Cascade locks sockeye fishing

I am thinking about fishing at cascade Locks tomorrow for sockeye. 

willbd

Details?

Launching around 7 am at Cascade Locks boat ramp.

I have never fished for sockeye. With the hi number of returns it seems like it would be a good time to try.


 

Good luck tomorrow.  I've tried for them 3 times so far and even though there are supposedly thousands swimming by I can't seem to find them. 

Hmm sounds fun

Good luck tomorrow.  I've tried for them 3 times so far and even though there are supposedly thousands swimming by I can't seem to find them.

Nate, What part of the Columbia did you try?

I am thinking that the river is narrow at Cascade Locks and I would have a better chance to get one on a hook. 

I was down by the airport using small spin n glows with coon shrimp in 8-12 ft.   Be careful of the current it was moving pretty good yesterday.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

For the sockeye, you might want to consider what we used in Lake Washington, the 3/0 or 4/0 red, black, or blue hook trolled with a small flasher or dodger.  No bait needed.  Not sure if it works the same in a river environment with current and a much different depth.    Up there, the combo was a killer if you could dial in to the right depth.

I did not launch. The water was moving too fast.
East wind was blowing.

I did see some sockeye caught from the bank.

What were the guys on the bank using?

@alpalmer is absolutely right -- most sockeyes don't move up and down in the water column when they're in fresh water, so prospecting at different depths until you find the right level is worth your time. At most you might get an irritation strike, but normally these are bare hook controlled snags. We fish sparse red-and-white, or chartreuse-and-yellow coho files pretty often -- but normally that's just to aid me in visually assessing my drift as I'm trying to find where the reds are positioned.

What were the guys on the bank using?

Most of the people were using yellow, orange or pink yarn on a hook or very small hand tided  orange or pink head fly. Hook size looked like 1/0 or smaller.

They fish on the lock wall about 20 feet apart and 10 feet deep. They told me that the water was 60 feet deep. It was really crowded.   3 to 6 oz of lead. Some people rig just like bottom fishing. A large jig head for weight and 2 hooks on droppers.

willbd,  was that you I saw working an area a short drive from Cascade Locks on Sunday?  Did you guys catch anything?

-Spot-

willbd,  was that you I saw working an area a short drive from Cascade Locks on Sunday?  Did you guys catch anything?

-Spot-

If you are talking about last Sunday the 8th. No. I wanted to go but had to haul hay.
I did make the drive the week before and did not launch. Gave it a try from the back. I saw some fish caught.
I did not get any.