CLATSOP, Oregon — Here’s a way to beat the heat at the No. 1 summertime salmon angling spot in the Northwest: It’s a place marked by big water, lots of elbow room across soft, sandy shore and thousands of salmon. It’s all about Shoreline salmon!
The Buoy 10 salmon fishery is the region’s biggest outdoor show as hundreds of boats carry thousands of anglers to catch salmon each day.
“It is a huge destination fishery,” noted Mark Akerill, manager at Englund Marine and Supply in Astoria. “It is probably the best chance you have of catching a Columbia River bright, big Chinook, plus a lot of silvers that follow bait fish, like anchovies and herring, into the river on each day’s flood tide.”
He added, “Here’s the best part: you don’t have to be in a boat to enjoy the fishery!”
He’s right: You don’t need a boat to join the fun! Shoreline salmon fishing is easy to find along Clatsop Spit near Fort Steven’s State Park.
Scott McGregor, an employee of Englund Marine and Supply, likes to show newcomers how it’s done, either in the store or on the beach.
Recently, his good friend Gordon Thompson and his son, Sam, joined Scott and the daylight crowd at low tide for shoreline salmon.
“We fish with spinners; most are in the 7/8-ounce range and in a variety of colors. Everyone on this beach will use something different. You ask one guy, he’ll like green; another will like orange; and yet another will like pink. Me? I like 'em all!”
He added that for less than a hundred bucks you can buy most everything you need: “Buy a few spinners, and you’ve got the most affordable fishery there is to catch a salmon.”
McGregor relies on a 9-foot spinning rod and reel — Shimano is his favorite brand for both. He fills the reel with 30lb braided line that ties off to a barrel swivel that is attached to a leader of clear fluorocarbon line (about 3 feet long should work) and connects to a simple snap swivel that attaches to his spinner.
That’s it! His favorite is a blue fox spinner with a red hoochie skirt. He casts into the river and retrieves slowly.
“I’ve caught quite a few fish down here on this one! It’s got tons of experience!”
McGregor has a lifetime of shoreline salmon experience, and he has the newspaper clippings to prove it.
“See this? That photo and article are from the local paper 40 years ago — this week!”
He shows off a story from the Astorian paper that features a younger self, netting a big salmon and another photo with lots of anglers casting and retrieving.
“Yeah, it was a popular spot for a long time!”
The beach along Clatsop Spit is the sort of place that holds countless memories for McGregor.
“I’ll be 63 next month, and my wife and I got married that year. We used to come down here after work and meet with all of our friends. That’s what we did after work. We’d relax with our dogs and our friends, and you know what, we still do. It never gets old,” he said.
Nor does the sound of “Fish on,” when an eager angler hooks a salmon.
McGregor hooked up with a small chinook hatchery salmon, but it was an inch shy of the 24” legal size, so back to the river it went.
“It was adipose fin clipped, but didn’t quite make length,” he noted.
Meanwhile Gordon Thompson and his son, Sam were enjoying the early morning activities, especially the peace of the adventure.
“This is relaxing,” noted Gordon. "You’re not out there—" he points to the small fleet of boats in the river, "getting bounced around with all those boats. Scotty has kind of introduced us to this beach fishery, and I can see it as something we can get into more as Sam gets older too.”
Meanwhile: “Fish on!” Another angler, standing right next to McGregor, hooked up and it was a dandy 20-plus pound salmon.
“Oh, baby, must be a king,” exclaimed Scott. “Oh, it is a chrome!”
But as the salmon grew closer, Scott and his angling friend could see it was not only big, but it had its adipose fin. That meant it was a wild fish and had to be released.
“Well, I got to net a fish for somebody, and forty years later, it was still really cool and really fun.”
Young Sam Thompson was having a blast, too! The youngster has caught steelhead, trout and even sturgeon with his dad, so shoreline salmon fishing was right up his alley. He said his biggest salmon to date was 25 pounds.
“You’re not just sitting in a boat and waiting for a bite. You’re casting and reeling in, you know — and there’s a lot to it. Plus, salmon are great! They taste really good and they’re really fun to catch,” he said.
His dad added, “Just being able to come out here and park the truck, fish for an hour or two is great! I’m not hitching the boat and going to launches, not messing with bait too. We’re just throwing spinners and stuff, so there’s a convenience factor to it that’s pretty cool.”
“It’s comfortable fishing, added McGregor. “We've got plenty of distance between fishermen, and I’m not out there getting bounced around. If I want to stop fishing for a while and go have a cup of coffee, I stop and go have coffee. Never get tired of it — never.”
Be sure to watch the weekly half hour program of Grant’s Getaways. The show airs each Saturday and Sunday at 4pm on KGW.
You can also learn more about many of my favorite Oregon travels and adventures in the Grant’s Getaways book series, including:
- "Grants Getaways I," Photography by Steve Terrill
- "Grant's Getaways II," Photography by Steve Terrill
- “Grant’s Getaways: 101 Oregon Adventures,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Guide to Wildlife Watching in Oregon,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Oregon Adventures with the Kids,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- The book collection offers hundreds of outdoor activities across Oregon and promises to engage a kid of any age.
You can reach me: Gmcomie@kgw.com