HOOD RIVER, ORE. -- This has been a really cold spring -- it snowed in the upper Hood River Valley last night -- and the Columbia River smallmouth bass season has gotten off to a slowish start.
That said, smallmouth bass with bad attitudes are starting to percolate into the warmer backwaters. I know they're a surly, snappy mood because I caught a few -- and I'm far from an expert basser.
Dangly, rubber-legged Woolly Buggers for Columbia River backwater smallmouth bass.
I cast my flies this morning -- this cold morning -- in a backwater near Hood River, and I found a few fish right on dropoffs near shallow water. As always, the smallmouth favored hangouts near rocks and rocky ledges. It's about time that cranky, hungry, lusty smallmouth showed up in the backwaters. I think the fish will get a lot shallower later in the day -- as that water will warm up faster.
I don't fish poppers until the weather gets a little warmer, so I cast weird versions of Woolly Buggers -- especially ones in shades of brown and olive with dumbbell eyes and rubber legs. I also cast black rubber-legged Woolly Buggers.
I've heard other anglers say that rubber legs slow down the sink rate, and I agree with that. I also want the flies to sink slowly when I'm fishing the shallows, and the smallmouth really like -- or maybe hate -- those wiggly legs.
I also use Clouser Minnows and Zonker streamers during the early part of the season. Popper fishing gets great after a few warm days. Actually, popper fishing is great through the summer on the main Columbia River banks -- especially early or late in the day.
I love rock-hopping, wading or even kicking a float tube in Columbia River backwaters from now through May. The Washington and Oregon sides of this big river have dozens of backwaters, and most of them fill up with smallmouth -- and largemouth -- bass during the spring. Even marinas can offer terrific fishing.
The smallmouth go back out into the main river -- but stick pretty close to the banks -- by the end of May. The fish do hang out near the backwater outflows -- which are often giant culverts -- through fall. Lots of baitfish and crawdads flush out of those giant pipes during the summer, and the mean, nasty bass are waiting for them. I do 95 percent of my Columbia River smallmouth angling from the bank -- even when I'm fishing the main river during the summer and early fall.
Giant carp remain in the backwaters throughout the summer and fall, and casting a fly for these giants -- some are over 30 pounds -- is becoming more popular each year.
Hard-core bassoholics tell me that the smallmouth migration in the shallow backwaters begins when the water hits 49 degrees or so. I might get back out there this afternoon and check the temps in some favorite backwaters. I have seen anglers -- in high-tech bassboats -- fishing the shallows up near The Dalles during the past three days.
Things are just getting started, but I did have smallmouth -- nothing huge -- chase and even eat my Woolly Buggers this morning. The good spring fishing is late this year -- but it will continue to get better and better. I don't have fish photos to share this morning, as I left my camera in the Subaru.
Sometimes I live in the Temple of Lame Forgetfulness.
Anyway, the weather is supposed to warm up -- into the 70-degree range -- this weekend, and the smallmouth fishing may hit high gear. And the Columbia River is one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries on the planet.
There are millions of red-eyed, bad-tempered smallmouth bass finning around in the Columbia River, and they eagerly whack flies and lures -- and fight really hard. These fish -- which are not native to the Columbia River but thrive behind the dams -- really hammer salmon and steelhead smolts, so this is a guilt-free fishery for me.
I love and hate these fish. So, I do what I always do when I'm confused -- I go fishing....
