I am still out there looking for places that anglers should expect to find steelhead from a boat. My last trip took me to the stretch of the upper Columbia River at Bridgeport. This is one of my favorite places to fish for steelhead, as there are several different types of water to fish. Some days you can start in one place, take a fish or two, go to another area, and then come back where you started and get even more fish. I was joined by Gary Feil of Bob Feil Boats and Motors and Shane Magnuson of Upper Columbia Guide Service.
The mission was to get Gary Feil his first steelhead ever. I handed him a rod so he could make a cast before we got serious. On our first pass off the point below the bridge a fish took his baited jig, Feil’s bobber went down and he landed a nice hatchery fish. I guess he’s a quick study. In fact he hooked another fish on the next pass. Magnuson hooked a fish a little later on, and although we tried a couple of different spots that can be productive at Bridgeport, this was the only action we had. Bridgeport remains high on my list as a place to find steelhead and should improve as the season progresses.