This report is for our annual trip to fish the Columbia at the mouth of the Deschutes River. I arrived the night of the 28th of August and stayed until September 10th.

The wind blew HARD for the first six days allowing only a few hours in the morning before blowing us off the water by 10AM Tough fishing for sure! Had some skunk days and finally caught the first fish on the third day. These fish are thick and heavy for the length....and boy can they go; you'd think a 20 pounder was forty. We are talking tackle ripping, heart pounding ZOOM; yahoo fish on!! Man it's fun to catch big salmon.

All fish were caught on flashers and Brad's Original SuperBaits with tuna inside. A mix of flashers and colors was used; a fish here and a fish there was the order of the day with early AM being the best. The fish are bright and the meat is bright red.....YUM!! What beauties they are.

Friend Tom came down and fished four days. You can see the white caps in the picture of him with a nice fish. We were trolling upstream when the fish hit and it proceeded to run downstream taking a pile of line in the process. We had to chase it down after I cleared the other tackle. Then it tried to go under the boat as we drifted in the heavy waves. Quick Al, turn the boat right and hit the throttle.....I obeyed and kept the fish from going under the boat as we drifted in the wind and waves. Finally got it in the net; what an epic battle with the fish and the mighty Columbia! Great job Tom.

Five other friends camped also and we had great times eating together and telling fish stories. Time spent with friends is priceless. We had a full moon while Tom was there and we sat in lounge chairs on the bank of the Deschutes in the moonlight enjoying the warm evening and the solitude of the river void of people. Life is good........

I will be back down the first weekend in October to fish with my three son's. More reports to come.

Tight lines - Alan

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