Catch More Columbia River Walleye 

Yeah, and none in my cooler

Thank you Ryan 👍

That's awesome. Just goes to show that Kokanee don't care about what boat you are in only tactics and tackle matter. I might be fishing Whiskeytown in early June. I am looking forward to it.

@@spiltmilt Exactly!! The bite has turned on really well in the last month out on Whiskeytown if you can sneak out. Lake Shasta up the McCloud arm is also amazing for big bows and browns right now as well. I highly recommend hitting both if you're down here.

I too have been fishing Whiskeytown lately. I've fished for and caught Kokanee over the years and took friends along. I was not overly thrilled with catching them because I was not thrilled with the way they cooked. I tried BBQ, frying, etc. Everytime, they were just too dry. People I took fishing had the same feedback with the fish they took home. This year I tried an experiment with the first limit. I filleted them skin on, deboned them, and them made a dry mixture of light brown sugar and salt (salt to taste - dip a wet finger into the mixture to test). I pack the fish generously with the dry brine and refrigerate it for about 24 hours in a covered glass bowl. By the next morning the mixture has leeched the moisture out of the fish and they are in a brine soup. I then throughly rinse the fish with fresh water and put the in a dehydrator for 5 hours at 165 degrees. I got the idea from early days of smoking salmon. The result is absolutely unbelievable. My wife and daughter-in-law ate the first 10 filets in one day. That second batch lasted exactly as long. I have two limits brining in the refrigerator right now and will dry them tomorrow. I highly recommend this method of preparing Kokanee. The fish is extremely oily when done and the taste is incredible. FYI, I caught a 3.6 lb. Kokanee at Shasta last September. There is definitely a good Kokanee fishery in Shasta too.

What fish bag do you own? So many of them are way too big for a kayak.

Currently I use a bag from Columbia that has removable inserts but unfortunately they don't make them anymore and I've not found a suitable replacement.

Check out the Eyoyo 7" that I compare in this video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MfYM6Bwt6-c.html

This is very interesting... I've always wondered where and how Kokanee in lakes spawn. I've never seen or caught in the lake one of those red, hook mouthed, Kokanee like seen on Google

Some spawn in streams feeding into lakes and others shore spawn with varying degrees of success. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7EuCdZG1PKw.html

We use them in a variety of dishes but simply breaded and fried is how I enjoy Walleye the most.

Both will take boat wake very well but the Sportsman's PDL 120 will keep you drier than the Salty but you will lose a little bit of speed.

Yes I do catch those suckers and you know it immediately because they fight like champs whereas Walleye fight like a sack of potatoes 😂

@@spiltmilt Haha, yeah they are fun. Will we be seeing out there chasing springers soon?

Not for a while. Not a legal springer run within 250 miles of me. Trout, Kokanee, and Walleye for the foreseeable future.

Marcum Pursuit HD Camera: bassproshops.vzck.net/XxGPMg

Its noticeable and reduces my speed by 0.1 to 0.2 mph.

Filmed in March. Yes Walleye generally stick tight to the bottom. I for years thought they primarily associated with rock and gravel structure but this video pretty clearly shows they will sit in the sand dunes on the bottom. Like eastern Walleye ours will move up in the tail races of dams to spawn in the late winter and early spring and spread out in the fall summer. Current speed largely predicts depth. Slow current means deeper, high current shallow.

I use fluorocarbon leader

As you can see in the video I do wear a full body dry suit and PFD. I also know I can flip my kayak over and get back in it in under 3 minutes. I make it a point to not give any reason from someone to flag my channel so I never show the "bonk" or "bleeding" so as to avoid any strikes on my RU-vid account.

Closest reliable place is the Multnomah Channel downstream of Coon Island

Everything is linked in the description

I carry smoke bombs 😂 That way you can't see me.

Some years back I did follow Tyler & I swear I saw a couple trout jump into his yak entirely on their own --- he cussed at them & tossed them back in the water !

They do seem associated here. Not sure if that holds up elsewhere.

@@spiltmilt hey maybe I missed it but what action of rod do you use?

Tough to euro nymph in 50' of water LOL

Link in the description 😉

Single hooks will reduce snags

More typically April sometimes May depending on water flows and temperatures

Not this time but it would have certainly helped this day. I missed several short strikes.

Make it happen! Keep at it. I felt that way when I was just starting out with them too. A frustrating fish at times.

@@spiltmilt they are indeed very localized like you said. I know some jigging spots, but they're not there anymore. So I've been trolling further south, but this has been just shooting in the dark

A seam is where slowing moving water meets faster moving water.

Thank you!

Model is linked in the description: amzn.to/3jFBEva Med, 8-14 lb

@@spiltmilt Thank you so much!

Yes 8 lb

Above Chief Joseph Dam

Yes I do ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FaGUYuVrGeE.html

I fish about thirty miles south of Kettle Falls. I haven’t made it out for spring walleye yet (that damned work thing), but I have caught many of the large triploid rainbow off the banks. I wonder why I even bought a boat. The white sturgeon that B.C. Planted are also an awesome fish to catch from the bank. Not sure of the B.C. Regs. Watch Samong Outdoors for some great sturgeon bank fishing.

@@shockcoach you are a good friend to have, you know.... the one with the boat 😉

Upper Columbia near Brewster

At first I did too…😎😄

There are a number of suckers mixed in with the Walleye

@@spiltmilt Well good. My eyes are not playing tricks on me. My eye immediately went on the lookout for big SM. I’ve hooked into a number of Columbia River Walleye by accident…

@@spiltmilt thanks I have to rewatch video a few times on big tv.

40-50’

no

upper

Rufus Woods and below Wells Dam.

@@spiltmilt I new there should be some good walleye fishing around entiat. I need to get out and try it

@@spiltmilt I’ve heard good things about Rufus woods, when I google maps it shows me a lake, do you fish the lake or the stretch of the Columbia near that lake, by the frontier ministries off Columbia river rd? Thanks in advance

Bank fishing options are limited but I do all my walleye fishing from a kayak with no issue.

@@spiltmilt thanks

Good question. I think they are both highly dependent on drift to provide food. In that regard it makes sense.

75% troll, 25% jigging

I'll be curious if they survived the draw down in any kind of numbers.

@@spiltmilt yeah sucks that they do that. They killed off thousands of trout and Kokanee from Green Peter lake and Foster Lake. Luckily the lake I fish they don’t draw down at all. It’s called Dexter Res just outside of Eugene if your interested.

I saw your video from there a while ago. Ever catch more than just the one?

@@spiltmilt lol Yeah suck at making videos.. I’ve caught probably 6-8 total from that lake. I started using the bottom bouncer weight rig seems to work well. Lookout Res right above Dexter also has them. I do enjoy your Kokanee videos. Lots of good tips. I really struggle to catch them.

We have size restrictions

@@spiltmilt we can keep one over 22" in places that have limits. The Columbia has no limits.

Definitely unless you use a descending device

@@spiltmilt Ok, thanks. I was not aware of that.

Not it’s not the same kayak

Good thing you aren’t a fisheries biologist

@@spiltmilt why is that? I am a very strict catch and release fisherman, but i am also a very strick invasive species fisherman how many smoults do walleye eat a year? I live on the clearwater river i live to catch salmon springers summers, falls, sockeye we send 10, million smoults down the big C every year we are lucky to get back 0.063 percent as adults if it eats smoults i am for whacking it, that in includes smallies in the rivers as well ,but I always release big females in lakes and other waters if i was a biologist i would crack down on big C predators more that they do now for sure. There are plenty of places that are walleye fisheries they are in no danger.

@@magwamagwa45110 I would say that walleye don't eat as many smolts as you think. Most of the walleye are hanging out in deeper water on the bottom. I think that small mouth bass and pike minnow pose more of a threat.

@@chrismehl9842 that may or may not be the case but i know they move into shallow water at night and gorge on them in the spring .... Either way they are invasive and there are plenty of places dedicated to walleye.

@@magwamagwa45110 The northern pike minnow are not an invasive species to the Columbia River, it is their native waters.

In fact you are wrong. There are limits imposted on Walleye above Chief Joseph dam where these species are important gamefish species.

@@spiltmilt non native species are not important to native species.

Thanks for sharing your hate Steve. 😂

They are netting pike. They release the walleye

Yes around 40’ using the Marcum Pursuit HD Underwater Camera: amzn.to/3GE483a