Fishin' Reports

I got a note from one of my readers about the opening of the Columbia River above Wells Dam to the Highway 173 Bridge in Brewster on July 16th. This area of the Columbia is closed to salmon fishing to allow for escapement of salmon into the Methow River. Although most anglers fish the Brewster Pool, which opened on July 1st, fishing right above Wells Dam can be very good. Years ago, I ran into Shane Magnuson, who was just coming in with this clients at Pateros. He told me that rather than fishing the Brewster Pool the next morning, to try fishing just off the debris barrier above Wells in the afternoon. So that is what we did. My fishing partner, Brian Anantatmula and I hooked two very nice kings trolling the edge of the debris. We were trolling close enough to allow our flashers to swing under the debris. You have to keep your drag tight so you can pull the fish out from under all the junk. We managed to land the first fish, but the second one ran under the debris and snagged on a tree limb. Brian just couldn’t stop the big king that was determined to get under there.