OK I'm back to work. The Columbia successfully kicked my butt again! Although I only weighed 2 fish each day, I am very thankful to have even weighed those fish.

I was getting about 10 bites a day in practice. I figured I might be able to scratch a limit each day with a little luck. My first day partner, Ron Mace, local boy, wanted to run down and lock below. I have never taken a beating in a boat like that first day. The run took 2.5 hours one way. We took his boat, a 20' Skeeter, and my back still is sore for the beating we took. To make a long story short, we got down below, and the wind was so bad we could hardly fish. We caught one fish a piece down below--ahhhh! We made it back to some of my water with an hour to go, and we both put one more keeper in the boat.

The second day, I took my boat. This was my first time going as the boater. The wind started at 20-30mph, then steadily increased through the day to about 40mph. Horrible conditions. Again, very glad to have just survived. Proud of my Ranger for the beating she took, and she handled just fine. My partner, Gary Sparks, caught 4 fish and I only managed 2. We got fish off my water, and Gary had 13lbs the day before and was stoked to be bringing another good sack to the scales. Nice fella and stoked for him. I was so pleased just to have survived that day...I have fished horrible Mead, Havasu and Delta, and no wind has ever roared like the Columbia gorge. Visibility was less than a 1/2 mile with all the dust and debris in the air. The Columbia is gnarly enough to run in calm conditions, let alone 3-6 footers.

The third day, I drew a local boy again, and took his boat. We were both way out of it. It amazes me how the locals fish the Columbia. It's all about just getting on the fish. Sloppy boat control, shitty technique, not real good at finding the spots....Nice guy, but I wasn't real impressed with his knowledge or attention to advanced fishing techniques. It's like you're hoping to just get on that one spot and load the boat...whatever. We both had 2 fish, all caught on my water.

In conclusion, I'm real stoked for my buddy Cameron. Solid finish. He weighed in 9lb the first day, anchored by an 5.5lber. We both guessed it would take about 6lbs a day to make a check. It took about 7lbs a day. I thought I could weigh in at least close to a limit each day. Oh well, not only didn't I get the bites, the bites I got were all small little fish. My best fish went maybe 2lbs on the first day. That's a long trip to go catch about 7 lbs of fish!!!!

I'm thankful for the experience, and glad I survived. Not the finish I wanted, but is actually 16 places better than I did last year. WOOOWWW! Now it's all about getting ready for Oroville!!!

Matt

southernswimbait.com
BigBait Fishing in the South