Travis and Greg: Snake River - 9/1

I met Travis after church and we hit the road around noon. We launched at Lyons Ferry and were on the water by 230 pm . It was about 90 degrees with less than 5 mph of wind, but the wind gradually increased into the evening to about 10 mph which is about perfect for the Snake River. Flat water and bright skies often mean poor fishing. By 8 PM, we caught 9 walleyes, more than a dozen small bass, a catfish, and a pike minnow. We continued fishing through sunset, but the bite shut off as it got dark. The walleyes ranged from 12 inches to 21 inches.

All of our walleyes were caught in 20 to 25 feet of water (very typical). Our most productive spots were the rocky shoreline across from Texas Rapids and the mouth of the Tucannon. We fished the dam with no success. There was decent current through the power plant, but no gates were open. There didn’t appear to be any baitfish descending down the fish ladder which is often a sign that predator fish are feeding near the dam.

All walleyes were caught trolling deep diving crankbaits against the current. Chrome/purple was the most productive color when the sun was bright. Firetiger patterns caught our bigger fish toward sunset.

Little details seem to make a big difference on the Snake. At the boat ramp, we met some fellas from Tri Cities that fished all day and into the evening. They trolled crankbaits without success in areas where we caught fish. Our troll speed was between 1.5 and 1.8 mph. Their speed was 2.2 to 2.5 mph. They were also trolling different colored cranks.