I picked up my buddy in Cheney at about 3PM and we headed down to the Snake River on 8/2. It looked to be the coolest day we were gonna get in an eternity of 90+ days.

It was quite pleasant out and their was a little wind on Sprague Lake, which is always our “weather sock” for the Snake. The Sky was slightly overcast, but it was darker, due to the Smoke, so the sun was not able to beat down and the overall light was shrouded. Should be a good day……..

We launched at TX Rapids and were fishin’ by 5:10 PM. We had our first walleye in the boat by 5:15 and started to think that this day was gonna be magical. Magical is a strong word, but today was solid. Over the last 2 years or so, the daily numbers of walleyes that I’ve caught on the Snake has definitely gone down, but she produced a nice mess of 5 eaters tonight.

….. We went up to one of my secret spots and had an eater in the boat within 5 minutes. After pulling across the target zone 2 more times, we decided to give it a rest and go up to the dam. I haven’t done worth a damn this year at the dam, but we did pull another 2 fish this evening, up there. One at the picnic benches and another along the long pipe, across the way. The damn is either hot or cold and we deemed it lukewarm, and it was almost starting to be magic hour, so we stowed gear and headed for the Grainery.

The Grainery, must be a waterskiers paradise, because every weed in the Snake river was floating along that shore and we couldn’t keep our cranks, free of them….. We did one pass with no luck and moved up to the Tucannon where the water was either cleaner or the current sweeps it clean. Either way, we did 2 passes there and picked up a nice 23 and another eater before it started to get dark. The grainery is always a great closing spot, but with all of that salad in the water, we didn’t want to waste our time.

We moved up to the spot where we started and trolled through that 1 time with no luck.. We trolled back through it going down hill and I got slammed. I picked up this very nice walleye to round out the evening. She went 28” even, in length and was 8.4 lbs. Anything in my boat at or over 24” is granted a presidential pardon from the fryer, so back she went. Overall, it was a darn fine evening on the Snake River.

Custom Baits are expensive, but they are absolutely worth the money, If you find a pattern that the fish love. In the summertime on the Snake River, past 6:30 PM, without fail, I throw on the #213 from Wicked Custom Baits and Spoons.. It’s a custom painted Bandit that simply produces day after day after day, going on 4 years now……. I’ve out-fished stiffnecked buddies 3/1 using it when the sun starts to set. If you want one or a couple, they are made by Dave Lynch of Wicked Customs Jigs and Spoons. You can find him on Facebook. Ask for the #213 and he’ll most likely know you saw a post or an email by me…… That pattern is magical out here in the PNW……..

Travis: Snake River - 8/2