Does anyone have any tips for fishing the Jetty for Chinook? Thought maybe Buzz Bombs, darts, or even herring below a bobber! How about a big kwikfish with a little herring wrap? Heard that jetty can be slippery, would felt shoes maybe help? I have many questions. Can anyone help? Never fished the Columbia before and any info would be be helpful. Thanks

uyellowdirtydog:

Run "north jetty" through the search engine and you should get some useful info.

The basics:

Mostly a float and fresh herring show. Stop by the canby campground store and they'll show you and sell you all your rigging. Try to keep your herring around the top 8' of water. Fish the incoming and slack tides. Strong outgoing= curl up on a rock and take a nap.

The jetty is not for the physically weak, one wrong move and you'll fall and be hurtin for certain, airlifts occur off of the jetty every summer. The rocks are more manageable at the beginning of the jetty than towards the middle and end. Felt soles are always a good idea. Bring bug repellant for the brown jetty flies. A long handled salmon net is necessary to get them in. Don't forget the sunscreen. I would recommend a mainline at a minimum of 25-30lb test and at least a 25lb leader. Those jetty fish are not leader shy. Lots of barnacles and occassionally some monster kings get hooked. When a fish takes your bobber down reel until you feel like your actually reeling the fish in then set the hook!

The second week of August through Labor Day weekend is usually prime time for the jetty.

Good Luck,

BD

I fished there twice the summer of 2000. I didn't catch anything until I gave up and started fishing bottom fish. It can be disheartening because all the boats are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy out there in the middle of the river crowded around the buoys and you feel like you are never casting far enough. Bobber and cut-plug herring is the most popular. Also the dredge ship dumps right out in front of the jetty so the water seemed murky to me (see charts for drege dump area).

Another option is the Oregon side. I hear they do well on Silvers off Clatsop Spit fishing cut-plug herring under a float.

Take a big surf/bank rod if you go to either so you can get maximum casting distance.

There's no doubt the jetty is not what it used to be. The early 90's though I would go out there after work and get at least a fish every night sometimes limiting within 25 min. But last three trips over the years have been meager for catching.

Those boats at B-10 would be fishing in front of the jetty if they could but its closed to fishing from boats because of it being a "conservation" area. Don't worry about casting out far, alot of your hookups will occur within 8 feet of the rocks. The cohos and kings use the jetty as a barrier to corral bait fish while feeding.

BD

Fished it alot, 2001 was red hot. But last fall was a waste of time. Hopefully this year will be better. Since the 96 flood it hasent been the same. If the salmon fishing is slow you can always crab off it also, ive done really well there using a cats ass with herring in the middle.