Played Hooky this Week

Hit the Columbia on a Wednesday. It was so different from a week and a half earlier. The smolt were gone (out-migrated) and there were no bass schooling and chasing bait. It felt like a completely different river. I ended up with only 18 bass with the biggest probably being 16 or 17" (I did not measure). Three times during the day I caught fish on back to back casts. Once I caught 4 in 6 casts. Other than those three moments it was a slow day overall. I also made a tactical error in trying to go upstream late in the day but the wind made fishing unpleasant so that just ended up being pedaling exercise :) Still a blast to be out on the water. I spoke with one other fellow and he had done better on size (he had two 19s and an 18) but overall it had been quite a bit slower for him as well.
I think the fish have drastically changed how they are setting up and the next trip I will have to be ready to probe deeper and more carefully. But figuring them out is what makes fishing so much fun!

[@baltimorebasser410]

I noticed the same thing! Caught close to 75 a mile or two up river 4 weeks ago with one pushing 5 lbs and then 2 weeks ago we struggled to catch 25 and couldn’t find any size. Interesting observation about the smolt! Makes a lot of sense I definitely noticed them chasing bait a lot more in mid-to late July. The big ones are always trickier for me to find in the late summer - early fall… probably not fishing deep enough.

[@pdxfisher1]

Glad to hear it's not just me! The river just felt emptier. I definitely need to mix up what depths I am fishing more the next time out.