Columbia River Steelhead at Underwood or the White Salmon River

Columbia River Steelhead fishing at Underwood has been slow this year, but still productive. For me it's been over 15 years since I really fished this area and here is what I learned.

2007 Updates

Spoke to several veterans at Underwood and many of them stated the bit was delayed and short for the 2007.  For about a 2 week window it was hot one day and cold the next.  About a 4 day stretch was the longest period where you could consistently catch steelhead.

One of the tubers told me he started fishing on July 7th and didn't have a bobber down until August 1st this year.

Salmon at Underwood:

Normally when the salmon start running heavy over the dams inevitably the "White Salmon" start entering the area and chase the steelhead away.  I've heard many veterans speak of this but never really understood the impact until this year.

We fishing the White Salmon Labor Day weekend 2007 and found out exactly what those veteran's are talking about. We fished hard and long without any success.  The first day we saw probably 6 fish caught from sun up to sun down and the next day we saw only 2 boats catch fish.

Keep reading below for our Underwood tips and tricks.

If you have a report please share it with us and feel free to send pictures as well.  riverfront@bentonrea.com

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You can catch fish at any time of the day.  The best bites seem to be from daybreak to about 10 am and then again from 2 pm till 6 pm.  

One friend Jim has limited out before 6:30 am on several occassions and then other days he can't seem to limit out. His brother in law, NEVER gets on the river before 9 pm and between him and his son Jason, they usually catch a limit before 6 pm.  However, this past trip for the three-some resulted in only 5 fish over a 3 day period.

I have fished the Columbia River Steelhead at Underwood 4 times this year (2006) and here are my results:

1st Steelhead fishing trip to White Salmon: fished daybreak to 10 am and the two of us were skunked. (we didn't have the right color bait)

2nd Steelhead fishing trip to White Salmon: Caught 2 fish the first day (1 wild) and limited out by 9:30 am the next day. 3 total Columbia River Steelhead  (went with a veteran of the area)

3rd Steelhead fishing trip to White Salmon: caught my limit both days, also 1 wild Steelhead that made me cry when I released it. (12+ pounds)

4th Steelhead fishing trip to White Salmon:  I caught 3 steelhead, lost 2 and missed one bobber take down.

On Saturday we started fishing about 9 am and my buddy had 3 bobber take downs and didn't land one of them.  I personally had one bobber take down and landed a small but bright Columbia River steelhead.

The following day, I fished alone and caught my first fish at 6:30 am.  Around 8:30 another bite started and I missed one bobber take down.  The next 3 casts I hooked and played with 3 more steelhead.  I lost the first two because their teeth cut my leader but the 3rd one ended up in my net.

Of the last 3 fish I had one, the first one was the biggest. I never saw him but it was a dandy.  The second one I lost was not as big and the 3rd one was smaller.  It weighed in at 8 lbs.

Columbia River Steelhead Fishing Tips for Underwood

Everything I've learned is from a veteran of Underwood Steelhead fishing named Jeff.  He has many years experience and he CAN CATCH FISH.  It's very rare that he comes home without a fish, unless the steelhead are not in yet.

Steelhead Rod Setup:  he uses a 10' noodle rod when 8 pound main and 6 pound leader.  I use a 8'6" Lamiglas medium heavy rod with 10 pound main and 8 pound leader.

Steelhead Reel Setup:  he uses an Akuma reel and I use a Bass Pro Pro Qualifier reel.

Steelhead System Setup:  we like to use small wing-it bobbers so the fish do not detect it.  There are times my bobber rides so low I have other fisherman telling me my bobber is going down.  Obviously we need to have a bobber stop on, because we play around with depths a great deal.

Steelhead fishing depths:  we like to fish our shrimp at depths of 14 ft to the bottom.  When I get mad, I always head to the bottom and seem to find success, especially late in the day.

Steelhead Must Have's:  I highly recommend our little floating "rubber ducky".  Actually it is a fish finder made by humminbird.  You can cast it and let it sit right by your bobber to determine the depth the fish are at, as well as how deep the water is.  We use this portable fishfinder A LOT and rely on it A LOT.

Steelhead Bait:  we used Coon Shrimp died purple. Yes, we use bobbers with this bait.  

Others use flat fish and troll at night to catch these steelhead.  Some night fisherman will use vortex lighted lures with great success and others enjoy the skunk, Michael Jackson, Clown and MRB model/color.

Fly fisherman have success catching Steelhead but don't ask me what fly they are using, I have no clue.  Ask someone the next time you are down there.

***Update 9-14-06:  my last trip to Underwood on Sept 9 & 10th, I did speak to a successful steelhead fly fisherman.  He said that he plays around with colors and uses flies that really don't make much sense.

What he does try to do is keep the fly near the bottom and pull it in very slowly.  His methods worked because I watched him hook and land 4 fish on Saturday.

Steelhead Hot Spots:  If this is your first trip to Underwood or the White Salmon River, I would suggest watching from high above the river.  You can view the majority of boats and who is catching them.  Then head down to the river and start catching Columbia River Steelhead.

Under the bridge and around the west point is a very good location to catch fish.  Heading back up the White Salmon River, you will find many other spots to cast your line and we have caught fish all the way back.

We hope this gives you a good idea of how to fish for Columbia River Steelhead.  Give us a ring or send us an email if you find this useful and don't hesitate to share your successes with us.  We'll get it posted ASAP.

Hook em Deep

Bob