Hey Jerry. I fish Pt Defiance quite often (its convenient since I live in Puyallup and can be on the water in 35 or 40 minutes as long as I beat the rush or someone doesn't do something stupid (good luck with that)). I too target salmon and run a 19'6 Northwood. I've launched and fished by myself a few times there (wife doesn't like it and I have to swear on stack of bibles and double cross scouts honor that I will wear my PFD) when my buddies come up with lame excuses like having to work or life and death medical issues. Waiting for some rain to pickup flows and maybe fish Carbon above Orting.

OK, bloody tuna. Mostly been fishing area 11 or 13. Conveniently, I can be on the water 30-45 minutes from home. Though I've heard better reports coming in from 9 and 10 and yes 10 is still open. Yeah, buoy 10 and upriver can get snotty with the winds, river current, and tides. I've seen smaller boats out there at times (12'-14') but I wouldn't recommend.

MA 11 14"+- silvers on the the hoochies which we released. A couple 20"+ on helmeted herring spinning like a drill bit behind green silver dodgers. I have some brads herring plugs just never used them yet. What scent? Did well at buoy 10 late August mostly kings.
Thought briefly about chasing the salmon further up the Columbia but...........
I may ride my bike 3 miles up foothills trail from Orting to Carbon river and try throwing some eggs or yarn at em.
I'm in Puyallup, where are you located?

Was running 30# leader from dodger to hoochie and 50# mainline on that rod. My 2 lighter action rods are spooled 50# and I run 65# on my heavier ones. I run a sliding snap above my swivel on main line and leave snap empty if I'm using downrigger instead of weight. Then 30# fluorocarbon leader from main to dodger. It's what I usually have handy. You are right, 50 or 65# braid would be a better move to secure dodger as visual is not a factor and I have surplus braid left from spooling reels.

Trolling for silvers earlier this week in Puget Sound. I generally have 4 rods rigged for salmon so gear change is pretty instantaneous and there's always a spare or for guests. 2 of my reels where re spooled earlier this year with heavier new line and 2 weren't. Had one rod (old line) setup with hoochie behind 11" skateboard down 90' on downrigger. After awhile I glanced at it and my rod was sticking straight up with no line tension. Crap I thought, it released prematurely which....happens. On reeling it in I noticed no resistance whatsoever from the dodger or hoochie. Double crap. On inspection of end of line (40# braid) it appeared possibly to have broken at knot at 1st swivel? Probably never know for sure though. If that were the case that knot was 25'+ behind my downrigger ball, so why did it release from my cannon ball clip? I wasn't watching so I can only surmise I had a strike and the fish released from the clip, tensioned up the line, and the knot failed. Bums me to think there may have been a fish down there dragging around all that hardware. My bad! My other 2 rods with new line obviously had new knots holding the main line swivels. The other 2 rods? My bad again! They did knot (bad pun) get the annual trim back 24" of line and re tie swivel connections that should have happened earlier this winter when I was getting my gear organized. In fact they probably didn't get re tied last year either! Triple my bad!
Moral of the story, do the due diligence. New knots every year. You can bet everything on my end is now currently re rigged, including the 150# braided downrigger cables.

Hi Debbie. I live in Wa. but fish Columbia River regularly from my boat. Early on I went out with a guide and learned some of their techniques and tips. Was well worth it and we got fish. Now I do my own thing on the river. Point being a guided trip may be very beneficial to a newbie wanting to learn the tricks of the trade. Good luck and tight lines!

Hey, good job on Columbia! I fished Buoy to bridge end of August and did well. That area is closed currently. Question, where did you launch from? I want to head back down there again (I live in Puyallup also) for more. Have you tried MA11 yet?

Just got back from Ilwaco/ Buoy 10. Fished near the buoy on 8/24. A few marks and saw a few nets but not a nibble. Watched an 8/24 you tube that night and they said it was hot at Megler Astoria Bridge so went up there yesterday 8/25, which was by the way hatchery and wild Chinook legal. Bite came on couple hrs. before flood tide. Fish were netted all around us. Had 5 nibbles, 1 lost, 1 20# wild king in the boat, and 1 20+# steelhead to the boat and released. King put up good fight for about 20 minutes with several good runs. Steely fought x2 what the king had. I wanted him so bad, but got the hook out and watched him swim away, maybe headed for the Clearwater in Idaho?
Heard some were using lures. All our action was off spinning a helmeted herring behind a green or red triangle flasher behind a 10oz. ball on a slider. Fishing in water from 30'-70'. Most action was about 40' out on the line counter with enough angle to give it some action. Maybe saw 1 silver netted, maybe. I don't think they are there yet in numbers. Probably soon though. I am going back for them in Sept but the kings will probably be shut off by then. I love that fishery.

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Great write up DC. Very informative. At least there was some action. I don't fish that area but I'm sure others appreciate the feedback. I concur that the silvers aren't here yet in numbers by my own experience at MA11 and Buoy 10. Should be coming soon though. All good!

Good luck to you and your son. Also forgot to mention there seems to be a lot of fairly current you tube info for our area- for future reference.

Hello Dennis,
you're in a great part of the country for a variety of fishing. I actually lived in Washougal for a bit but was not able to fish the area at the time. The fact that you are on the largest river in the west and the summer/fall salmon runs are tuning up opens up many possibilities. There are also numerous lakes and rivers west, north and east of you to pick from. Choose your poison. I agree with the "get a guide" philosophy for starters and a quality experience with your son. I personally am focusing on Columbia River salmon while the gettings good, but don't let me sway you. My son was up to visit 2 weeks ago and we fished marine area 11. He brought 3 salmon to the boat in 3 hrs. We kept 1 hatchery and released the wild. His first time salmon fishing, he'll remember it forever.............

Good luck wherever you go and make some memories!

Missed the opener yesterday but went out today 8/4 with son who was visiting. We launched at Point Defiance and trolled herring with helmets along clay banks. Yeah it was a little crowded but manageable, just had to watch traffic. Saw lots of dogfish caught and released but we avoided them. We brought 3 kings to the boat all legal size but released 2 wild ones. Kept the 23" hatchery. My son's 1st salmon. In my experience, if I'm catching dogfish or flounder, I'm either going to slow or am too deep. IMHO. Not a bad day for early kings.

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Starting from the north - Narrows marina in Tacoma, Steilacoom boat launch, Solo Point, ramp near Nisqually Beach Nature Center. I have personally launched at all of these over the years, though I prefer Point Defiance north of Narrows Bridge.
Slack and incoming have always worked best for me. Baits? Depends on quarry. RV sites we like- Cape Disappointment, Fort Stevens, Kalaloch.

Amen to that brother. Been to Zihaut several times and always ate well there.

In 2004 I was vacationing with a lady friend in Melaque, Mexico. We were staying at a beachfront motel La Mayorca. Our 3rd day there a gentlemen approached us while we were relaxing on the beach. He mentioned he owned a small restaurant a couple blocks inland and asked if we were interested in lunch. We politely declined, having other plans but he offered a surfside dinner package which we accepted after a few questions. Most of our inquires were answered with "Si, es no prolem". Dinner would be at 6 the following evening.
We were seated on towels in the sand at the agreed upon time when 3 kids arrived with plastic chairs, table, and table cloth and proceeded to setup for our dining experience. As quickly as the had appeared they vanished. But not for long. They reappeared with armloads of firewood and before long we were at our table watching a nice little campfire. As they left they past a couple kids coming to us. 1 had a bucket of ice loaded up with Pacifico and Dos Equis beer, the other a margarita in each hand. My lady and I each looked at each other and started cracking up and did a high five. While we sipped the margaritas the proprietor gentleman made an appearance to check if we needed anything and inform us that dinner would soon be prepared. After watching the fire and waves sipping margaritas and beer our dinner later arrived. 2 large glass plates covered with foil, a bag of chips, a bowl of salsa, glasses, and a pitcher of water. Expecting burritos or street tacos with beans and rice, we were surprised by the huge slab of Dorado (as called in this area) that overflowed the plate. When we dug in the plot thickens. The huge filets were butterflied and stuffed with shrimp. This whole arrangement was stitched together, breaded and pan fried to a golden brown. OMG! Never had we both had anything like this! The fish was fabulous. The shrimp perfect, like a built in cocktail.
He joined us at or table for 2 later on. It was after sunset and the only real light was from the dying fire and a headlamp I had purchased for the trip. An LED model (kinda cutting edge at that time). He was fascinated by it and I let him try it out. He presented us our bill- 312 peso ($26 US). I was flabbergasted, it was easily a $200 meal/drink affair back in the states. I gave him $50 and much thanks. He said to enjoy as long as we liked and he would pick up after we left. He bid us buenas noches and went to leave. I called him back "uno momento por favor". I took the headlamp off my head and offer it to him. After much haggling he finally accepted the gift.
Dorado, Mahi Mahi, Dolphin, whatever name you chose, is one of the finest eating fair from the big blue IMHO. Along with challenging fight and unsurpassed colors out of the water. It usually is my first choice if I see it on the menu, although nobody has since come close to replicating that meal.