by John Kruse, September 15, 2020

Every September for 16 years I’ve driven down the hill from Goldendale, taken the turn left on a
road that passes by Maryhill State Park, and pulled into a campsite fronting the Columbia River
at the impeccably clean and well cared for Peach Beach RV Park. What brings me here? Fish
Camp. It’s an annual event attended by outdoors media members, professional anglers and
individuals in the fishing and outdoors retail and manufacturing industry.

The event is the brainchild of Ed Iman, a long- time fishing guide and promoter who calls The
Dalles, Oregon home and who helped pioneer walleye fishing here in the Pacific Northwest. The
daily flow of Fish Camp is simple. After checking in with Ed you put your sleeping bag in one
of the tents set up for you or park your truck, camper or RV or boat in one of the camp sites
within the south half of the park taken over by this event. In the middle of all of this a long line
of tables under canopies are set up. This is where participants eat and socialize while a crew of
helpers prepares three tasty meals a day for you.

Every day anglers go out on an adventure of their choosing. Most are after fall chinook, found in
the Columbia River off the mouth of the Deschutes, Klickitat or White Salmon Rivers. Others,
particularly those who have never been to the Pacific Northwest before, head out onto the
Columbia to wrestle with a sturgeon. The largest one caught at Fish Camp measured over 11-
feet long and was caught by a longtime manager with Cabela’s a few years back.

Both the Klickitat River on the Washington side and the Deschutes River a short drive away
from camp in Oregon offer a combination of Chinook and summer steelhead. Some years boats
are available to take anglers up and down these rivers. Even when there are not though, there are
plenty of opportunities to catch fish from the bank if you are willing to hike to your fishing hole.
There are bass and walleye too. Originally, the main focus of Fish Camp was walleye fishing on
the Columbia but they can be tough to catch during the month of September due to an abundance
of bait fish in the water that doesn’t have them too interested in the worms you are trolling past
them. Having said that, there’s always a boat or two targeting these tasty fish and sometimes, the
bite does come on below the John Day Dam and some of those fillets become available for
dinner.

As for me, I’ll miss my annual hike up the Deschutes River where I toss spinners and spoons for
salmon and steelhead as well as my efforts to catch the same fish out of the Klickitat. The
smallmouth bass fishing on the Columbia? I’ll miss that too and I’ve had some fun trips not only
fishing from bass boats but also from a kayak. Hover fishing for salmon is another fun trip I’ll
miss this year and the opportunity to wrestle with a big sturgeon is also a fight I’ll miss. On top
of this I’ll miss my drive to the John Day River and Cottonwood Canyon State Park where you

can hike for miles in a gorgeous, remote setting, fishing runs for smallmouth bass and seeing
wildlife from mule deer to bighorn sheep.

Yes, I will miss the fishing at Fish Camp this year, but truth be told, I think I’ll miss the friends
I’ve made over the last 16 years even more. Here’s hoping I’ll be driving back to Fish Camp in
2021. In the meantime, I hope I’ve given you a few ideas about places to go fishing in the
Columbia River Gorge this month!

PS – Speaking of cancellations, the Northwest Berkley Big Bass Tournament, scheduled for
October 3 rd at MarDon Resort and Potholes Reservoir, has also been cancelled. Weather
permitting though, it should be a good weekend for a cast and blast with quail hunting along with
bass and walleye fishing available around here.

John Kruse – www.northwesternoutdoors.com and www.americaoutdoorsradio.com

PHOTO CREDITS:
1. Fish Camp at Sunset
2. John Kruse caught this Chinook from the Deschutes River during Fish Camp.