FISHING
Springers From Shore Trolling is the most popular way to catch the Columbia’s earliest Chinook, but plunking rings in its share. By Buzz Ramsey
O
ne bucket list goal I realized last spring was to catch a spring Chinook while fishing from the bank of the Columbia River, like I did during my teen years. You see, all of my early trips for salmon (other than one ocean fishing adventure) were from shore. In fact, plunking the Columbia was how I caught my very first spring Chinook, summer Chinook and summer steelhead – all while still fishing a Spin-N-Glo from various locations along the shore of the Lower Columbia. What kept me from fulfilling this goal prior to last season was always chasing springers from my boat. Being mostly retired last year, I took a break from boat fishing and drove down to Bonneville Dam to check out bank fishing action and bring myself up to speed on the latest tricks and tips, which I’m sharing in this article. And while everyone I saw while scouting the bank was plunking a Spin-N-Glo (just like I first did 55 years ago), there are some important differences in how most anglers rig up these days. The first thing I noticed was
Plunking rods line the Washington side of the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam during 2021’s spring Chinook run. (BUZZ RAMSEY)
nwsportsmanmag.com | MARCH 2022
Northwest Sportsman 79
