Cowlitz River Spring Chinook Fi

Cowlitz River
Spring Chinook Fishing From a Boat

The information below covers some basics of river boat salmon fishing, but is targeted for the individual sport fisherpersons. Here most likely the boat operator would also like to fish, so with one or possibly two passengers sharing the expenses, he may well be pretty occupied just running the motor. Therefore it is likely that one of the passengers may have to somewhat tend the boat operators rod, checking the let out/contact with the bottom etc. & even net a fish.

If you are on a guided trip, the guide is the captain & fish program manager. He may have his own distinct variations of the methods listed below. Listen to him, he makes his living by being informed & tuned to slight changes that produce fish.

Boats: Here you will see so many different boats on the water that it would be impossible to describe. However there will be basically 2 different types, (1) a drift boat & (2) a jet drive boat. In the upper river, it would be nearly impossible to navigate with a prop driven motor, as the water flow changes so often that you never know what it will be because of what is being released from the dams.

The drift boat will be a curved double ended flat bottom rowboat. These will normally be put in upriver & drifted down to a takeout.

While the jet will be either inboard or outboard jet powered. You will usually see a 8 to 10hp "kicker" or trolling motor in addition to the main propulsion motor. These smaller motors are what is used for the back trolling or back bouncing mentioned below. It is very important to be able to lift one of these up if you happen to be sliding down near or over a tail-out where the water shallows out above a riffle. Here comes into play the need for electric power tilt units on these trolling motors. Many fishermen will also use a electric trolling motor when the need arises for slightly less power in slower water or hover fishing.

In the opinion of many, a outboard jet that is tiller controlled places the operator in more control as he is at the rear of the boat & in total control at all times as compared to having to control the boat from a steering wheel at the front/mid section of the boat. When I say control, remember that this is a river that is fast moving in most places & a slight mistake can be disastrous. If you are fishing off the rear of the boat using the trolling motor to back bounce & have to jump up & run forward to start the main motor, this takes time. It can also make for lost or broken gear.

Methods: On the Cowlitz River, as in many other rivers there are a few primary methods used to fish for Spring Chinook from a boat. They are: (1) back trolling (2) back bouncing; (3) Anchor fishing. (4) Another newcomer would be Hover fishing. There is not much concentrated bank fishing for Springers other than below the Barrier dam facility probably because of limited bank access.

Back Troll: Back trolling and back bouncing essentially use pretty much the same technique. Unlike forward trolling in estuaries, it is commonly done in faster paced coastal & some inland tributary rivers. Some of the techniques covered here will also work work well from an anchored boat where the current is sufficient enough to produce the required action on the baits or lures.

The real difference is in which method is used to get your bait down to near the bottom. Back trolling usually uses a diver where you want your lure to be close to, but not on the bottom. Back bouncing uses a lead sinker of from 2 to 4oz depending on depth & flow, and you are maintaining contact with the bottom.

Back Trolling setup

To rig up for back trolling is quite simple and the diagram shown above should clarify any questions you have. A three way swivel is attached at the end of your main line. Off of this three-way swivel you have a 6" dropper that leads to your diver. Off of the rear swivel eye, attach a 4'-6' leader that has your lure/bait attached. If you are going to fish a spinner or prawn unit, a bead chain is needed on the leader to reduce line twist. The key to making back trolling or back bouncing effective, is to work your boat into the current at a speed that brings you down stream very slowly, & hopefully in the fish traveling lane. Here's a LINK to a Luhr Jensen article on back trolling. Luhr Jensen tries to push their Jet Diver, but Hot-n-Tot or Mudbug plugs with the hooks removed will also work well in slower waters. If you intend to use the Jet Diver, size #2 would be about right for the water depth encountered here.

Here you would let out the amount of line you think needed, approx 50' & set the rod in the rod holder & wait for the take-down. However you need to constantly watch for a hang-up. For these types of fishing you need to be consistent with how much line you are letting out, especially if there are more than one person in the boat to help prevent line tangles. There are a couple of methods to achieve this. One is to county the number of times your level-wind moves back & forth across the reel. This will also depend on the spool capacity of the reel. Or you could use a line-counter reel.

Back Bouncing: The back bounce is similar to the back troll but a bit more complex in the execution. This setup is essentially the same, but a lead cannonball substituted for the diver. Except you do not set the rod in the holder, you hold onto it. Once your boat is set up above the drift, bow upstream, fisherman and rod facing down stream, lower your gear to the bottom & "walk" your gear down by slightly lifting the rod tip & letting it back down. This accomplishes 2 things in that it allows you to feel the bottom & if the current or depth changes, you can adjust you line either in or out .

Back Bouncing or anchor setup

As you let the line out, as soon as you make contact with the bottom wait 4-5 seconds, lift your rod tip to about the 10 o'clock position. When you reach the 10 o'clock, release your thumb from the spool and release line until you make contact with the bottom again. Repeat this process of "walking" your lure/weight until the line reaches about a 45-degree down angle off the back of the boat. Now engage your drag. By lifting the rod to 10 o'clock every few seconds, you should now be able to bounce through the drift while slowly allowing the boat to slide downstream. This periodic lifting also gives your bait more action with varying & pulsating movements.

If you aren't feeling your lead make contact with the bottom on the bounce, you may need to let more line out while bouncing or change the weight of the sinker. Also if the bottom is getting shallow, you may have to reel in line to maintain your bounce. When bouncing you may need to experiment with the length of dropper from the swivel to your lead to find the traveling depth of the fish. Once you find the traveling depth and lane, hopefully your offering will be in fish's faces as they move upriver & you slide downriver. A good bait presented using this method is hard for Springers to resist.

The lure can be Kwik-Fish, spinners, eggs, prawn, or even cut plug herring.

Anchor Fishing: Fishing at anchor utilizes the same setup as a back bouncing rig, however you anchor over a fish traveling lane. You bounce out your offering to about a 60-degree down angle and let the fish come to you. This is where Luhr Jensen's Kwikfish shine. Since half the battle of anchor fishing is choosing where to anchor. You normally look for inside bends of the river with gravel bars that gently slope. Fish in anywhere from 8' to 20' of water depending on the location and current flow. At anchor, again a dropper length experimentation my prove beneficial, until you find where the fish are & what's working.

When fishing a Kwik-Fish place your rod in a readily accessible rod holder with the drag set slightly looser than you normally would. Placing the clicker on helps in letting you know when you have a bite if you're not paying attention. When your fish takes the lure you want to put your thumb on the spool, take the rod out of the holder, drop the rod tip and wait until he has taken it down 2 or 3 times and then lift up and sting him. Others say to leave it in the rod holder, let the fish take the lure & run with it before setting the hook. Either way this will take a lot of patience, but will increase your hooking percentage considerably. There are not many that have the patience to fish a Kwikfish with a rod in his or her hand. 99.9% who attempt this, set the hook at the way too early. For this reason back bouncing a Kwikfish requires nerves of steel and isn't for the feint of heart, if you want to try it go ahead.

You could also use eggs if the current was slow enough to not get any action on the Kwikfish. This would normally be in an area where you would be at the head of a hole or just above deeper slack water.

Hover Fishing: In hover fishing, it uses basically the same sinker system as back bouncing but the boat is maintained in position over fish that are congregated in a deeper hole. This hole could be anywhere from 8' to 50' deep. The bottom will usually change so you need to watch the depth-finder & if the bottom depth increases or decreases, you need to make changes to compensate. You normally want the lure within a couple of feet off the bottom. Fish will move up slightly to take the lure, BUT they will not normally move deeper to do so. Also you want the lure to be fishing & not hung up.

Here you hold onto the rod with the rod tip within a foot of the water. The bite will be many times be like that of a trout, let them eat it & when the rod tip goes down, lift up & start reeling.

Here a springer is on, but resisting	Another springer on it's way to the fish-box.

Gear: Here, like most fishing, you will find differences of opinion in mainline types. Many experienced fisherpersons here prefer the newer braided lines (Power Pro or Tuf Line) simply because you can feel the bottom better. A better bite detection is another good reason. A 40# mainline would probably be about right for all around usage. However others prefer 20# monofilament mainline & the same weight leaders. Just depends on where you are fishing, the number of other fishermen in close proximity & personal preference.

Leaders would normally be monofilament of 20-25# or if you are in possible snag infested waters then go up to 40# as these Chinook do not appear to be leader shy.

Rods need to be about 8 1/2' with a good power body but a flexible but powerful tip for setting the hook. You do not want a really soft rod here. A good steelhead rod will work just fine. The benefit of the lighter tipped rod (especially in hover fishing) is that with the lighter tipped rod, the fish does not feel the rod, until it is hooked.

Reels need not be as large a capacity as normally used on the ocean, because you will be fishing from a boat that is under control of an operator & you will be able to chase a fish if need be. So you do not need a reel that holds 300 yards plus of line. The Ambassadeur 5000 or 6500, Shimano TD 100 works just just fine also. The important thing is that it has a GOOD drag system. Another thing to remember is to DO NOT set the drag too heavy, leave the drag lighter (more like a steelheader would). If you need more tension to set the hook, just thumb the side of the spool at that time. Also resist the urge to tighten the drag if the fish is not coming in readily, (UNLESS you see it heading for snags, etc.) If so you could apply some slight thumb pressure to the spool instead of changing the drag.

The sinker is usually snapped onto a 6"-10" lighter weight mono dropper that slides on the mainline thru a small barrel swivel. This along weight a light tipped rod allows the fish to take the bait without detecting much resistance.

Lures: Normally you will be fishing with egg cluster, shrimp bait, or a combo of the two. As mentioned above Kwikfish is one well known & used lure in the local rivers for Springers. Kwikfish is what most Columbia River Springer fisherpersons use, & since these are the same fish, there would appear to be no reason not to use them here also. Sardine wrapped Kwikfish is the standard, but a substitute for a Sardine wrap on your Kwikfish, I have found that simply use a good Sardine or Anchovy scent. However you want to thoroughly clean the lures with Lemon Joy before putting them away. This also applies to using the actual Sardine wrap.

When purchasing a Kwikfish & selecting the color for Springers, a couple of proven colors are lime green/yellow/chrome or the "Pirate" in red/blue/purple shown in the header photo.

K-15 Kwikfish with belly triple hook replaced with Siwash & swivels added	Eggs with a added floater

Good cured salmon roe (eggs) is hard to beat if you have any. Prawn/shrimp can also be a winner, or even a combo of eggs & shrimp. A spinner/prawn setup is also used by some.

Some fishermen even use a cut-plug herring. And with this in mind, the new Brads Super Plug, which simulates a cut-plug herring but has the capability of adding scent inside it is sure to become a winner here.

Scent: Sure, most times, any scent will be of a benefit. If nothing else to mask human bad smells. Wear latex gloves.

Find the Right Bait: It goes without saying to use different baits on each rod until you find what works. Then change over to that bait on all rods & work that section of the river until you are sure there is no more fish there. If you are pretty sure they are still there, but off the bite, be persistent. Sometimes just waiting an hour or so, if the sun is out, may warm the water up even 1 degree can make a big difference.

A beautiful day on the water & great fishing with limits of 14# hatchery Chinook

Location: Starting from the barrier dam boat launch, there is a decent back-trolling/bouncing drift just below the ramp down to the first riffles. Many fish are pulled from this stretch along the middle to the north bank. About from the middle to the south bank (inside corner) is faster water more often associated with steelhead.

There is another drift or two below that that is worth a try.

Below that you come into the area known as Baker Rock. There is a slight corner with water starting to slow down & from 8' to 50'. This hole can be productive all the way from the top to a deep slot beside a real shallow shelf above the tail-out. Fish can be caught thru-out this section, even down to above the tail-out.

Most water from Blue Creek down to the Mission bar is rather swift & shallow for this type of fishing & is more productive for steelhead than salmon.

There will be some fishing from the Mission Bar down to the I-5 bridge. In this area you will find new boat launch facilities at the town of Toledo.

However probably the majority of Springer fishing will be from I-5 boat launch downstream. The river gets deeper here in places which is more conducive to Spring Chinook. These is a new boat launch facility just north of the Castle Rock school.

Hire a Guide: Unless you have lots of time & can learn from your mistakes, it will be very beneficial to hire a guide, & learn as much as you can. Most guides have no problem with sharing some information. But do not be aggressive & write everything down that he tells you, as he has paid his dues & just because you paid for a trip does not mean he should help you write a book.

On the occasion when the photos were taken above, my cousin & I were with a very competent guide, Nic Norbeck from Elite Guide Service . We shared a spot on the river with another lone fisherman & his dog. We both fished the same method in the same location, did exactly the same procedure & followed each other thru that area many times, he never got a bite & we pulled 6 Springers, lost one & missed 3 more. The only thing I could see he did different was that he did not tip his eggs with shrimp tails. He did catch a bullhead late in the day & Nic said more than likely that the other guy's egg cure was not conducive to salmon, but more for steelhead since the bullhead & steelhead seem to like the same egg cure.

Originated 01-22-2010, Last updated 04-19-2010
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