Columbia Gorge walleye fishing at its best now in The Dalles PoolSubscriber Exclusive

The spawn is now over, and the best walleye fishing of the year is taking place in The Dalles Pool of the Columbia River. For the next two months anglers can stock their freezer full of one of the tastiest fresh water fish in North America. For local fishers, The Dalles Pool offers the best walleye fishing in Southwest Washington. There are good reefs closer to home, and walleye are available from the Vancouver-Portland area through the Bonneville Pool, but the numbers of fish are higher farther up the Columbia. May and June are when anglers are searching for big schools of walleye that are hungry after the spawn, and looking to fatten up and recover from the duress of spawning. These are mostly male walleye and will range from a foot long to over 5 pounds. The big females, which are the trophies of the walleye world, are usually caught during the pre-spawn period from January through April. They can be found during the post-spawn, but in far less numbers. Fishing guide Marvin Henkel of Marvin’s Guide Service targets The Dalles Pool for walleye every year, fishing from the town of Rufus on the Oregon side, all the way down to The Dalles Dam when the weather allows. He will fish for ‘eyes through the month of June, and he is looking for those eater-sized male walleye. “I do like to let the big females go, and keep that fishery strong for us in the future,” Henkel said. “But we definitely get a lot of some good eater-sized fish.” Henkel launches at either the ramp at Rufus, or at Celilo Park, depending on where the fishing conditions are the best. He will cover the entire area from the Preacher’s Eddy in the tailrace below the John Day Dam, all the way down to The Dalles Dam, when the wind will allow it. Henkel said there are few, if any, secret places left to fish, although he does have some favorite areas. He often fishes near the mouth of the Deschutes River, but that area is usually crowded now. “Ten years ago, you would go down there and there would be four boats fishing there,” he said. “Now you go up there on a Saturday and there are 30 or 40 boats fishing it.” The fish are feeding over rocky reefs, or stretches of gravel. They are holding in the current, looking to snatch food as it washes down. He prefers the gravel areas to the reefs, because the baits do not snag up as much. He also said there are plenty of places that don’t get too crowded, and if anglers want to check these areas out, they should give it a pass or two, and if they don’t get bit, move on to some place else. In other words, you do not have to move into the crowded areas to find walleyes. This time of year, the schools are mainly holding in 12 to 30 feet of water, and the walleye prefer hard surfaces, such as rocks, reefs, and gravel patches, instead of soft, muddy bottoms. Henkel is usually trolling with bottom-walking worm harnesses with a smiley blade spinner, and he said he only trolls downstream. While many anglers will be trolling with plugs, or jigging, he is usually fishing the worm harnesses. “Sometimes I do some jigging for them, but my favorite way is trolling with the worm harnesses. That way I can cover a lot of ground.” He explained that these rigs are also easy to fish, and he often has clients in his boat that are not experienced. They often have trouble fishing the other methods. “My reels all have line counters on them so I can tell them, ‘Let out about 22 to 23 feet out,’ because if you get these inexperienced guys, they don’t know how to tell when they are on the bottom. You may be in 17 feet of water and they have all the line off the reel.” The worm harnesses make it easy to know when the baits are where they need to be, right on the bottom where the walleye hold. If Henkel launches at the Rufus ramp, he will target the popular areas, such as the Preacher’s Eddy, the Cottonwoods, and other rocky areas below the John Day Dam. He prefers to launch at Celilo Park, and fish the lower areas in the pool, including the mouth of the Deschutes. There are some good areas he targets farther down near The Dalles Dam, but that depends on the wind, which can be wicked in the Gorge. He warns anglers to be careful, and to be aware of their boat’s limitations. It is mostly the bigger boats that fish these lower sections, because if that wind picks up — and it often does each afternoon — smaller boats can have a difficult time running back up against that rugged east wind. “There is only about one in 10 days when the wind is not blowing and you can get down there,” he said. In fact, Henkel said the wind can even get too rough for the guide boats. Anglers that hire a guide would do well to check in with them a couple days before they are scheduled to fish, and see what kind of conditions are expected. Henkel always keeps an eye out for the forecast winds, and if it might be too rough to fish, he will call his clients beforehand, and let them know if the fishing will be safe. “I am pretty good at letting my guys know,” said Henkel. “If you were booked with me a couple days before I will call and let you know, ‘Right now it’s up in the air, so let’s talk when it gets closer.’ ” “A guy reserves a hotel room for $150, and then doesn’t get to fish? That’s not good. If I have 20 days booked, out of those 20, you are going to have two or three days when the wind is just too bad to put out.” The good fishing will continue into July, but Henkel warns that it will slow down once the hot weather of late summer arrives, and the water heats up. Some anglers will continue to find walleyes eager to bite through the summer. However, the best fishing is taking place right now.

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