In the Outdoors

I set the hook the instant my sinker failed to clunk bottom in the normal way; it felt like it had landed on a squishy surface instead of the rock bottom I knew was there. The spring chinook, which had grabbed the bait I'd been back-bouncing along the bottom, shook his head twice and streaked west so fast he nearly tore the skin from my thumb.

Even though our boat was moving quickly down river, it wasn't keeping up with the chinook whose heart seemed set on making it back to Astoria. Only after pouring on the pressure, to the point of fearing that something might break, combined with a lot of rod pumping and fast reeling, did I gain enough line to think that landing the hard-fighting fish was possible.

Our day had started along the south side of Pierce Island (located next to Beacon Rock) where Randy Woolsey, Hugh Peters (friends from Portland) and I had decided to try our luck. Anchored, we landed two healthy salmon during the morning hours plunking Clearwater Flash spinners.

It wasn't until after lunch, a time when much of the fishing pressure normally clears out, that we decided to try our luck back bouncing salmon egg clusters nearer the dam, where we finished landing our salmon limit.

Quick limits are the reason back bouncing has gained popularity in the fishing waters located immediately downstream from the boating deadline at Bonneville Dam. This is especially true during times or years (like this one) when low water levels cause the river to slow enough to make back bouncing easy.

The back bouncing technique is easy to describe but takes practice to master. To start, free-spool your outfit, consisting of a weight, leader, hook and bait, to the bottom. The instant your weight hits bottom, place your thumb on the reel spool and raise your rod tip slowly (a foot or two), while feeling for a bite.

Then, immediately take your thumb off the reel spool while lowering your rod tip. A baitcasting reel, like an Ambassadeur 6500 works best for this fishing method.

The key is to use enough weight so your outfit will be pushed downstream by the current only a foot or two each time you lower your rod tip. This keeps your bait moving along in the current, but not so fast that a salmon can't get hold of it.

It's important that you feel your weight hit bottom every time you drop your rod tip. If you loose contact with the bottom, reel in and start again. Once you've walked your weight and trailing bait downstream 50 to 100 feet, reel in and begin again.

If you are new to this technique, learning to make contact with the bottom with each rod movement will be your first challenge. Once you've mastered the bottom-bouncing part, what you'll need to concentrate on is feeling for a bite.

The bite can be subtle. For example, your sinker might fail to hit bottom on the drop or feel like it's rolling in the current when a salmon grabs hold of your bait. My advice is to set the hook hard at the first sign of a fish. However, there are times when you might hook and land more salmon if you hold your rod steady at the first sign of a fish, not setting until Mr. Big pulls your rod tip toward the water.

Back-bouncing can be tiring, because doing so will require you to continuously lift and lower your rod tip. By employing a short fishing rod, you can reduce the leverage factor that makes pumping the rod tip difficult. Several rod makers offer actions designed for this fishing method: short to reduce elbow fatigue, stout to handle large weights and big fish. My recommendation is Berkley's 7-foot, 9-inch IM-7 Back Bouncer.

Salmon egg clusters are the most popular back-bouncing bait. You may also find success using a salmon-size Kwikfish. Downstream from Bonneville Dam, you will find strong currents and deep water. For example, I bounced a salmon out of 50 feet of water last year. Even on low water years, you will need to take along a plentiful selection of 6- to 16-ounce sinkers.

If you try back-bouncing below Bonneville Dam, realize that the boating deadline is the "V" shaped area that extends from Washington's Hamilton Island Boat Ramp upstream to the tip of Robins Island and then back downstream to the Navigation Lock entrance on the Oregon side of the river.

Beginning March 20, the area from Rooster Rock to Bonneville Dam will open three days per week only--Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays--with a one fin-clipped spring chinook daily limit, which shouldn't take long for those accomplished at back-bouncing.