Jim and I had plans to fish Tue and Wed below McNary. Local tournament angler Ron J joined met us at the Umatilla launch at 6 AM Tuesday. Neither Jim or I have much experience on the big Columbia, and Ron's help was incredibly valuable. It was HOT! The afternoon temperature was nearly 100 degrees, and the fishing was slow. Ron took us to school in the morning catching 4 nice walleyes in the 17 to 21 inch range before 8 AM. I finally woke up around 10 AM and landed a 7.5 pound walleye that measured 27 inches (released). I got 2 smaller walleyes to put in the live well early in the afternoon before we stopped fishing around 3 PM.

Jim and I went back out around 730 PM (Ron went home). The evening bite was about as good as it gets. We ended up keeping 10 walleyes in the 16 to 23 inch range. I also released a big 25 incher and several small walleyes through the evening. We finally quit fishing at midnight. Our initial plan was to fish again on Wed, but we were exhausted from our day 1 experience, slept in and drove home to escape the heat.

More info for club members: Our best success came from trolling crankbaits early in the morning and in the evening. Walleyes were shallow in the current seems and back eddies below McNary Dam. Ron showed us the technique in the morning using size 7 Berkley Flicker Shads in 10 to 13 feet. Purple was a good color in the morning. Once the sun set in the evening, black and white Flicker Shads and Rapala Shad Raps produced steady action. During the heat of the day, we ran 20 miles downstream to Bordman where we picked up a few fish in 30 feet of water pulling chrome smile blades with a crawler.

Jim K and Greg K: Lake Umatilla - 6/28