bass angling

An angler can catch bass in the Snake River reservoirs year-round, but the fishing really starts to get good in July.

Cousin Neil turned the North River sled in a tight arc out of the narrow launch and pointed the bow downstream. We would fish both sides of the lake, looking for the seams and breaks in the current where bass tend to stack to ambush bait coming downriver. The kids' rods were rigged with jig heads and plastic Keitech baits. I started with crankbaits and the Realis spybait, which is one of my favorites, but I could not help but notice that the other guys were catching more fish.

Oxbow Reservoir is part of a complex of three reservoirs, all built and maintained by the Idaho Power Company. At the top of Hells Canyon on the Snake River, bounded by Oregon on one side and Idaho on the other, Oxbow Reservoir is thirteen miles long and only a couple of hundred yards wide at its widest point. The dam itself is 175 feet tall. Hells Canyon Reservoir is directly downstream, and Brownlee Reservoir is directly above. To get to Oxbow out of Oregon, we head to Richland, turn at Halfway, then drop down Pine Creek to Copperfield. Oxbow Reservoir can be accessed either through Richland and Copperfield on the Oregon side or via Cambridge on a long and windy road leading north out of Boise and Fruitland.

Fishing in any of these reservoirs, a person can expect to catch smallmouth bass, crappie, sturgeon, trout, and catfish. These waters are rich in nutrients, and the fish grow fast. My cousin's kids are growing fast, too. Tabor and Steyr have been fishing since before they could walk, and their dad, my cousin Neil, will drop everything to get them on the water in the summer. And there is nothing I like better than going fishing with my family.
 

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A nice bass taken on a surface lure in an evening's fishing on Hells Canyon Reservoir. Crankbaits and minnow imitations work very well in these Snake River reservoirs, especially along the ledges and around submerged structure. 

A FOOD-RICH FISHERY

Smallmouth bass prefer warmer, flowing water and can be found in great numbers around weed beds, grassy banks, along the seams of riffles, deep along rock walls, and in gravel flats. On clear summer days when the sun is high, the biggest fish will be found in deeper water. On overcast days or when the sun is low on the horizon, smallmouth can be caught on or closer to the surface. They are aggressive predators, feeding on smaller fish, insects, leeches, snails, and crayfish.

Crankbaits and minnow imitations work very well, especially along ledges or around submerged structures. We try to use patterns and colors that imitate local baitfish. Chub, perch, and rainbow pattern crankbaits work well for minnow imitations. Orange and olive crayfish patterns are good crankbait options, too. Another good tactic is to dead-drift a plastic swim bait, allowing it to tumble through the best bass-holding water. 
A person can catch fish all day long on these Snake River reservoirs, but it makes sense to take a break midday and rest and refuel.
 

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Trevor Barclay with a nice smallmouth on a jighead and a motor oil pattern curlytail grub.

THE SNAKES

The Snake River was not named for the snakes along its banks. It was named for the Snakes, the Shoshone speaking people that Lewis and Clark found and traded with. They were called the Snakes by their neighbors for the way they signed about who they were - the willow weavers.

But there are snakes, too. Rattlesnakes and bullsnakes - and it helps to know the difference. Although bull snakes don't act friendly, they are a much better neighbor than a rattler. You can tell them apart by looking at the heads. The bullsnake's head is narrower, while a rattlesnake's head is shaped like a wedge.

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Steyr Lewis, of Fruitland, Idaho, shows off a chunk of a smallmouth caught on a Keitech plastic bait.

TIMING

So when should you go? An angler can catch bass in the Snake River year-round, but the fishing peaks in summer. In a lot of years, there can be heavy flows in the Snake, which tend to keep the reservoir banks full in June. Most years, by the second week of July, the rivers are in good bass fishing shape, and conditions are prime in August, September, and October.

WHERE TO STAY AND PLAY

Huntington, Richland, and Halfway, Oregon, are all within striking distance of Brownlee, Oxbow, and Hells Canyon reservoirs. One of my favorite places to stay is Pine Valley Lodge (pvlodge.com) in Halfway - an old stagecoach stop with all the Old West flavor intact.

Richland, Oregon, is a great little city of 156 people where a fisherman can get a burger or a cup of coffee. Best of all, it is just moments away from the Powder River arm of Brownlee Reservoir.

Huntington is an out-of-the-way stop where you can get a good meal if the restaurant is open. Check the hours before you make the drive.  

The traveling angler is going to want either an Idaho or an Oregon fishing license. Or both.
 

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Tabor Lewis was touching up his baits with Pro-Cure's smallmouth magic gel.

BACK ON THE WATER

In the evening, we launched the boat again. Shadows were lengthening in the narrow canyon, and the fish began to rise in the water column.

This is tricky water. It may not look like it, but there are wicked currents. Make sure the children have life vests, and make sure the adults do, too. Especially the boat captain. Who falls out of boats more than any other person? It's the boat captain. And then the people who are not as good at running the boat have to try to rescue him. Think about it, people.

I switched over to the jig head and Keitech system and touched up my baits with smallmouth magic from Pro-Cure. That was the magic touch. A cast on the seam, well up-current, and then tighten up on the reel and feel the bait touch the bottom. If the line seemed to tighten up, it was a matter of cranking the reel fast. The hooks were sharp, and I caught fish fast for about half an hour. But while I was quickly bringing fish to the boat, I didn't catch the big ones. That honor was reserved for the rest of the Lewis clan, who each managed to boat three-pound smallies.  

I had a four-pound smallmouth on for a minute. I know I did.

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To watch bass fishing on Oxbow, click this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1RdxZ1rkik&t=207s
or search Gary Lewis Outdoors Frontier Unlimited.

It is easy to fool yourself into believing you are a great bass angler when the bass are spawning in the springtime. Largemouth bass are defending nests full of eggs or fry and will readily strike a lure like a weightless worm or lizard cast near them. Catching a dozen or more bass is easy this time of year, both largemouth and smallmouth bass, but then comes the post-spawn, where those shallow water spawning beds become a ghost town. The fishing suddenly gets a lot tougher for some, and it’s easy to say out loud, “Now what?” as you futilely search for bass in places they are no longer found.

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One thing you can do is ask a successful post-spawn angler how to go about catching those bass. One such fisherman is Kyle Clark, an avid bass tournament angler and the owner of PNW Fishing Adventures - www.facebook.com/pnwfishingadventures/. 
I caught up with him at MarDon Resort the day he and his partner won a Washington Bass Federation tournament at Eastern Washington’s Potholes Reservoir. The two caught five largemouth bass weighing 20.8 pounds. When asked what he used to catch post-spawn bass in both Western and Eastern Washington, Clark replied with three of his favorites: Poppers, senkos, and jigs. All are solid offerings. Let’s break down these choices and a few more for late spring to summertime bass.
 

JIGS – Jigs are a staple for both largemouth and smallmouth bass all year. They come in many styles. There are swim jigs, football head jigs, flipping jigs, skipping jigs, Arkie jigs, and more. All of them work, and with bass tending to hide in or around cover such as wood, reeds, willows, or rocks, weedless jigs shine. A 3/8-ounce jig is a standard for many types of fishing in both shallow and medium depths. Common color schemes include green pumpkin, black & blue, chartreuse & black, or orange & brown. Fishing jigs in cover like willow thickets, under docks, or in open areas amongst lily pads are all effective ways to use these lures.

SENKOS – The senko is a plastic worm, generally measuring between five and six inches. The nose of the senko is subtly blunter than the tail. It is a deadly offering, fished weightless or with a very lightly weighted semi-weedless hook, when bass are spawning. However, it also works very well during the post-spawn phase. The two most common ways to fish a senko are Texas-rigged, where the bait is hooked through the nose and the body, making it weedless, or wacky-rigged. A wacky-rigged senko is hooked right in the middle of the worm, and the angler allows it to fall slowly in the water column.     

  
POPPERS (AND OTHER TOPWATER LURES) – Early morning and evening hours are great times to fish a floating popper for bass, spring through early fall. Many think you can only fish with topwater baits when waters are calm, but truth be told, these lures are also effective during days when light breezes are blowing, creating rippled surface water.
Kyle Clark prefers to fish a topwater popper slowly versus the steady to fast retrieve used with a Zara Spool style topwater plug you retrieve in a zig-zag, “walking the dog” style. Other topwater lures that work well include weedless frogs (fished over grass, weeds, or lily pads), whopper-plopper style topwater lures brought back with a moderate retrieve, and buzzbaits, retrieved rapidly, making a clatter as you reel it in. Topwater poppers (and several of these lures) shine when fished over submerged weeds and grass, especially off points or around sunrise, near shore.
 

CRANKBAITS – Not on Clark’s list but certainly useful during the post-spawn period are crankbaits. There are two styles of crankbaits to fish this time of year: lipless cranks or diving crankbaits. 
Lipless crankbaits, retrieved parallel along weed lines, brush lines, or rock riprap, work great for bass that aggressively bite the lure in a reactive manner. The lure can be retrieved at a moderate to fast pace after sinking for a few seconds. If that does not draw strikes, try a stop-and-go retrieve, with short pauses between reeling. Bass will often hit when the lure they are following literally stops and begins to drop in front of their nose. “Go To” lipless crankbaits include the Berkley WarPig or the original Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.  When it comes to colors, match the hatch or forage base the bass are feeding on.  The one exception to this rule is when the water is stained or murky. That is when a chartreuse colored or dark colored lure shines because it stands out better, a fact applying not only to lipless crankbaits but all sorts of lures.

Diving crankbaits are also easy to use, though most anglers fish them wrong. Lots of people will cast and retrieve them at a moderate pace, leaving them in the middle of the water column. However, depth matters, and diving crankbaits are best fished close to the bottom. So close in fact, that they are bumping the bottom and either bouncing off wood and rocks or churning up sand or gravel. Shallow three-to-five-foot crankbaits fished over flats or deeper diving crankbaits retrieved down slopes both catch plenty of largemouth and smallmouth bass.  

Put it all together, and you have several simple, easy-to-fish lures that will get you into post-spawn bass from late spring and throughout the summer.   Give one of these techniques a shot, and if it does not work, change to another. Let the bass tell you what they are in the mood to bite on any given day, and catch more bass after they are done spawning this spring.

John Kruse
www.northwesternoutdoors and www.americaoutdoorsradio.com

PHOTO CREDITS:
Kyle Clark with a quality 4.5-pound largemouth bass – Photo courtesy PNW Fishing Adventures
The author caught this bass with a green pumpkin colored weedless jig.

By Mike Carey

Having moved recently from Washington to Montana, I find myself revisiting methods of getting on the water that I first learned when I moved to the Pacific Northwest. With less lakes close to me that lend themselves to launching my twenty-foot Thunderjet, I find myself going full circle back to my early roots.

When I moved out to Washington from Wisconsin, I lived in Spokane for a year, and during that time I took up the sport of fly fishing. The Spokane area has a wealth of smaller lakes and ponds well-suited to casting a fly for trout.

Because I was a renter, I wanted a way to get on the water that fit my lifestyle. Having a boat and trailer was not an option for me. I did the research and decided a float tube would be a good solution to getting on the water. It offered simplicity, ease of storage, and wouldn’t break the bank.

Back in the eighties the choices of float tubes were just starting to explode. Today, anglers have a huge selection of brands, styles, and price points to choose from.

Anglers that chose to access bodies of water in a float tube open up a world of possibilities to explore. And while most people think of fly fishing when it comes to float tubes, they are well-suited to be used for other species of fish.

Bass Angling

Bass angling from a float tube is a blast and tubes are an excellent choice for exploring waters that bass boats can’t go in. Tubes can even be used in saltwater angling, so long as an angler keeps safety in the forefront.

Certain rivers also lend themselves to float tubes, again with the caveat of the angler keeping safety first and foremost in mind.

Whatever type of fish you like to pursue, fishing from a float tube requires certain gear and set-ups to work. Let’s break down what you’ll need to get started.

First, let’s talk about the float tube itself. There are basically two shapes that you’ll see when you go shopping. The first is literally a round tube. The second is a u-shaped tube, open on one side. Across the top, connecting the two sides you’ll generally have a casting apron. A round tube will have this as well. 

The novice would be understandably confused when confronted with these choices. Both will get you on the water, so which is the right rig for you? I’ve fished out of both.

The pros and cons of each in my mind are as follows:

Round Tube Style

General less expensive, easier to breakdown and store, less prone to blowing around, lighter and easier to maneuverer. On the con side- smaller, so less storage capacity, harder to see on the water, less safe (generally 1-2 air chambers vs. 2-3 chambers).

U-shaped style

More storage for gear, more stable, tracks well, better visibility for boaters, safer (usually three air chambers), tend to be able to sit up higher for easier casting. On the con side- longer to set up, more storage space needed, more expensive.

For me the choice is easy, u-tube style all the way. What I like most about my rig is the ability to bring multiple rods, higher sitting posture, and overall safety. If I were hiking and wanted to do float fishing though, I would for sure pick a round style for weight considerations and ease of packing.

OK, you’ve settled on the type and pored through all the various brands, looking at specific features that you'd like to have on your tube. Some of the things I focused on were storage pockets, height and seat adjustment, ease of entry, three tubes for safety, and overall fit and finish.

Is the stitching tight and neat? Does the material seem of good quality? How about user reviews? YouTube is an excellent source of reviews that allow you to see what others have to say about the tube you’re considering.

Next on the agenda are the accessories you will need to purchase. Buying a tube is more than just hopping in and off you go. There are essential items you will need to have.

Fins

These are what you use to propel yourself through the water. Your legs will be in the water as you sit on the suspended seat. Kicking the fins will move you in the opposite direction of where you are facing and kicking one fin in one direction and the other in the other direction will cause you to turn.

It’s something that is easy to figure out and you’ll get the hang of it pretty quick.

Waders

Unless the water is very warm, you’ll want to wear chest waders, as from the waist down you’ll be wet. Waders can be neoprene or slip over clothes, whatever your preference. I like the pull-on type myself.

Water Shoes

You’ll want shoes on as they will provide better support for your fins. I get them one size larger to fit over my waders.

Life Jacket

Absolutely required in my opinion. I upgraded to the CO2 self-inflating style for comfort. The first time you get in the water and kickoff I can guarantee you’ll feel a bit apprehensive. It’s different from being in a solid boat. The life jacket gives me an extra level of reassurance and peace of mind.

Net

Hand-held style with a shock cord and clip to attach to your float tube is recommended.

Safety flag

If you’re fishing waters that have power boats, you want to do everything you can to be seen. An orange flag on a three-foot pole will help boaters see you better.

That said, if you’re fishing water that has power boats on it, I would urge you to stay close to the shoreline. Float tubes do not move fast, and you will not be able to get out of the way of a power boat bearing down on you.

Fishing on a small pond, whether for trout, bass, crappie, or whatever you pursue, is one of the most peaceful ways of fishing you can have.

The simplicity of the experience, not having to deal with all the issues that come with trailering a boat, and the quiet make for a relaxing day of fishing, not to mention, opens yourself up to new places to explore and enjoy!