No limits on Columbia River catfish, bass, and walleye

[rick49]

I used to fish for these back in the day. Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Might just have find a guide and do it one more time. Mighty good eating.
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[Velzey]

I've fished and caught walleye out on the Columbia. But they didn't quit taste like the ones I used to catch ice fishing in northern Minnesota. The Columbia walleye had an off taste, kinda like late summer large mouth bass taste... mud

But oh boy they were dandy size walleye... 15lbs! I smoked them and the off flavor was gone... I dunno maybe it was the high mercury content?

No limits on bass? Oh man I know of a few awesome bass spots!

 

[rick49]

A 9 lbs walleye in Wisconsin is a trophy fish. Friday night fish frys with Lake Superior walleye,fries,and rye bread. Man that brings back memories. Every joint had em.

 

[rick49]

Velzy... Speaking of old home week...do you know when the smelt run? Another favorite ritual we had back in the day. One mess of smelt, a case of Blatz and the world was right.

 

[Craig O]

I've fished and caught walleye out on the Columbia. But they didn't quit taste like the ones I used to catch ice fishing in northern Minnesota. The Columbia walleye had an off taste, kinda like late summer large mouth bass taste... mud

But oh boy they were dandy size walleye... 15lbs! I smoked them and the off flavor was gone... I dunno maybe it was the high mercury content?

No limits on bass? Oh man I know of a few awesome bass spots!

Did you cut out the belly meat ?

 

[No_Regerts]

This is ridiculous in my opinion. The bass/walleye fishery is thriving and instead of embracing it and bringing in the money that comes with it everywhere else in the country, we live up to the PNW pretentiousness and turn our noses to it.

Btw, salmon and steelhead are thriving in the great lakes.....living along with bass and walleye and catfish and pike and muskies........WDFW and OSP should quit blaming bass and walleye and look in the mirror instead.

 

[Caveman Jim]

This might be what I have been waiting for to start walleye fishing all these years. Never have ate them but have heard they are delicious when prepared right (like Gator tail)....

 

[oknow]

I Heard gator tail is a sweet meat

 

[2A2Dend]

I'd rather eat dog fish. No limits. Bloody the back of the boat as you beat them with a baseball bat. Can't keep them off the hook. 4-5 footers all day long.

Marinate in vinegar/water solution.....Some of the best fish you will ever eat.

 

[No_Regerts]

This might be what I have been waiting for to start walleye fishing all these years. Never have ate them but have heard they are delicious when prepared right (like Gator tail)....

There isn't much to preparing them. Any good white fish recipe is great for walleye. A little flower/egg and a deep frier with fries and hushpuppies...just as good as seabass or lingcod in my opinion.

 

[Tomoko]

I've made some sushi with salmon only. I haven't done it with walleye, but that's not to say I wouldn't do it.

 

[Caveman Jim]

There isn't much to preparing them. Any good white fish recipe is great for walleye. A little flower/egg and a deep frier with fries and hushpuppies...just as good as seabass or lingcod in my opinion.

I am a top notch chef when it comes to deep frying, I am a southern boy!!!!
I gotta get me a mess of em this summer & have a fish fry party!!!

 

[No_Regerts]

I go to Banks Lake quite a bit. The lower columbia is the closest place I know of that has some.

 

[Mikej]

WALLEYE, Phhtt......I've fished for walleye, in the PDX area as something to try when salmon steelhead aren't around so much. I caught a few too. What ya' do is buy a bunch of walleye gear and some worms. Gotta be the big worms.

So you set-up one of them bottom walker things with like 6oz of weight. Then you need to put the worm on TWO hooks. It's got to be just right, so plan on using a lot of worms while you learn. Get your troll on and put your rig to the bottom. Make sure your rig is touching bottom, not dragging just touching, while you troll, DOWN STREAM, with the current. It's too hard to troll up stream against the current. You'd need like 12oz of lead to stay touching bottom.

After you troll for like five miles, your rod will bury! Most likely it won't be a fish, it'll be a snag. You see these bottom walker thing are made to avoid snags. They're like, "Snag Resistant", not snag proof, so when you DO get snagged you'll probably lose it. They cost something like $5.00.

Start all over again, new bottom walker, little spinney things on a leader with the two hooks, and three or four worms to get it just right. Now start trolling again.

When I fished for walleye and lost that second rig I'd quit fishing for walleye for the day and go home, or maybe i'd been smart enough to take some bass gear with me so I'd fish for those for awhile.

 

[No_Regerts]

Or tie on a blade bait or jig and catch them as you drift instead.

 

[Capn Jack]

An "old Hand" told me, "When you catch any fish you suspect might have a muddy taste, de-slime and de-scale them right away with a plastic scrubber pad."

 

[jbett98]

I was in a hog line up above Government Island fishing for salmon one year when the guy next to me put out a little red flat fish in a 10 ounce lead ball river current.
I asked him what he was fishing for, as that little red flatfish was buzzing so hard against the current, it looked like it was on speed pills.
He laughed, and said that the day before in 8 ounce current he had hooked a big walleye on the same lure.
Sure enough, just twenty minutes later, a huge walleye swallowed that flatfish and he calmly reeled it in, laughing about it the whole time.
He called it a poor mans lobster.

 

[coastal steelheader]

I've fished and caught walleye out on the Columbia. But they didn't quit taste like the ones I used to catch ice fishing in northern Minnesota. The Columbia walleye had an off taste, kinda like late summer large mouth bass taste... mud

I've heard similar - any idea why they have a muddy taste?

 

[Caveman Jim]

Yeah, just like the trout in Wa, I don't fish for them since the kids grew up. They always had a muddy taste to them...