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Steelhead
fishing tips: McNary Dam I've spent a great
deal of time fishing at McNary Dam and have
watched over the years how people have changed
their tactics to catch McNary steelhead.
Steelhead
Fishing Report at McNary Dam
is towards the bottom of this page.
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In
our early days of fishing for steelhead at McNary
Dam, we trolled a lot. We used crankbaits
and concentrated our fishing efforts on the
Oregon side. Soon everyone was trooling out
in front of the dam (middle of river by the
bouys). Later we turned to flat fish
along both fish ladders and then the lighted lure was introduced.
Using
the lighted lure for steelhead fishing at McNary
Dam was extremely successful for us. My
biggest steelhead 20+ lb. male was caught their
and I have seen fish from 12-18 lbs regularly
caught using
lighted vortex plugs.
Then
a very bright person introduced shrimp fishing
under bobbers for steelhead at McNary dam. Many
bank anglers have found great success catching
steelhead at McNary Dam. However 9-11
has changed WHERE you can fish for steelhead.
I've
gotta say, ever since we started using shrimp
and bobbers our fortunes have changed. We
still laugh at the size of the bobbers we used
in the early days and I still have one in the
boat. Sometimes I will put it on and cast
it out to see how other fisherman react.
My
brother is the one who introduced me to bobber
fishing for steelhead at McNary Dam and now
we use that technique all over the place. It's
fun and nothing is better than hearing someone
in the boat scream, "BOBBER DOWN".
If
you ask my fishing buddies what comes out of
my mouth when my bobber goes down, they will
90% of the time say:
"Oh,
Sh**"
Why?
I'm always doing something else when that
darn thing goes down.
Lastest
Fishing Report for Steelhead at McNary Dam.
Went
out fishing on my first steelhead fishing trip
at McNary Dam on Saturday Sept 16th 2006. We
arrived late 8:30 or so and began fishing once
we got the boat anchored up.
Several
people near us had success catching steelhead
and several fish were released. We didn't
touch a fish until 9:30. By 12 pm we had
landed 4 steelhead, lost 1 and released 1. Kept
fishing till 3 pm and only had a nibble.
If
you have been out fishing at McNary Dam, please
send us your report, because I can't comment
on the other fisherman down the banks and trolling
out front.
Steelhead Fishing Tips for McNary
Dam
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
Fishing Rod Setup: not sure it really
makes a difference as long as you land the steelhead. I
currently use a 8'6" Lamiglas medium heavy rod with
10 pound main and 8 pound leader. I'm
waiting for my 12 noodle rod to arrive and then
I will begin fishing with it.
Steelhead
Fishing Reel Setup: if you can handle
a bait casting real, I would recommend it. I
love spinning reels and I use them, however
landing steelhead with a baitcaster is easier
for me because I like to use my thumb as the
drag.
Personally
speaking, I like to have my drag set soft. I've
oftentimes, loosened the drag even more after
I've had a battle with a steelhead that has
lasted a while.
Steelhead
System Setup: we like to use the large
wing-it bobbers so the fish do not detect it. I
truly believe the easier your bobber will go
down, the better your chances of catching the
fish.
My
last 2 steelhead fishing trips, I've fished
with guys who have used a different type of
bobber. Both times they had bobber take
downs and never hooked the fish. In the
last year, I've only missed one fish after the
bobber has gone down.
Steelhead
fishing depths: we like to fish our
shrimp at depths of 12 ft up to 6 ft. When
I get mad fishing for steelhead at McNary dam,
I normally switch over to a maribou jig. I
tie my own and have 2 favorite colors that work
for me at McNary.
Steelhead
Fishing Tips: I use two different
types of fish finders. One is a bottom
line tournament pro with sidefinding features.
The other is a portable casting "fish
finder" we call our "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 Tips for McNary Dam: we used Coon Shrimp died purple
early in the season.
Truthfully, during most typical years, we do
not catch many fish in September using the bobber
technique. Why? Water temperatures
are to high. This year the temperature is in
the 60's which keeps the fish hanging around
the dam a lot longer.
As
the fall turns into winter, many of us begin
to dye our shrimp, dark red, bright red, light
or powder blue, royal blue and dark blue.
Early
season we are normally fishing at night with
the lighted vortex lures. We've had "some"
success with flat fish, but that is after the
vortex has not produced.
Later
in the season we will switch over to blue and
red shrimp. I've never used tiger or coon
shrimp late into the season because we use only
use the tails attached to our jigheads. However,
I will give it a try this year and if you email
me, I'll share my results with you.
Steelhead
Fishing Hot Spots at McNary Dam: I
like to troll bobbers along the Washington shoreline.
However, it is getting difficult to do it along
the banks because there are so many bank anglers.
We are forced further away from shore
but we still have success. There are several
places along the shore where you can anchor
up and have fun.
(****The
railroad posted a No Trespassing Sign which
means fisherman can no longer walk across the
tracks to go fishing. Fines have been issued
which has destroyed bank angling at McNary Dam,
unless you fish the Oregon side of the Columbia
River. This is a sad note for bank anglers
because it eliminates one great fishing area.
These bank anglers are now forced to fish
Port Kelly or go up the Snake River to Ice Harbor
dam or Lower Monumental)
Several
people will anchor right at the dam. The
area that is no longer accessible by foot (thanks
to 9-11 thugs) has been very popular. I
have a few friends who's fathers are retired
and they love to fish that area. They've
already caught 4 or 5 steelhead this past week
(9-11 to 9-16) at that place.
We
hope this gives you a good idea of how to fish
Steelhead at McNary Dam. Give us
a ring or send us an email if you "up to
date" information.
Hook
em Deep
Bob
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