Fishing Trips

A few weeks ago I decided to get into Salmon and Steelhead action. Here’s some recent action while kayak fishing for salmon and steelhead near Portland, OR.

Check out the Summer Steelhead that flies through the air 4 times in the background. Luckily the sea lion was chasing the steelhead and not my Chinook salmon.

After the Salmon and Steelhead bite turned off for a bit, I decided to focus on Largemouth Bass and Sturgeon.

Salmon Fishing

kayakfishingoregon-2430293Wow! Things are really starting to pick up for Salmon in Tillamook.

All this new rain has pushed a ton of nickel-bright Chinook salmon into the system.

Caught this fella just below the Trask River.

Salmon fishing is starting to kick into high gear near Portland. Book your trip today!

kayakfishingoregon-3102887Props to Matt Morris for smashing these two huge hens on the Siletz River in Oregon a couple of days ago.

I think he really enjoyed the ride on Hobie Kayak’s new Outback loaded with Lowrance electronics.

 

kayakfishingoregon-5455745Here’s a pic from a nice limit of 3 Coho Salmon with Aaron Watzig near Astoria, OR.

We were trolling a combination of herring with Herring Helmets behind KoneZone flashers.

We used the best salmon spinning rod and 8-12oz of lead depending upon the current.

kayakfishingoregon-9274329The Spring Chinook fishing is starting to heat up near Portland. Prawn spinners seem to be the bait of choice for these feisty Spring Chinook.

I landed this 12# Chinook trolling a prawn spinner through an underwater boulder field and found this salmon waiting.

These Hobie kayaks are so quiet that I caught this salmon in 8 feet of water.

kayakfishingoregon-7776154Check out my biggest fish of the day.

After just saying goodbye to a couple of clients near Social Security Beach in Astoria, I returned for my own fish.

If you’re interested in hooking into the Northwest’s most prized fish, please contact me here and set up a trip.

kayakfishingoregon-3326695One of my favorite times of year to fish in the Pacific Northwest is late summer and early fall.

I just spent my best week ever guiding kayak anglers for salmon near Buoy 10.

I will be running another week of guided kayak salmon trips beginning Sept 15-20.

kayakfishingoregon-7708089The salmon fishing this time of year for both Chinook and Coho is amazing and Astoria is one of my favorite places to be.

Here’s a 28 pound Chinook or King Salmon I caught trolling a cut plug herring near “Shipwreck” in August.

Come enjoy kayak fishing at its greatest.

kayakfishingoregon-9108702Here’s a pic I captured during an amazing week of fishing for Coho in Astoria.

I will be running trips every other week in Astoria through the end of October.

Please contact me from this website for dates.

 

Chinook Salmon

Here’s what happens when a Sea Lion decided to steal my Chinook Salmon while kayak fishing.

I had just decided to hit the river Friday evening after work and was trolling the edges of the river when then Springer hit. It started as a really soft bite but quickly accelerated into a lot of hot action.

I had seen a couple of Sea Lions pass by an hour earlier, but hadn’t seen anything recently so thought I could play the fish for a couple of minutes before netting. I was just about to reach back for my net when this Sea Lion sneaks up below water, grabs my Salmon, and takes off like a bat out of hell for the deeper river, eventually breaking off my Springer at the head.

You’ll see me reel in the head at the end and notice how the Sea Lion tears apart my dinner in the river right next to me.

Steelhead Fishing

I got into this feisty Summer Steelhead from my kayak using a Prawn Spinner. This fish was in the air more than it was in the water. At one point the fish jumped close to 5′ out of the water. I returned for more action the next night and got lucky again with a nice 16# and 34″ Springer. I love this time of year.

Here’s some video of me kayak fishing for Winter Steelhead on the Clackamas River near Portland, Oregon.

The video starts out a little slow as I’m catching my breath at the beginning, but quickly picks up in action when I hook into a steelhead.

I’m using a technique that’s referred to as “side drifting” using eggs. I mastered this technique during my Kentucky lake fishing trip a couple of years ago.

The Hobie Kayak that I use to fish with works perfectly for this technique because this brand of kayak is powered by your legs using a pedal drive instead of a paddle.

The video ends right before I landed the fish, but sure enjoyed the fresh grilled Steelhead that night with my family.

Largemouth Bass

Here are a few video highlights from my adventures in central Oregon in search of Largemouth Bass a couple of weeks ago.

These Oregon Bass are eating hard this time of year in preparation for Oregon’s cool and wet rainy winters. This Largemouth weighed in at 7lbs14oz and had a length of 20.5″.

Sturgeon Fishing

The Sturgeon fishing has really heated up near my home in Portland this week.

On Friday afternoon I was down on the Willamette River shooting a video for Hobie on Sturgeon fishing from a kayak. I had no idea that morning when I was leaving my house that I would soon be hooking into this big of a fish.

Right after I hooked her, she went airborne right next to me and my kayak. In fact, her splash completely covered my lap and face with Willamette River water. A 45-minute fight ensued right after. She had me towing upriver, downriver, under big shipping boats, and back in the channel for more.

Crabbing

Hobie kayaks are not just great for fishing, they’re great for catching your own crabs too.

My biggest highlight of the day was the massive mother and calf Grey Whale that stopped by to visit. I did also catch 7 fat crabs that made for a tasty dinner.

Besides the occasional passing Grey Whale, the biggest highlight from the day was catching a bright blue Lingcod.

Blue Lingcod

kayakfishingoregon-5741234I had an amazing day yesterday kayak fishing for Lingcod with my dad in Pacific City, Oregon. We were celebrating his 76 Bday targeting nice feisty lings and enjoying an amazing day.

I had a chance to take advantage of the great forecast last Tuesday and target Rockfish and Dungeness crab in Pacific City, Or.

I could see this fish as I was reeling it up at about 8 feet down and it looked like it was glowing blue.

Definitely the highlight of the day.

kayakfishingoregon-3288391

About 1 out of every 10 or so Lingcod and Cabezon have this blue, green, and sometimes purple pigment.

It’s ok to eat and not caused by nuclear waste from Japan.

Biologists are still working on the exact reason, but most likely caused by genetics, chlorophyll from plants, or ink from squid. Either way, they are delicious as always in fish tacos.

Hobie First Cast with Next Adventure

kayakfishingoregon-8551561Kayak Fishing Oregon just finished another Hobie First Cast with Next Adventure last Saturday near their Scappoose, Oregon location.

One of our clients Darrel ended up catching his first-ever Chinook Salmon during our salmon class. I think his smile says it all! For more info contact me here at KFO or at Next Adventure by clicking the link below.

https://www.nextadventure.net/events-classes

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