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Scratch one off the bucket list! Fished out of Boardman for walleyes, and had a great time. Not a lot, but enough to make it fun. It was so hot on the river, you pretty much had to get off by noon. Guides were doing the same. We caught 6 the first day, and tons of smallmouth. There are no limits on size or numbers for either species. And you don't have to feel guilty, since you are helping the salmon runs that are crashing. The second day was slower for walleye, but I did hook into a 10# + 'eye that was so much fun. Wallleye, bass, and perch all seemed to like our worm harnesses on bottom bouncers. There is a terrific lodge by the ramps (River Lodge and Grill) and the marina is terrific. Great ramps, docks, parking, fish cleaning station, and a beautiful park.....and its all free!
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Great! glad you had fun, I will second the River Lodge, i've stayed there several times.
Matt
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That's great Mike. Fishing the Big C is always fun and it's not that far. We usually stay across the river at Crow Butte park but I'll have to try River Lodge one of these times. Thanks for the tip.
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Thanks for the report Mike, did you take any pics of that 10 lb eye? I've always wanted to fish the Columbia, were you fishing with a guide or doing it yourself?
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Great... sounds like a real nice trip with some good fish being caught. A 10 lb + walleye is something to behold! I have only ever fished the Boardman marina from the docks and on shore but have had some real fun doing so. Plenty of water as well as spiny rayed species over there. Nice facilities at Boardman, Irrigon, Umatilla and even Arlington. Also have to give a shout out to the River Lodge as well as I have stayed there numerous times in recent years. Pretty decent food there, too.
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Wiper,
We were in the process of taking some pics at the cleaning station when the wasps discovered my bloody hands and whacked me a couple of times!! I told Kali to heck with the pics. Sort of regret it now! No, we went out on our own boat. We were fishing in the Glade Creek area when a guide boat arrived, and we altered our route a bit. That helped th catch rate, and we stayed out of his way. We seemed to be doing as well as he was. I did discover that the river can go from 46 feet to 1 1/2 real fast right in the middle of the river! Took a little bit of blade off, bout 1/2" by 1". It continued to operate fine afterwards with no vibrations, but I have been told it still pays to replace the prop. Any advice? Mike
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Yea, a 10 lb walleye is one you want a pic of, not sure about the Columbia river but getting one that sized in most places is hard to come by, most that sized are around 30". How far was it to that location from Idaho?
Did you hit your main motor or your kicker motor prop? If it is a kicker motor you might be able to blend it or smooth out the edges depending just how bad it is but if it is your main motor I'd replace or have it repaired, IMO.
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Yeah, it was my 75 Yamaha. Boardman is about a 4 hr. trip from Boise. Mike
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A tip is too follow the shipping lanes, red and green buoys, going down river you want the green on your right, going up river you want the Red on your right! Stay in between the two buoys!
Matt
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