WILD BLOG: Sending Willamette springer season out with a bang!
NEW May 1, 2009 / 7:30 a.m

April 30th was the last day of the Willamette River springer season and it went out with a bang.

Not only was the river rested up for four days since the last day it was open but the water temp had dropped back down to around 51 (perfect temp).  We had a morning low tide and the Columbia had dropped, allowing for the Willamette’s current speed to increase.  All this at the end of April - the peak of the run.

Reports of hot bites came from all up and down the river including Selwood, head of the channel, Coon Island ... there were a tons of guys had their limits by 8.  I was in Oregon City and the story was the same.

I had told my clients we were starting at six but one of them was late so I told him to call me when he got on the dock.

We left the dock at 6:05. My late client called me at 6:17. By then we had already hooked two fish.

Fish after fish were being hooked, but with the tide turning at 7:30 the bite didn’t last all day. By 9, things slowed down to a trickle with fish being caught here and there for the rest of the day.

The crowd for the last day was epic.  Reminiscent of the days of old as I was growing up. 

Parking was horrendous. The ramp lines stretched on and on and parking was found half a mile away. Good thing I got there at 4:30: I got the last spot in the lot.

And on the water?  If it floats, I saw it out there. 

Just in O. C. I saw a party barge, a canoe, a kayak, and two one-man pontoon boats fishing. I was waiting to see someone out there with a couple inner tubes strapped together.

However, it was the same old story about lots of fish being caught but with so many boats the catch was distributed amongst the fleet.

All along this year, the Willamette has been kicking out a lot of fish, and it went out with a bang.
I’m not going to be surprised if its run comes in better than predicted.  We’ll see after the water temps climb and the counts start moving over the falls again.