The deep, wide, soft-bottom flats between the mouth of the Snake and Walla Walla rivers harbor large walleyes in the spring, many in the 12- to 16-pound range. If your goal is to catch a trophy walleye, you might try the Wallula Pool where the Washington state record of 20 pounds, 5 ounces was caught in 2014 by John Grubenhoff of Pasco. Pick ’em up at Gorge Outfitters Supply, your one-stop location for supplies and information, in Rufus. Begin your search trolling a Smile Blade Super Slow Death rig by Mack’s Lures in chartreuse sparkle behind a bottom walker or troll a Butterfly Blade from Dutch Fork Custom Lures that turns at speeds as low as 0.25 mph. Try the underwater shelves around Miller Island, the shallow flat off the mouth of the Deschutes River, and Preacher’s Eddy. In the lower reach of the Columbia River, walleyes can be found in the Multnomah Channel downstream of Bonneville Dam and in the lower Willamette River, but The Dalles and John Day pools afford the best opportunity for hooking up with a stringer-full of these tasty fish.Īccording to long-time guide Ed Inman, some of the best fishing sites here are found in the vicinity of Rufus, Oregon. Still, filling your boat with small walleyes is not generally condoned by local anglers, and many of these conservation-minded walleye anglers release large females and limit themselves to no more than 10 “eater-size” walleyes on any single trip. In fact, liberal catch limits, established by Washington and Oregon fisheries managers but are controversial for many walleye aficionados, are in place in an effort to reduce walleye predation on salmon and steelhead populations listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Fish like that and many more large walleyes thrive on the river system’s abundant prey base.
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