie fishing at CJ Strike. In recent days the crappie are starting to break out of their huge winter schools and are now moving around much more. As of yesterday they are no yet on the banks in the spawning areas, but it might only be a matter of a week or so before we start casting to large schools of crappie. Nothing is more fun for the entire family than a day spent loading up on these tasty fish. Not only are they an absolute blast to catch, but they are also one of the best tasting fresh water fish around.

Clearwater/ Snake Confluence Fall Chinook

We have been home from the Oregon coast now for about 10 days and in that time we have spent some great days fishing for Fall Chinook on the Clearwater and Snake Rivers out of Lewiston, Idaho. Although we love to fish in Astoria it just doesn’t quite measure up to our local fisheries and sleeping in our own beds. The confluence as we call it is one of our favorite fisheries and we can’t be more excited to be catching fall Chinook at home in Idaho.

The confluence is a unique fishery as the cold clear waters of Idaho’s Clearwater meet the slightly stained warm waters of the Snake River. The Clearwater this time of year is often running at around 50 degrees when it meets the hot 70 degree water of the Snake. These are the conditions that allow this fishery to thrive. Migrating salmon and steelhead bound for the Snake, Salmon, and Clearwater rivers seek this cold water refuge. While the Clearwater fish tend to shoot straight up the Clearwater, the Snake and Salmon River fish hold up, hang out, and wait for water temperatures on the Snake to cool down before continuing their migration, and it’s these holding fish that provide us with fantastic fishing.

For salmon the confluence is primarily a troll fishery although there is a strong following of bobber and shrimp fisherman that do very well for steelhead, and also catch a few salmon while targeting steelhead. We absolutely love to troll and this fishery is a trollers dream. Our go to set ups are almost identical to the other troll fisheries we fish throughout the Columbia River Basin. We fish 360 style flashers with superbaits or spinners as our lures of choice, and all of this is easily accomplished without the use of downriggers.

When targeting salmon in the confluence we tend to try and keep our gear within about 5 feet of the bottom. Utilizing lead cannon ball weights and line counter reels. Our go to depths the past few outing have been to run 12 ounces of lead at 30 and 35 feet on our line counters, and 8 ounces at 50 feet. Water depth ranges in in the confluence from 25- 40 or so feet and the above numbers do a great job of having us in the zone at all times.

Another thing to keep in mind when fishing at the Confluence is that trolling speed is your friend. These Chinook seem to like a fast troll, and we want to see a deep thump on the rod telling us that our flashers are working well. If your not getting that deep thump, then speed up. Also speed can be used to raise and lower your gear when trying to fish over shallower humps. If you need your set up to raise up just simply go faster and get your gear up and over the hump. Often times these speed changes are really what get these salmon to bite.

Like we stated before this is one of our favorite fisheries and the flat calm waters of the Snake and Clearwater Confluence are a great place to hone your salmon skills. So, grab some canned tuna, a handful of 3.5 Colorado Spinners, and your favorite superbaits and get out on the water.

Snake River Steelhead

We had a fantastic day in the sun today on the lower end of Hell’s Canyon fishing out of Heller Bar. We ended up putting 8 fish In the net for our two anglers today. The Snake River currently has quite a few fish in it and the fishing is good. We did very well today side drifting eggs and yarn and egg combinations. The water was low today so we fished very light lead and really pounded the slow pocket water near the bank. The water temperature was around 37 which puts these fish in the slower water near the bank. We have open boats next week and will be fishing the Snake through the 15th of February so if you are interested in booking a day get in touch with us.

Columbia River Walleye Fishing!

The Walleye bite on the Columbia River is heating up! We had a great day today mostly jigging, but we also caught fish in worm spinners with bottom walkers. We have openings now through June for the best tasting white flesh fish that swim.

Hell’s Canyon Steelhead Fishing!

Snake River Steelhead

We are continuing to see great fishing in the lower end of Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River near Heller Bar. It’s been great to see all the keepers around too. Yesterday was awesome, nice Steelhead, no crowds, and 58 degrees in January!  We have a few openings over the next few weeks if you want to get out!  Click Here for more information on our Snake River Steelhead adventures.

Snake River Keeps Kicking out Steelhead

Snake River Steelhead

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

AF4ACED6-F3C5-46BD-9835-35FC36780509We 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

Snake River Steelhead

 

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

Snake River Steelhead

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.

Clearwater River, Idaho Steelhead Fishing Video

Clearwater River Steelhead

With the great forecast Idaho’s Clearwater River has this year we thought this would be a great time to share a video we did a few years back.

On the Clearwater we work as employees of Reel Time Fishing. This is a great river with huge Steelhead!

 

The team at Reel Time Fishing has openings! Get in touch with us and lets get your trip set up.