ASTORIA, Ore. — The best salmon fishing in the lower 48 states breaks loose every year during August and September on the lower Columbia River.

Especially in recent years, the Buoy 10 season has seen record numbers of returning Chinook and Coho.

Attracting anglers from around the world, this two-month fishing bonanza is, for many, the closest thing to Alaska-quality salmon fishing they will ever see — or, for that matter, ever need.

While the last two seasons were, by any description, extraordinary — the best in decades — every indication points to this season being as good, if not better.

Opening on Aug. 1, the Buoy 10 fishing zone runs from the red channel marker (buoy) No. 10 nearly opposite Cape Disappointment upstream for nearly 15 miles to an imaginary line drawn from Tongue Point on the Oregon side of the river to Rocky Point in Washington.

With an average river width of 5 miles along this stretch, the Buoy 10 zone encompasses more than 75 square miles of prime salmon water.

And while every avid Buoy 10 angler has their favorite spots, all agree that a number of specific areas consistently produce good catches.

Boating 10 spots

Pat Smith of Buckley hoists his wife Micheal's 25-pound Buoy 10 king.

First among these is the area immediately surrounding Buoy 10 itself.

Whether fishing an incoming or outgoing tide, the bite will noticeably improve as tidal flow increases.

Huge pods of Chinook and coho follow schools of baitfish up the river as they try to avoid being buffeted by strong ocean currents.

It is these schools of baitfish that make Buoy 10 primarily a bait fishery as opposed to running hardware.

Two things I watch for when fishing out by the buoy itself are riptide lines and schools of baitfish.

A riptide line is marked by rough, dimpled water and obviously strong surface currents.

These areas where two strong tides meet create roiled, up-surging water currents.

Any baitfish caught in these upward surges become confused and disoriented, making them easy prey for salmon.

I like to troll right through them and commonly get multiple simultaneous strikes. I also keep an eye on the water around the boat.

When I see schools of baitfish around the boat, or better yet clouds of free-floating fish scales, I know there are salmon actively feeding on a school of bait.

I like to work the edges of these areas rather than go through the middle; that way I'm less likely to disrupt the baitfish.

This allows me to work the area longer. And, once again, these conditions usually mean multiple hookups.

While most anglers troll with 10 to 15 pulls of line out, I will often let out as many as 40 pulls in water deeper than 60 feet.

Moving upriver, another popular area is known as "Chinook Alley."

This zone parallels the wooden breakwater and pilings on the Washington side of the main commercial channel from the mouth of Ilwaco channel to just off Chinook, Wash.

Trolling in 20 to 40 feet of water with 12 to 20 pulls of line out seems to produce the most hits.

From the mouth of Ilwaco channel on both sides of the commercial channel, trolling in 25 to 40 feet of water all the way up to the Hammond area will also work well.

This allows a very long bait exposure along the edges of the main salmon migration route.

And while you will occasionally find large pods of salmon dotted along this path, it's far more common to hit isolated smaller groups of fish.

While trolling along either of these paths will usually produce a steady fish or two, hitting a heavy bite is fairly rare.

One of my favorite areas is known as "Church Hole."

Almost exactly opposite Hammond on the Washington side of the river, this area is marked by a large gray church steeple.

From just downstream of the church all the way up to the Astoria-Megler Bridge (a distance of about 3 miles) you'll find fish in water ranging from 10 or 12 feet to more than 50 feet deep.

One key to finding fish along this piece of river is to make a couple of passes at one depth, both with and against the current, and then move to deeper or shallower water for another few passes.

Keep doing this until you find fish. You can also keep an eye on the boats around you.

If you see several fish taken, move to the same depth the other boat(s) are fishing.

Although rather tricky to accomplish for the inexperienced boat handler, another great technique is to position your boat just down-current from any of the supports for the Astoria bridge.

Using the trolling motor to remain in one spot — "hovering", as it were — allows you to stay right on top of pods of salmon you can see on your sonar.

As I said, this technique takes some practice but can be extraordinarily effective.

There is a series of dips and channels lacing the upper end of Desdemona Sands just above the Astoria bridge that also produce consistent catches.

They are spread out on both the Oregon and Washington sides of the river, as well as across the sands.

Use your depth finder to locate these holes and channels and troll them as slowly as you can.

On the Oregon side of the river, the 50-foot line that parallels the river bank from just upstream of Hammond to the mouth of the Skipanon River will produce fish on a regular basis.

In this deeper water I like to extend the number of pulls off the reel to 25 and even deeper.

This stretch will often save the day, especially when the wind kicks up and the main river gets too rough to fish comfortably, particularly out by the jetties.

The edge of Desdemona Sands directly opposite this run, fished in about 25 to 35 feet of water, can also produce excellent fishing.

Although the upper edges of Desdemona Sands and the lower reaches of Taylor Sands turn the river above the Astoria-Megler Bridge into a series of small, poorly defined braids there are two primary areas above the bridge that produce good catches.

On the Oregon side of the river you can expect to catch fish by trolling the southern edge of the main channel all the way from just below the bridge up to Tongue Point.

Stay in 25 to 40 feet of water and just south of the red channel markers and you'll find fish without having to worry that you've crossed the line into the main commercial channel.

On the Washington side there is good salmon water in the 20- to 40-foot depths from Cliff Pont upstream to Portuguese Point.

This entire area is well outside the commercial channel, making it a safe area to work.

Trolling gear

All that's needed for trolling Buoy 10 is a fast-tipped, medium to heavy butted 8- to 9-foot rod, a good reel loaded with at least 150 yards of 25- to 30-pound test line and either a dropper and weight assembly or a diver.

Personally, I prefer using divers, primarily because they allow me to position the bait at a precise, uniform depth.

Also, once a fish is hooked I don't have to deal with 3 or 4 feet of dropper line and wildly swinging chunk of heavy lead as I try to net the fish.

E-Z Divers, Delta Divers and Deep Sixes, each with a 4-ounce lead attached, will all work quite well.

Attach the mainline to the diver with a cross-lock or Duo-Snap, add 5 to 7 feet of leader with two tandem-tied 3/0, 4/0 or 5/0 hooks and either a herring or anchovy, whole or plug-cut, and you're ready to fish.

The easiest way to control the depth of your divers and measure the depth of the fish is to use pulls off the reel.

With the diver at the tip of the rod, simply release the bail on the reel and pull line to the first guide.

I like to start with each rod running at different depths until we hit a fish or two. We can then all use the depth that works best.

In water less than 35 feet deep and running four client rods plus my own, I'll start with 10, 12, 14 and 16 pulls on the client rods and 20 pulls on mine.

This effectively covers the water column and greatly increases our chances of finding the depth of the fish.

In deeper water I'll start with 16 pulls and progress deeper with each rod.

From the bank

Although it's primarily a boat fishery, the Buoy 10 zone does offer bank anglers some limited access.

On the Washington side of the river, the 2- or 3-mile stretch of highway between the Astoria-Megler Bridge and the Chinook tunnel can be easily accessed and fished quite effectively by plunking.

On the Oregon side of the river, anglers are essentially limited to plunking the "Social Security Beach" area of Clatsop Spit.

"Plunking" is a technique of rigging either bait or hardware so that all the angler has to do is cast into the current, letting it hold there waiting for a willing fish to come along and take it.

While plunkers tend to use hardware rather than bait, some anglers use either or both techniques with equal effectiveness.

The reason most use hardware is simply that it requires less time out of the water than fishing with bait.

Essentially, all you have to do is rig up, cast your line out and wait for a takedown.

The plunking drill

While there are almost as many ways to rig for plunking as there are anglers who use it, the simplest is just tying a three-way swivel to the end of your line, adding 5 or 6 feet of leader and a wobbling spoon such as an Alvin to one swivel, then adding 4 feet of dropper line and enough weight to hold the entire offering in the current to the last swivel.

Often large Corkies or small wine bottle corks are added to the leader section to help hold everything except the weight up off the bottom.

Bait plunkers also add a large Spin 'n Glo to the leader to both attract fish and hold their bait off the bottom.

Cured salmon eggs, sandshrimp, cured prawns and plug-cut herring are all popular baits.

Boating safety

Make sure your equipment works properly. Before you start out in the morning, run both motors long enough to warm them up and ensure they work reliably.

Turn on your depth finder and make sure it's working as well.

Every boater on the river should carry either a CB or VHF radio, as well as a cell phone.

While many boats, mine included, carry CB and VHF radios, almost no one uses CBs any more.

You can pick up a good hand-held VHF radio for less than $100 at any Radio Shack store, a good tackle or sporting goods store and even Costco from time to time.

After leaving the dock, turn the radio on and check to make sure it's receiving a signal.

You can also broadcast a request for a radio check to any vessel within hearing range.

Most pleasure boaters and anglers and virtually all commercial, guide and charter boats will honor a radio check request.

None of us wants to be out there without a radio that works.

In the Hammond-Astoria-Ilwaco area, guides and charter boats use VHF channels 11, 82 and 5 to communicate with each other.

You should have someone listening to any of these channels so they can provide a quick radio check for you.

The distress channels are 16 VHF and 19 CB. These channels are monitored constantly by the state police, sheriff's office and the coast guard.

If you get into trouble, a simple mayday broadcast should bring an immediate response.

Material from Fishing & Hunting News
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