by Mike Carey, September 15, 2008

I find myself once again driving Highway 97 in the dark, wondering what interesting scenery I’m missing. This is my second year at “Fish Camp”, an annual event run by walleye guide Ed Iman (http://www.edimanguideservice.com/) for outdoors writers, guides, and businesses associated with the fishing industry. The 220 mile drive from Redmond is well worth it however, as my destination, Maryhill, will put me in the thick of this state’s abundant fishing opportunities on the Columbia River’s Lake Celilo, created by the Dalles Dam.

I arrive and settle in at Peach Beach Campground located on the Columbia below Maryhill. A former peach grove converted into a camp site, we are just minutes from the boat launch. Our group of excited outdoor writers will soon get to enjoy some of the best fishing in the Pacific Northwest.

My first day I spend with Bass Tournament Pro Michael Gibney and Dennis Clay, host of KBSN AM 1470 Columbia Basin Lifestyles and frequent writer for the Columbia Basin Herald. We start our day at the east side of Miller Island and quickly run into several willing smallmouth bass, running from 1 to 3 pounds each. Our hot lures are rattletraps in metallic blue and frog green. Mike decides we can do better, however, so we head farther down river to a small un-named island. No luck there, but our next destination, the south shoreline working back east, provides ample fish as we hit bass after bass in 10-20 feet of water, casting toward the shoreline. The smallies are active and willing as we end our day catching easily a couple dozen nice bass ranging from 1 to 4 pounds. These bass waters are an easy run from the boat launch, but Mike tells me there are bass to be had close to the launch, so anglers with smaller boats can still get in on good action without having to motor very far.

For my second day at Fish Camp outdoor writer John Kruse (http://pacificnorthwestoutdoors.com/) and I decide on something a little bit different as we join outdoor writer and photographer Dave Kilhefner for a day of salmon and steelhead fishing on the Klickitat river, about 15 miles west of Maryhill off Highway 14. We arrived at the sleepy town of Lyle and heard north on Highway 142, past gorgeous stretches of water just begging to be explored. The “Klick” has plenty of public access to pull off and explore. At our very first hole John hooks into a nice fish which unfortunately comes undone. The lure of choice for John and Dave are jigs under floats, while I pound the water with spinners and spoons. We saw lots of fish jumping and several Chinook breaching fully out of the water, but after that first fish all we can do is watch and be teased. Nonetheless, I definitely will return to this river and bring my pontoon boat as it is the perfect river to drift and work its numerous holes down river. September and October are prime months to fish for salmon here and steelhead angling can be good into late fall when the river closes in November.

John Kruse fishing a nice run on the Klickitat.

Louis McMinds of EZ Marine Products (www.exmarine.com) is well known in these parts for what has to be the most essential product for boaters on the Columbia System – Louie’s EZ Marine Anchor Puller. This simple yet effective device allows boaters to anchor safely in the swift waters of the Columbia, releasing when they have “fish on”, and return to their spot after netting their catch. Finally, the Anchor Puller allows you to bring the anchor up with the power of your boat’s motor, eliminating the back-breaking work of pulling up a heavy anchor by hand. On this day I fish with Lou and fellow angler Tim Garrard below the Bonneville dam for the monsters of the deep, Columbia River Sturgeon.

We are anchored in seventy feet of water and have been teased by smaller fish mouthing our baits, but suddenly the rod tip starts bending and line begins to scream off of the reel. I take the rod out of the rod holder and am instantly aware that this fish on the other end is unlike anything I have ever hooked into before. As the line begins to go horizontal we are treated to one of nature’s most awesome sights – an eight foot long sturgeon jumps fully out of the water one hundred feet behind our boat! After this aerial display the fish bulldogs to the bottom, alternately taking hard runs and sulking. Lou uses heavy-duty, 80 pound braided line, stout rods (but NOT “pool cue” rods) and superior reels that can hold up to the thrashing these big fish give. As Lou explains “It makes no sense to be using light-weight gear and battling these fish for two hours. You want to get them caught and released so they can live to fight another day.” As it was, I battled this fish for twenty five minutes. At times I really wondered if I would be able to catch this monster, or worse, if he would yank the rod right out of my arms. In the end I managed to have a little more reserve than this estimated three hundred fifty pound fish. Lou pulled its head out of the water and I gave it a few pets before sending it back to the depths. My arms were like rubber and I couldn't lift this fish if my life depended on it. Wow! What an experience, one I shall never forget.

Eight feet of Columbia River sturgeon and one tired angler!.

Here’s the punch line – we motored back to our spot, hooked up to our anchor float, and within ten minutes we were into another fish! This one was even bigger, measuring an estimated nine feet in length. It’s a good thing Tim was along because there is no way I could have caught this fish so soon after the first. After bringing this big boy to the boat we decided to call it a day, both anglers satisfied with their new personal best records. Of course, one more fish in this class and we could have had a “one ton” day, something not too many anglers can lay claim to!

Back at Fish Camp we were treated to the best BBQ steak I have ever experienced, courtesy of Painted Hills Natural Beef (http://www.paintedhillsnaturalbeef.com/). One hundred percent natural beef, no hormones or antibiotics, great meat. We enjoyed the pleasant conversation of satiated outdoor writers and guides passing the time, in anticipation of the next day’s adventures.

My last day at camp had me teamed up with Fish Camp’s founder, Ed Iman. Ed has been guiding and catching walleye and other species for many years and knows Lake Celilo like the back of his hand. We started our day trolling Road Runner spinner jigs (http://www.ttiblakemore.com/shop/) with a full night crawler off of a bait-walker in 30 feet of water. Off the east end of Miller Island, we worked our way west toward the Deschutes River on our left. Ed told me the peak times to fish for walleye are in the spring, from March to April, summer, from June to July, and in the fall from October to November. He prefers to troll down-stream, i.e., trolling with the current, as he believes this is a more natural presentation. “Walleye are a schooling fish, but the school can be quite stretched out and will follow bottom contours.” The walleye fishing unfortunately was tough this day and we only manage a sixteen inch pike minnow. As we approached the Deschutes I counted over fifty boats out trolling for salmon. Ed had us switch gear and we spent some time trolling for salmon. I saw a few fish caught, but this too proved to be a tough bite to connect with. Since I had a long drive home, we called it a day early and headed back to the State Park boat launch (a very nice launch area, by the way).

Ed Iman holds up a pike minnow - worth several dollars!

A Road Runner by Blakemore Tackle - effective walleye gear.

My four days at Fish Camp flew by much too quickly. In my time at camp I had caught dozens of smallmouth, had a chance at trophy Chinook, steelhead, and walleye, and caught the largest fish of my life. Not bad for a four day fishing trip and one I will look forward to for next year. If you have a chance to get down to the Maryhill area you’ll be rewarded with great fishing and the potential to catch a number of different species in trophy-sized dimensions. One more thing, driving home in daylight revealed what I suspected – Highway 97 has some of the best scenery the State of Washington has to offer. You owe it to yourself to check it out.

View from Stonehedge Monument looking down to Peach Beach Campgrounds.