15 minute read
BOTTOMFISHING FOR BUGEYES
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)
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
It’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
It’s cold out, yes, but the action can be hot for good numbers of eaters. With a heater in the boat and by bundling them up, kids can enjoy winter walleye and it’s fast action too. (ODOHERTYOUTFITTERS.COM)
productive spawners and experience majorly decreasing fertility as they age. But there’s some logic to letting big females go to be bigger females to potentially achieve record or lifetime trophy size. And there are definitely plenty of trophy walleye to be caught and released, or not, in the McNary and John Day Pools.
Unbeknownst to many, however, winter is also maybe the best time to clean up on eater walleye in the cold, clear waters of the Columbia. This fall and early winter, large catches of 18- to 22-inch eaters have been hitting decks and filling live wells and fish boxes, especially between Umatilla and Boardman. This is a great winter to make a trip to Tri-Cities, Boardman or anywhere within close reach of prime walleye waters below McNary Dam. The biggest trophies are generally caught above McNary between Tri-Cities and Port Kelly, but plenty of trophy walleye and much larger numbers of eaters greet anglers between Boardman and Umatilla. Their firm, white flesh seems extra good in winter, just how early-season rockfish and lingcod in the ocean are at their best in early spring.
SPEAKING OF BOTTOMFISH, Boardman,
Oregon’s Bryce Doherty of O’Doherty Outfitters (odohertyoutfitters.com) likens his favorite way of putting clients on walleye to bottomfishing in the ocean.
But whereas rockfish and even lingcod and halibut will leave the bottom to feed, Columbia River walleye remain plastered to the bottom.
“Never have I caught a suspended walleye on the Columbia,” said Doherty. “Walleye hug the bottom extremely tight. If you ever examine the tail of Columbia River walleye, you will find they are worn white from rubbing on the gravel. So baits not fished within a couple feet of the bottom are unproductive.”
Doherty trolls plugs and worm harnesses too to catch these bottomhugging fish, but when he can jig up good numbers of fish – which he is expert at – he’s using silver or gold blade baits and ½- to 1-ounce prop jigs tipped with a ’crawler or a plastic resembling a minnow. He is one of the best and most adaptable walleye anglers in the southern Columbia Basin, and he relishes winters on the water.
“Winter makes me think of empty boat launches, Little Buddy propane heaters, frozen fingers, frozen guides and plenty of fish,” said Doherty, though the truth is ice-cold days on the Columbia are as common as mild days in winter. Still, even a wonderful January or February day can be very chilly, and the crowds stay home.
“May and June are the months the most people flock to the Columbia, and don’t get me wrong because those are some of the most enjoyable weather months,” said Doherty. “But December through March, even April, can be just as productive and with the river all to yourself. Not to mention if you’re looking for a walleye of a lifetime, this is the time of year to catch the biggest fish, when they are at their heaviest with eggs before the early-spring spawn.”
Doherty fishes a combination of keeper sturgeon and walleye during January, and then most of his business turns to walleye fishing throughout the remainder of winter and early spring. Booking a trip with him is a slam dunk because he is not only one of the most productive guides on the water, but he is as honest and as good as the day is long. Doherty is highly regarded across the angling community for good reason. He also grew up ranching in Boardman and seems to understand these fish better than most.
FINDING WALLEYE AND going slow
enough to match the cold-water conditions is one of the challenges of winter walleye. To reduce the learning curve dramatically, hiring a guide is especially useful for Columbia River winter walleye. It is very much worth the price for a seat or two if you plan to fish here, especially during winter.
FISHING WALLEYE AFTER DARK: THE STUFF OF DREAMS – AND NIGHTMARES
Walleye put on the feedbags at night during the full moon, and even the frigid temps of winter don’t dissuade lower Columbia Basin anglers, who will plow, shovel and apply ice melt to Columbia and Snake River launches immediately after even large accumulations of snow. If you know what you’re doing and are cautious, night plugging for big walleye is fun and can be addicting and a great wintertime blues cure.
But this is definitely a nighttime fishery only for anglers who have solid daytime knowledge of these waters and their many hazards. Hiring a guide here is a fantastic choice. Safe, successful and kind guys to try this with in Tri-Cities include Jerry Reyes of Flatout Fishing, TJ Hester of Hester’s Sportfishing, Tyler Miller of Miller Time Fishing, and others. Below McNary in the John Day Pool, Bryce Doherty of O’Doherty Outfitters and Tyler Stahl of Stahl’s Guide Service will both sometimes night fish.
THE BIGGEST ISSUE with night fishing in winter around Tri-Cities – which can be amazing and is your best shot at a 20-pound walleye on the planet – is the many potentially lethal problems to deal with. Dangers include barges and other boats, islands, sand bars, bridges, underwater reefs dangerously close to transom depth, really cold water, wind – it blows a lot here in the basin – and 6-inchdeep water hundreds of yards from shore in places at certain water levels.
Another immense danger exists, one that taught a bunch of greedy Tri-Cities anglers a dangerous lesson two winters ago, especially me: freezing fog.
I had bad cabin fever and was pulling a silver Bandit in the fading light one very cold Monday night near Burbank, Washington, when my trusty Okuma SST sluggishly but heavily doubled over, and 20-pound Power Pro peeled from my Okuma Coldwater low-profile linecounter reel on a tight drag. When a fish peels significant amount of line while winter walleye fishing, it usually isn’t a walleye, or you need to tighten your drag. This chunky, nearly 30-inch female bit almost 200 feet behind my boat on an uphill troll going approximately 1.25 mph. She was pregnant, fat-backed and maybe 10 pounds. I let her go and trolled right back in the dark through the same flat and marked what appeared to be a bunch of big fish, only to have my rod go off again! This one was a fat 28-inch female. Meanwhile, a guide with clients nearby was the only other boat on the water, just inside of me in slightly shallower water, and he was seemingly doing even better based on a lot of happy screaming.
That guide and I both ran home to brag on Facebook, and the next night 11 boats were on the grounds on a 20-degree Tuesday night. The guide boat had reported an incredible catch of something like six or seven over 10 pounds, including an 18. Based on the report of one of the clients, that ended up being exaggerated, but there was a whole bunch of nice fish out there. Based on our Facebook reports, my neighbor and friend, Jerry Reyes, was out there with Eddie “Hoe Candy” Plata in one of their buddies’ really big sleds. They asked me to come with them and told me it was crazy to go out alone, but I had a newish 20-foot sled, and I wanted to repeat the night before without distractions.
LIKE THEIR BOAT and nine others, I made it 7 miles from Hood Park to the grounds before dark settled in. I also immediately caught a cookie-cutter female like the one from the night before, and so did my friends’ boat. But not 30 minutes after releasing that fish, the first tendril of fog flickered across my gunnel. The lights of a pulp mill were still visible over a mile away, and I thought nothing of it.
Instead of packing up shop and heading home to fish another day, I pushed it, as did some other boats. The fog intensified quickly, and soon the only chance of seeing anything was GPS, and mine was poor and not functioning unless I was traveling fast. At times I could not see my bow. Everything was covered in ice. To keep a long story short, I enjoyed a long and terrifying 7 miles over a couple of hours. When I reached my truck, it was 17 degrees, and my boat and I were white from freezing fog.
Winter walleye definitely makes a person appreciate the warmth of a truck and home after a night of January or February plugging, even with a heater in the boat and good cold-weather gear. If you go, hire a guide. If you already night fish out there or anywhere and think you have your safety program on lock, maybe you do, but I didn’t. Be careful if you go. –JH
Flatout Fishing Florida’s Ivan Reyes and deckhand Eddie Plata with a nice female that ate a purple Bandit lure slow trolled under cover of darkness in Pasco. Night fishing can be excellent for big females, but it also brings many dangers that must be
respected. (JEFF HOLMES)
Doherty, for example, understands how the fish behave, how to control his boat really well, and how to present the right lures. A day with him or another reputable walleye guide is worth what you’d learn over the course of 10 solo trips – if you were lucky.
“Walleye, especially winter walleye, use the current to their advantage,” said Doherty. “Cold, lethargic fish don’t want to use energy fighting strong current. Using current breaks, structure and depressions, they hide from the main flow of water, while simultaneously allowing food to be washed over them, attacking from below. As colder water advances throughout winter, I will progressively fish deeper and deeper. Starting in 50 feet of water and working to as much as 100-plus feet. These deep depths typically target eater-sized walleye.”
Doherty and other southern Columbia Basin walleye guides are mostly tight-lipped about big fish techniques, although Doherty is less reluctant to share than some. He also will not stop or guilt a client about killing a female walleye, although he practices catch and release of females himself.
Generally speaking, the females are found shallower, in close proximity to major depth changes, and closer and closer to their spawning grounds as winter progresses. It’s not too tough to find reliable big-fish spots by trolling the internet and by looking for the huge concentrations of boats near Burbank, near Irrigon, and near Boardman, but they can also show up randomly when pursuing eaters in deeper water.
DOHERTY CONFIRMS THAT the main
tactics on the Columbia in winter are pretty much like everywhere else people walleye fish around the Northwest year-round: jigging, plugging and worm harnesses.
“For plugging and worm harnesses, I prefer the same rod, something in the 7- to 8.5-foot range, medium action and fast tipped, paired with a linecounter reel filled with 30-pound braid and, yes, I tie my braid straight to my plug and bottom walker. For jigging, I like a spinning reel spooled with 30-pound braid with a 10-pound mono bumper, paired with a 5- to 7-foot spinning rod. While pricey rods handle great and have their
Trophy and eater walleye don’t just bite at night. Great fishing can occur all day long, so long as you or your guide is on the fish.
advantages, these techniques don’t require top-shelf rods. Walleye can be caught using extremely affordable setups,” he said.
“My go-to lure is a silver or gold ¾-ounce blade bait or a prop jig in black or green,” said the guide. “These are fished with a spinning rod. I usually use a 3- or 4-foot leader of 10-pound mono. Boat control is probably the most difficult part of fishing jigs. I like to keep jigs vertical, and this means the boat needs to be matching the current speed so the line is vertical as we jig. Once the jig is dropped to bottom, slack is taken up. The jigging motion is a quick 1-foot jig up, a slow controlled drop and thump on the bottom, then followed by another 1-foot jig up, a thump on the bottom, and repeat.
“I can’t stress enough that you need to bump bottom on every drop and the upswing is not a huge motion, just a small twitch moving the jig about 1
Ready the tartar! Winter walleye fishing can result in big piles of firm-fleshed fillets, and if you fish with a guide to learn the ropes, you don’t have to touch a knife.
(ODOHERTYOUTFITTERS.COM)
INLAND BOATS & MOTORS
SERVING YOU SINCE 1975
111 N. Kittitas St. Ellensburg, WA 509-925-1758 • M-F 9-5pm inlandboatsandmotors.com
foot off the bottom. Walleye usually bite on the drop, so as soon as you lift and feel weight, be sure to give a good hook set and keep pressure.
“Jigging is fun all year and, once mastered, it is one of the funnest and sometimes most productive ways to catch winter walleye,” said Doherty, who has clients who want to jig no matter the conditions, even when many other anglers want to stuff hands in gloves and pockets and watch trolled rods.
Doherty also pulls worm harnesses, favoring a 4-foot leader, and he varies color selection based on water conditions.
“If I had to pick three, I’d say green, black and gold,” he said.
Generally, the successful worm harness guys use a whole palette of colors and profiles, but clear water conditions in winter call for natural, earthworm or sculpin-type colors. While some do well using smallprofile harnesses, winter is when big-fish seekers increase size profiles to match the typically large feed of winter. Doherty, like the tournament guys and other guides, favors jumbo nightcrawlers in winter but feels comfortable fishing any he can get his hands on.
Plugging has always been popular but has gained popularity in recent years in wintertime. Large, longprofiled deep divers like Bandits, Reef Runners and Flicker Minnows are favored for matching the large baitfish of winter. Doherty prefers green, purple, silver and white. He recommends an upstream troll of approximately 1 mile per hour, targeting 12 to 25 feet of water in close proximity to a dropoff into the river channel. Plugs may result in more big fish than any other method, in part because of the ease of trolling and the ability to cover large swaths of water, especially in the dark. NS
IF YOU GO
Good marinas to launch from below McNary Dam include Plymouth Park, Umatilla, Irrigon and Boardman. Downstream of Tri-Cities in the holy water, try Hood Park (on the Snake River at the Columbia confluence), Two Rivers Park and Walla Walla Yacht Club at Port Kelly.
When the wind blows, the river can be treacherous, and fishing in Tri-Cities itself at Columbia Park, Wade Park, Chiawana Park and Columbia Point affords some protection. –JH
