Beautiful fall day on the lower Snake River – brisk but sunny. The kind of day for hope the big smallmouth bass will be ravenous, bulking up for the winter ahead. Set out from Hood Park and ran up to the Ice Harbor dam prepared with a bottom-bouncing rig for walleye if the bass aren’t cooperating.
Was a little breezy up that way so decided to go with the walleye rig and slow troll down river as a couple of other folks were doing – they must know better than I. A lazy way to fish but nice for enjoying the scenery and warmth of the fall sun.
After covering a few miles of river with only one whitefish and what felt like a walleye for the brief time it was on, decided to head down to the mouth of the river.
I have learned that the lower Snake has a well defined channel and outside of that channel it can get really shallow though you would never know it from the surface. That lesson was reinforced this day.
While shopping for a new prop today the salesperson says, “We have all done it.” I suppose so but it still hurts. Thankfully, only the prop and skeg damaged and a new prop is on the way from Amazon. Will be back in business next week.
Landing In The PNW 