What Is A Columbia Spring Chinook Salmon?
Spring Chinook Salmon go by many different names: Chinook, Kings, Black Mouth, Tyee, just to name a few. They all refer to the same species of fish, Chinook Salmon. Chinook is the name give to this fish hundreds of years ago by the indigenous people living on the west coast of North America.
Chinook Salmon were such an important part of their life and culture they have included images of the fish in their various art work. Ancient drawings, paintings, totem poles, jewelry, etc all contain images of the Chinook salmon.
The reason the Chinook salmon was so revered was because of the sheer volume of fish that would come into the river systems and the size of these fish. Over 100 years ago fish over 50lbs were common place on the Columbia and its tributaries.
These fish were caught by the indigenous people and there meat was preserved (salted and smoked) and keep them feed for many months out of each year. Back then the fishe were mainly speared and netted.
What Is The Different Between A Fall Chinook And Spring Chinook?
There are some general differences between Spring Chinook and Fall Chinook but the basic two are:
- What time of year the fish appeared in the rivers
- The size of the fish
Spring Chinook tend to be a smaller sized fish that are commonly caught in the 15-20 pound range. These fish are generally a year younger than the Fall Chinook which explains the size difference. The Spring Chinook also tends to have more oil in its meat which to many fishermen make it the most delicious of all the Salmon Available in the Northwest.
The Fall Chinook are of course running in the rivers in the Fall of the year and can be found hundreds of miles inland as they venture to their spawning beds. These fish are generally in the 20-30 lb range with an occasional fish getting close to the 40lb range. Years ago there use to be a strain of fall Chinook called the Columbia Giants. Some of these fish grew close to 100 lbs in size but over fishing has reduced these numbers dramatically.
2019 Spring Chinook Salmon Forecast
Although the over-all numbers of fish is suppose to be down in 2019, fishermen should have good success the ;pwer Columbia River as they have in years past. Since most fish come into Oregons river systems through the Columbia River, fishing the lower Columbia just makes sense because a fisherman has a chance to catch congregated fish that have yet dispersed into the many rivers and tributaries coming into the Columbia upstream.
The lower Columiba is generally a very buy place to fish and many fishermen book their trips months in advance so they can take advantage of the fish that come into the river system there. When the fish are biting it is fast and furious fishing with many limits of fish being caught in just a few hours.
How Do You Catch Columbia Spring Chinook?
Although some fishermen have luck fishing off the banks “plunking” the most productive way to fish is from a boat. The river is vast, at times over mile wide in width, and fishing from a boat just makes sense.
Most Spring Chinook Fishermen will do some sort of trolling for Chinook Salmon. Because they can be a various depths the use of down-riggers is very popular in that you can fish multiple depths from the bow of the boat, which lets you cover a lot of water.
Depending on the various regulations, most fishermen that troll will use some sort of a flasher or blade to get the fish’s attention then pull behind that a lure or hoochie with bait and scent. Columbia King Salmon can be a bit particular and their appetites can change from day to day. Hiring a guide is a very smart thing to do as they have a lot of river knowledge and have a very good ideal of the conditions of water and what the fish are biting and not biting on.
Other popular ways of Fishing for Columbia Chinook Salmon are:
Anchor Fishing Plugs
Back Trolling Bait
Have you ever had your hook wrap around a small compact cars bumper as it drove past you at 30 miles an hour? That is how it feels when you hook a Chinook when trolling. My point here is that you need top quality gear that is properly maintained and set up for the best chance of getting a hooked fish to the boat. If your drag is set to light the fish will spool you in seconds. If your drag is set to tight they a big fish will break you off in a heartbeat.
The other thing that you need to understand is that many divers, flashers and lures don’t tend to work well right out of the package. Each of these need to be rigged and tuned so that they swim naturally and work well in conjunction with each other. This explains why some fishermen fishing side by side with the same exact gear may have have to totally different experience on the river.
If you are interested in doing some Spring Chinook Salmon Fishing I with me I would recommend that you contact as soon as possible and get your trip booked. Once the run starts and people are catching fish it is hard to find a guide that doesn’t already have their boat full of both guests and fish.