Jason Brooks: Hot Buoy 10 Fishing Tips

By Jason Brooks

The famed Buoy 10 fishery starts in August and will only improve as it nears September. From Astoria, all the way to the red marker near the Columbia River Bar, which is designated with the number 10, this fishery is famous for its big chinook and abundant coho. It is also notorious for its rough water, lots of boats, and big tides. The techniques used here are simple, but the fishing is a bit more complex and can even be dangerous for those unfamiliar with tidal shifts and fishing in a crowd. The reward is hard-fighting chinook. bright and ready for their journey upriver. If coho are your target later in the season, be ready for some fast action and prepared with silver rockets to do battle.  

The tides will determine where to fish. With each incoming tide, more fish push up into the river. Here, the high tides are so strong that the fish will face downriver, as that is where the current is coming from. Do not think you must always troll in one direction; let the tides tell you which way to point the boat's bow. It is best to fish the incoming tide through the high slack as this pushes colder ocean water, bait, and salmon upriver.

Fresh chinook that are still feeding makes for an aggressive bite. But when the tide turns to the ebb, be ready to head to port or learn how to navigate turbulent waters. The seas turn rough quickly if a west wind comes in off the ocean and a strong outgoing tide. Small boats should get off the water, and those in larger craft should be ready to find some softer water or hang on. The outgoing tide also flushes the weeds down the river and can make a mess. If the tide exchange is softer, fishing the outgoing can be productive as salmon stack up and prepare to enter the river for their journey upstream.   

The Astoria-Megler Bridge is the starting point for most anglers. Most fishing is done on the bridge's east side or "above the bridge." This is because of the shipping channel on the south side of the river in front of Astoria and a deep slot on the north side of the river near the Washington side. The middle is a giant sand flat, so be careful when crossing, as you could be in as little as 10 feet of water in one minute and the next in 6 inches of water. Again, know the tides; if you cross at high tide, you might not be able to cross at that same place on low tide. 

Just downriver from the bridge is the Church Hole, aptly named for a church that can be seen along the shoreline. Keep going down the river towards the ocean, and you will find other well-known spots, such as the Checkboard and the Jetties until you find yourself at Buoy 10 and the deadline. From that point, you are out in the open Pacific ocean, but do not mistakenly think Buoy 10 is protected water, as it is not. Anything from the Church Hole downriver can produce big water; depending on winds and tides, and water conditions can turn surprisingly quickly.

As the tides shift to the outgoing, the river returns to its normal course, and you fish it as such. The area above the Astoria Bridge is good at any time. Still, it can be better during specific times, such as the tide change, as the fish will once again be facing upriver and resting before pushing on when the water starts to slow with the onset of the incoming tide. The waters on the south side of the river by East Mooring Basin are similar. Here, you will see large cargo ships anchored up, and it is easy to tell which way the tide is flowing by looking at the cargo ships that will swing with the tide.  

The technique used at Buoy 10 is simple and easy to fish. Everyone here uses a dropper weight and trolling setup. The standard is a cannonball on a slider and depending on the tides and current anglers will need to use a heavy dropper. Rods at the front of the boat need heavier weights so they do not drag back into the rear rods. The setup can differ depending on what terminal gear you plan to use, but weights from 12 ounces to 24 ounces are standard. The sliding dropper weight is on a wire about 18 inches long, allowing anglers to feel the bottom and reel up a crank or two. The fish often use the sandy bottom as a current break while traveling upriver. A stiff bumper is needed between the dropper and the flasher to keep everything from getting tangled. A stout commercial bumper made from 200-pound monofilament about 24 inches long is standard.  

One of the most popular setups is fishing a flasher like the ScentFlash UV Triangle Flasher. The advantage of the ScentFlash UV Triangle Flasher is the ability to add extra scent. Open it up and fill it with tuna soaked in herring oil, bloody tuna, or garlic, as the latter is a favorite for chinook. Using a 40-pound leader from 36 to 42 inches to two tandem size 4/0 hooks is the standard for a herring rig. A cut-plug brined herring that has soaked overnight in Pro-Cure's Brine-n-Bite keeps the baits solid in warm and fast running currents as well as increases their shine, and that little bit of extra flash helps the salmon locate the bait as the waters can be a bit murky. Some anglers also choose to dye the herring to a bright chartreuse color or bluing agents, with Pro-Cure's Bad Azz Bait Dye or their Brine-N-Bite Complete in chartreuse or blue, making it a one-step curing and dying process.  

If you do not want to fish bait or mix it up a bit, then use the ScentFlash UV Paddle Flasher, a 360-style flasher, and trail behind it a Wedding Ring Salmon Tech 3.5 spinner. The leader length can vary, but start with the 36-inch leader it comes with and shorten it until you get the spinner some whipping action behind the flasher. The Wedding Ring Salmon Tech 3.5 uses a 4/0 VMC Tech Set hook, which is extremely strong and super sharp, and the unique shape of the bend not only helps set the hook and dive the point deep but keeps the fish on as it creates a lever to keep the hook inserted when force is applied. This is also a great hook to tie up your herring leaders with. Popular colors for the Wedding Ring Salmon Tech 3.5 spinner for Buoy 10 are the UV Copper/Orange/Gold and the UV Lemon-Lime/Chartreuse/Yellow Chartreuse. Again, stuff the ScentFlash UV Paddle Flasher with your favorite Buoy 10 scent, and be sure to have at least one setup with some added garlic scent. One of the best things about fishing spinners over bait at this fishery is that it is always fishing. Unlike bait, which can be torn apart in strong currents, or when you get a bite, you need to reel it up and check the herring; a spinner is always working. If you miss a bite, leave the rod in the rod holder and wait for the fish to return.  

Study the tides before you go to the lower Columbia River and the famed Buoy 10. Know how to rig the rods, where to fish, and when to stop for the day and get off the water before it becomes dangerous. Also, watch where other boats are running and look out for each other. Sand bars shift yearly, and some anglers get stuck on them every August. If you are at full throttle and hit a sand bar, you can get ejected from the boat, so it is best to pay attention and lay off the throttle a bit if you notice you are suddenly in shallow water. Later August is best fished for both chinook and coho, but watch the regulations as they often close the chinook fishing as September nears.