FISHING Bryce Doherty (left) opens up January fishing for keeper sturgeon and walleye on the John Day Pool. Once the sturgeon quota is met, he switches 100 percent to walleye. Doherty is one of the many guides who has to acknowledge that walleye fishing has arguably never been better even nine years after the end of size and bag limits in the Columbia River basin. A day walleye fishing with Doherty is always worth the time, but he’s also an expert at salmon fishing and guides from the Klickitat into the Hanford Reach. (ODOHERTYOUTFITTERS.COM)
Bottomfishing For Bugeyes
Yes, you can troll in winter, but for one Mid-Columbia guide, it’s all about jigging the deck for trophy and eater walleye. By Jeff Holmes
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t’s no secret to Northwest Sportsman readers and walleye aficionados across the continent that the southern Columbia Basin is home to the world’s biggest walleye. Winter is when the females are heavy with eggs, meaning a possible new Washington or Oregon state record in the 20s. It’d be a stretch to see a Columbia River fish eclipse the 25-pound world record from Tennessee’s Old Hickory Lake in 1960, but over the last 30
years, many more walleye in excess of 18 pounds have been caught in and around Tri-Cities than all walleye waters combined, continent-wide. This winter’s fishery is just getting started. Our extra-big fish bring many dedicated crews of Midwest anglers to the McNary and John Day Pools from January to March to fish with guides in pursuit of lifetime trophies. Many come to night fish by pulling plugs, which is an extremely cold, dangerous and effective way to catch females (see sidebar). Along with Midwestern
visitors, a huge contingent of local and other Northwest anglers fish these stretches of the Columbia both day and night in search of trophies in the winter too. Some of the females are retained, but most get released under the community ethic that the biggest walleye are the big spawners because they have so many eggs. Even with all the talk in the walleye community of “settin’ the big girls free” and “lettin’ her do her thing,” biologists point out that large females are some of the least nwsportsmanmag.com | JANUARY 2022
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