In my continuing quest to find coho salmon I looked further down the Columbia River. The problem with fishing the Columbia near Wenatchee is that there is simply no flow, to concentrate the fish in any kind of seam or current line. I figured I would find some current for sure below Wanapum Dam. I was right. I had visions of finding coho swarming and rolling in this area, but that wasn’t the case. There was nothing like I was used to seeing for swift water below the dam, but there was a definite “riffle” that looked very attractive. There were two anglers fishing this spot when I hiked out there, and they were happy to share this point. They had been fishing bobbers and jigs with eggs or spinners and had a nice coho on a stringer. The fish was about 4 pounds, and I was impressed to see how bright it was. I tried casting Mag Lips plugs and spinners and didn’t get a bump. My fellow anglers said they were getting some slight takes on their eggs, but the fish weren’t taking them with enough vigor to hook. With some rain everything could change.
I was very impressed with how bright this coho was. As soon as we get some rain they will be moving into the Icicle. Can’t wait!