I made a run to Wells Dam and Pateros the other day to see how the steelhead fishing was going in this stretch of the Columbia. I fished for an hour below Wells Dam, which is open down the power lines. I got one small steelhead smolt after a few casts, and a while later I released a nice 8-pound wild fish. I was using a bobber and Maxi Jig in the Calipso color. I visited with two anglers that were fishing on the rip rap above the dam and they had released a wild fish earlier. It had been great above Wells, but had slowed, they said. My next stop was at Pateros. I set up near the bridge and began casting. I heard a noise and saw that there was a steelhead on a stringer on the dock next to me. One of the anglers lost a nice fish that jumped a few yards off the dock while I was there. A boat pulled up from the Rocks with two fish on a stringer, and then I saw Shane Magnuson heading for the launch. When I got there he was cleaning a limit of steelhead for his two clients. Fishing at Pateros is pretty darn good.