Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!

December fishing report

With 2007 almost coming to a end I would like to thank all of you that fished with me this year for making it another successful year and sharing all the fishing stories while we were making more. There was some great fishing seasons this year with some nice fish that were caught whether it was a Salmon, Steelhead Sturgeon or a Walleye. Some seasons took a while to get started but if you hit it right when they were in I am sure that you experienced some great fishing. Fall Chinook was great this year for me on the Columbia above Bonneville in September and early October. I also fished the Nehalem River in Oregon during October which was good while September was a little slow unlike years past. If you have never fished this river it is definitely one to take a trip on for these Big Chinooks and the quality is fantastic. For Silvers I fished the NF of the Lewis which was great during the end of October through mid November. I had a lady catch a 17 pounder one day which was a big fish for a Silver. I also spent some time on the Columbia for Silvers which produced some nice limits.
It is now that time of year when the Salmon are mostly done running except for some of the Oregon coastal rivers and before we know it the Spring Chinook will be showing up in a month or two. My last meeting I attended for the fish and wildlife they gave out a forecast for most of the runs that will be coming back this next season in 2008. The Willamette river run is not going to be good this year with a forecast of only 37,000 fish to return. This should keep the commercial gillnets out of the Columbia until mid April which will help with the wild Steelhead and upper river Spring Chinook runs that would be coming through the Columbia in March and early April when they would be netting during that time. The total for the Columbia is looking like 260,000 fish which is up from last year and they should open the Columbia to Rooster Rock. It is also being talked about to may be open it for a few days to fish below Bonneville Dam. For sure they should let us fish above the I-5 bridge which will help increase the sport fishermen's success. Drano Lake in Washington is expected to have a great return this year and the Wind River in Washington is forecasted to be good which last year it was a little slow. They didn't have numbers for the Cowlitz, Kalama or the NF Lewis yet and they should be out shortly. Last year the COWLITZ was very slow but in return the Kalama and NF Lewis fished very well.
Winter Steelhead are now coming in the rivers with a small number of them already making there way to the hatcheries during our high water that we experienced during the big storm. When we have conditions like this, these fish will travel just as the water starts to clear and drop and usually make there way up river before we are on the river to have a chance at them. The good thing is that there is still more fish that have started to come in and some rivers have a later run that go through February which helps us have a longer season. I am mainly running drift boat trips right now for Steelhead in SW Washington tributaries on the Washougal, Kalama and the East Fork of the Lewis with a average of 2-4 fish being caught per trip. I do have jet sled trips available on the Cowlitz river which is starting to produce some fish also. Last year the river was high and muddy and didn't fish well but it looks like it could be a good year this Steelhead season.
Walleye fishing is slow right now and will start to pick up starting February. I will be fishing for them from February through April until they go on the spawn in May. This early fishery is your best opportunity if you want to have a chance at catching the State Record or possibly the World record which is expected to come off the Columbia River. Last year a new Washington State record was set at 19.3 pounds. This early season is a great quality fishery with some nice fish being caught unlike the summer months where you will catch more but are usually smaller in size on the average. I did a film shoot last year on the upper Columbia for these fish and I have a short clip of the video on my website that you can take a look at if walleye fishing may interest you. I think Walleye are the best tasting fish on the Columbia if you want my opinion.
This past fall offered some great Keeper Sturgeon fishing with some nice keepers being caught. The Fish and Wildlife Dept opened the season earlier this year starting in September due to the quota not being filled the past spring. Usually it doesn't open until October and only on Thursday-Sunday but with the low numbers of fish being caught they decided to open it up early. The next season will start in March of 2008 and will go through June. The best fishing early will be in the Willamette River and from the mouth of the Cowlitz to Bonneville. the estuary will start to get good in early June and the best fishing will be from mid June to the closure which may not last to the end of the month. It normally will run to the end of the month and into July but this past season they over ran the quota by 3,000 fish so they will be taking it off of 2008 quota which will make the season shorter. This is a great fishery fishing the shallow water in the sand flats with light tackle. When you hook one of these fish they will give you the best fight peeling line off your reel like you have never imagined.
With 2008 going to offer us another great year of fishing it is never to early to book the trip or trips that you know you would like to do before I get booked up and possibly not have that date that you wish to fish. There may be a trip that you haven't done with me that I talked about that you may want to do so book early to assure the dates that you may wish. I can be contacted by email at stevesguideservice@comcast.net  or by phone on my cell 1-360-609-1902 or my office 1-360-835-7995. My website is www.stevesguidedadventures.com  So quit wishin and lets go fishin!

Fishing report as of 8-18-07
by Steve Leonard with Steve’s guided Adventures.

The past few weeks the Steelhead fishing has been real good in Drano Lake and the Big White Salmon River. The dam counts have been 6,000 to 8,000 per day which is great numbers of fish heading up stream. Fishing for them in the Columbia has been good some days if you can get into the right spot where the fish are running heading up stream. Most guys get to there spot so early just to reserve it that you don’t get much sleep unless you want to sleep in the boat and not in your bed in order to get the hot spots especially below Bonneville Dam. The NF Lewis has been averaging 3 to 4 fish a day per boat and you have to work it hard to get them in order to get the average. These fish will be in the river all month and the Salmon will be coming soon as this run will slow down.

Sturgeon fishing has opened back up from Wanna powerlines to Bonneville for keepers and you can retain them everyday. We are low on the quota of fish so the game department opened it back up to allow u to catch some more. We were restricted to fish from the 85 channel marker below Bonneville since May 1st until August 1st which has taken us out of a lot of good Sturgeon keeper water in the best months in the spring so there was less keepers caught in this area and as the result the quota was never filled for the second year. Now you can fish all the way to Bonneville deadline so it will offer some better fishing. There are still some Oversize Sturgeon around if you want to try your strength on fighting a big one.

Salmon fishing is under way now for the fall season and the mouth of the Columbia is closed for Chinook salmon until the 22nd when it opens but it is open for Silvers. It will be open from the 22nd to September 3rd from the mouth to the mouth of the Lewis River then it will close and be open from the Lewis river upstream to Bonneville for September and October or unless they have a early closure. Anytime these Salmon will be starting to enter the tributaries in SW Washington making there way to there spawning grounds.

Walleye have been on the bite since the spawn in May. The whole Columbia River system would be a good bet right now for fishing these tasty fish. The water is warm and we are starting to enter the Fall season so they are very aggressive feeding before the water starts to cool for winter. Trolling crank baits, jigging and worm harnesses are all good methods to try to catch a nice Walleye.

Good luck fishing and if you would like to book a trip we can be contacted by phone or email.

Tight Lines,

Steve Leonard

Fishing report as of June 8th, 2007
by Steve Leonard

We are now through our Spring season and the Spring Chinooks fishing is pretty much done at this time. I did my last trip on the NF Lewis June 1st and had only one bite but previous days at the end of May we were averaging 4 fish a day. The Columbia was slower this year then the past due to the fish coming in a little later then normal. There was some great fishing days and then there were some slow days which is normal for this fishery on the Columbia for Spring Chinook. Everybody seems to think that the season is over when they close the Columbia but this is not the case. Years past we couldn't fish the Columbia River after March 15th and the area was I-5 bridge down stream like it is now so it is a bonus when we can fish it longer. The Willamette produced great fishing in Oregon along with the Clackamas and Sandy rivers which were much slower this year. I seen a lot more Oregon guides in my areas in Washington due to slower fishing in oregon tributaries. In Washington, Drano Lake was the hot spot. Prawn rigs, Shrimp and pulling plugs was the way to catch them. Flat fish came out with a new M2 deep dive plug that will dive up to 20 feet which worked great trolling around in the lake.
The Columbia just opened a couple of days ago for Salmon up to Bonneville Dam. We have to release all Wild Salmon until June 16th then they are considered a Summer Chinook not as a Spring Chinook which are not endangered. The Summer Chinook run has increased in big numbers so the Fish and Game is giving us Sports fishermen a season to harvest 1,000 fish. This will be the 3rd year we have been able to fish for them. I am booking trips right now and still have some openings during the first two weeks of July.
Spring Steelhead are now in the SW Washington rivers and will continue into the Summer. The Kalama, NF lewis, East Fork Lewis and the Washougal river are all producing fish. The Columbia River will open in July for Steelhead and I will be catching them while Salmon fishing with sp[inners. I will be fishing the NF Lewis from my sled for Summer Steelhead until the end of May. This is a great rip and the fish fight hard due to the cool water coming out of Merwin reservoir. This is my favorite fish to catch out of all species due to there fighter for there weight and are acrobactic. I run light 10' GLoomis Spinning rods in the 4-8 weight for these fish so you can only imagine what that feels like. These fish run between 8 -20 pounds. I am also running drift boat trips on the Kalama and Klickitat rivers for Summer Steelhead.
Sturgeon fishing on the Columbia is going very well right now for Keepers and Trophy Oversize. I have been fishing the Gorge below Bonneville and have boated some nice keepers. I started fishing for the Trophies last Saturday and so far the biggest is 10 1/2 feet weighing around 450 pounds. I will be posting some of my current photos from these trips on my website. You can go to my Sturgeon photo album and take a look at these Big Trophies. Next week I will be heading down to Astoria to do some keeper Sturgeon trips in the estuary. A lot of the keeper size fish move back down stream to this area to feed on anchovies and bugs that live in the sand and mud in this area. We are fishing shallow water on the sand flats with Salmon rods that can handle these fish. These are tough fighting fish in the brackish water we are fishing in 5 miles from the Ocean. This a trip to do if you like fishing for keeper Sturgeon.
The Walleye are starting to come back on the bite since the spawn is over. I did a trip yesterday with a couple of guys and we landed four nice Walleye with two twins weighing 6 pounds. There is a great fishery on the Columbia for Walleye which I think are the best eating fish on the Columbia. They predict that the next World record will come from the Columbia River system. It will have to be just over 22 pounds. A new Washington state record was just set again in March with the fish weighing 19.30 pounds. There will be good fishing starting right now all the way through October. I have several photos on my website you can take a look at.

If you would like to book a trip or need more information you can contact me by email @ stevesguideservice@comcast.net or on my cell phone at 1-360-609-1902.

I have some other important information I would like to share with you regarding removing the gill nets from the Columbia River which is the only river left in the USA where you can still gill net. Gary Loomis and Fish First from the lewis River has endorsed a organization called Coastal conservation Association(CCA) which has a remarkable record in saving game fish and winning against commercial fishers. In Texas alone they helped prohibit trawling for trout in 1980; outlaw single- strand monofilament nets1980;outlaw gill and trammel nets1990- it goes on and on. They have similar records in a total of 15 coastal states. For more information and to join our chapter here in the Pacific NW which only cost $25.00 go to http://www.joincca.org and sign up today. It is up to us Sport fishermen to make the difference.


Always remember that boats are a great place for a party just don't go overboard. Be safe and good fishing.

Quit wishin and let's go fishing!

Steve Leonard
Steve's Guided Adventures

Fishing report as of May 2nd, 2007
by Pro Guide Steve Leonard

Hey Guys, I finally was able to take some time to get this report submitted so I could let you guys know what is going on right now and what to expect for the seasons coming. I am going to try and keep this current for you so it will be helpful tool for you to plan your next fishing trip. I have a news letter that I have been sending out on a Monthly basis which has some good information in it. If you have not received one from me and would like to please send me your email address and I will add you to my list. I only send it out by email so if you don't have a email address I apologize for not being able to get one to you. My email address is stevesguideservice@comcast.net to send it to.
With in a couple weeks we will be at the peak of the Spring Salmon season in most of the local rivers so if you want to have a springer for the barbeque you will want to go fishing with in the next couple of weeks. I have been fishing in SW Washington since the Columbia closed and have been averaging 2-4 fish per trip the last two weeks. Anytime the big numbers of fish should arrive and we will be catching limits for the boat. The month of May is a great time to fish for these tasty fish. The Willamette river has been producing about the same with a average of a couple fish per boat and some days better. Drano Lake in Washington is fishing well also and is expected to get a return of 7,000 fish back which is good numbers. I will be fishing there tomorrow to see how good the fishing really is.
It is time to get out the light tackle and go fishing for the Spring steelhead that starting to show up in the local rivers. April 15 was the opener for the East Fork Lewis and the Washougal river for the Spring Steelhead. These are great fighting fishing for there size. The Spring fish tend to run larger in size and fight harder due to the water being much warmer then in the winter months. I will be running drift boat trips and Jet sled trips for the Steelhead. July, August and September I will be fishing the Summer run Steelhead on the Columbia, NF Lewis of the Lewis and Drano Lake out of the Jet sled only.
Sturgeon fishing for keeper size Sturgeon is going on right now and will continue until late June. I will be fishing the Columbia River Gorge until the first part of June then I will be fishing out of Astoria in the Estuary( the mouth of the Columbia) where the fishing is best at that time of year for keepers. We are fishing shallow water and light tackle for these fish. It is definitely a trip to try sometime if you like a good fighting fish. These fish fight much harder down in this area due to feed and water temperatures. The bite in the Gorge just started last week which is later then normal. I fished Friday - Sunday below Bonneville Dam and was able to get my clients limits every day. It was fast water that we were fishing but it paid off for all the work when you would catch a nice 50 inch plus size keeper to take home. We landed two oversize in the three days of fishing also which was a bonus. One was 8 feet long and the other one was just over 10 feet. My oversize Trophy Sturgeon Season will run from May until the first part of August in the Columbia Gorge.
The Walleye season for the big Trophy size fish is almost coming to a end. It was a great season with several nice fish being caught before the spawn. The Walleye will spawn in May which will slow the bite down a little and then it will pick back up by the first of June. These fish are the best tasting fish on the river as far as my opinion. Most people are not aware of the fishery that we have on the Columbia river for Walleye. The Washington State new Record was set last month with the fish weighing 19.3 pounds and they predict the next World record to come from the Columbia River. I did a film shoot on the Columbia in March for Trophy Walleye. We hooked 7 fish and landed 5 with the biggest being 7 pounds. We lost a fish that was much larger in size which came off right at the net. It would have tipped the scale at over 10 pounds.

Summer Chinook Season
There will be a Summer Chinook Season again this year on the Columbia river for two weeks only. These are big Kings that are heading up to the Upper Columbia to spawn late summer. This is a special season to be able and fish for these Salmon. It is only our third year we have been able to fish for these Kings since the early 70's. They are allowing us to catch 1,000 fish. Are some of them going to be yours. Book your trip today will there are still some trips available.

I am booking fishing trips right now for Salmon, Sturgeon, Steelhead, Sturgeon and Shad. There is some great fishing going on right now and will continue thru the year into the Fall.

Quit wishing and let's go fishing!
Steve Leonard
Steve's Guided Adventures
Fishing & Hunting Adventures
www.stevesguidedadventures.com
1-800-872-6941
1-360-835-7995
Cell 1-360-609-1902
Three Rivers Pro Staff
Alumaweld Pro Staff
Mustang Survival
Clackacraft Drift Boats
Gamakatsu hooks

Fishing report by Steve's Guided Adventures March 13, 2007

Well guys here we are already coming upon spring time and there are already been some Spring Chinooks picked up in the Willamette and Columbia River. The fishing is going to start getting better every day as we get closer to the end of March. The Columbia will shut down April the 15th and the I-5 bridge is the cut off. There will be no fishing from I-5 to Bonneville for Salmon this Spring. There is still a lot of good water down stream from the bridge to Cathlamet Puget Island area. April and May is the two peak months to get serious about catching these Salmon. I will be fishing the Columbia and Willamette until mid April then I will be fishing the NF Lewis, Wind River and Drano Lake. Drano Lake is expecting almost 7,000 fish which is a great return. The Wind River is expecting 3,500 fish to return which can be good fishing when it is at it's peak around the 1st of May. There will be a Summer Chinook season that will follow the Springer's that will open June 15th and run through July. these are big bright Kings and we get to fish in the summer for them. It doesn't get any better then this to be able and fish Summer Kings in the Columbia. This is a trip to go on for a 30 plus pound King before the Fall season.
Sturgeon fishing has been good in the Willamette the past couple of weeks. G I Joes put on a Sturgeon derby Saturday the 3rd of March and there was a lot of fish caught during the tournament. Most of the fish came from the Willamette river. The Columbia will start to pick up at the end of March and will be good until the closure around the 1st of July. Fishermen's marine will be putting on there Sturgeon Derby March 31st so if you would like to fish in the derby you need to get signed up. I will be fishing in the Columbia Gorge April & May for Keepers and then I will move down to Astoria to fish the Estuary for Keepers in June until the closure which is set for July 4th. This Estuary trip is a good trip if you have never fished it you may want to book a trip and come down. We will be fishing the sand flats in shallow water with light tackle most of the time. Oversize will be Mid May through October in the Columbia Gorge if you are looking for a fish that will test your strength these fish will do it.
Winter Steelhead fishing this winter was decent year in SW Washington. The biggest problem was fishing the river when it was at it's best. We had a lot of high water days this season which made it difficult to plan a trip. It would rain 1-2" of rain over night and blow out the river. The Sandy, Wilson, Trask and the Nestucca are all fishing very well right now. The rivers are a little high this week but as soon as they drop it will be excellent fishing for Brood Stock and Wild fish. Most of the SW Washington rivers will be closed for fishing until April 15th to protect the Wild Steelhead runs. So if you are heading out fishing make sure that you check the fishing regulations for the section of river you plan to fish.
Trophy Walleye fishing is going on right now and what I mean by trophy are big pre-spawned Females that could weigh over 10 pounds and up to 18-19 pounds. The Washington State record was caught two weeks ago that weighed 19.30 pounds. they predict the next world Record will come from the Columbia River System. I will be running trips for these fish March and April. The Spawn will be in May which will slow the fishing a bit and then it will pick up in June. I am fishing on the Eastside for these fish Starting at Rufus, OR (John Day Dam Area) and up to Umatilla, Or. These fish are also great tasting fish. I encourage any client that catches a big female over 8 pounds to release her for spawning. We can take measurements, photos and celebrate!. Then you can take this info to a Taxidermist like my self and have a nice replica mount done which is a nicer mount and will last a lot longer for display. You will catch some nice males that range from 2-6 pounds that are good eating also on a Trophy Walleye trip. You just have a better chance of catching a heavier female due to the fact that she has 500,000 eggs inside of her which is a lot of weight.

If you would like to book a trip for Spring, Summer or Fall seasons please give our office a call or shoot us a email which ever works best for you. We would like to have you onboard with us for some great fishing this year.

Tight Lines,

Steve Leonard
 

Fishing report by Steve's Guided Adventures as of 8-29-06