Buoy 10 AI Fishing Guide

Locations

Green line Warrenton to Hammond

Gear & Technique

Split spread: Bait deep for chinook, spinners shallow for coho; add scent.

Target Species

Both

Rationale

An massive 11.12 ft ebb tide pushes fish quickly downstream. At temperatures <55°F, fish are lethargic, so splitting the spread ensures both shallow, aggressive coho and deep, slow chinook are covered. Heavy scent is necessary to induce strikes in the cooler water.

Locations

West Buoy 10 line, Shipwreck

Gear & Technique

Bait + scent; hold position.

Target Species

Chinook

Rationale

During low slack, transitioning chinook gather near the mouth. Because water is cool (<55°F), natural presentations like heavily scented bait held on position work best to draw bites from staging bottom-huggers.

Locations

Buoy 10 line, Desdemona edges

Gear & Technique

Mixed spread: 2 bait rigs deep for chinook, 2 spinners shallow for coho; use divers to control depth in strong current.

Target Species

Both

Rationale

A massive ~9 ft flood generates fast currents, bringing fish quickly upriver. Holding gear into the current along edges like Desdemona is key. The split gear allows coverage of both species profiles while the heavy scent on bait offsets the slow bite caused by cold inflows.

Locations

Bridge to Fort in mud, Sawdust Pile

Gear & Technique

Bait (herring + scent); troll downstream along deep pockets.

Target Species

Chinook

Rationale

As the tide turns to a medium ebb, chinook will drop back. Cold temperatures make them lethargic and likely to hug the bottom channels. Trolling scented herring downstream in the mud and deep pockets ensures you stay in the optimal strike zone.

Locations

Green line Warrenton to Hammond

Gear & Technique

Bait for chinook, spinners for coho; add strong scent.

Target Species

Both

Rationale

With an enormous 11.7 ft exchange during the ebb, fish will flush rapidly out toward the ocean. Splitting gear intercepts both flushing coho (shallow) and chinook (deep). The <55°F water demands scent to maximize attraction.

Locations

West Buoy 10 line, Shipwreck

Gear & Technique

Bait + scent (e.g. Pro-Cure garlic); hold position.

Target Species

Chinook

Rationale

Low slack creates a transitional pause where incoming fish stage at the western bounds. Due to the cool water temps, holding position with natural, scented bait is the most dependable way to trigger bites from lethargic chinook.

Locations

Buoy 10 line, Desdemona edges

Gear & Technique

Bait for chinook deep (40-50 ft), spinners for coho shallow (10-20 ft).

Target Species

Both

Rationale

The 9.3 ft flood tide forces massive volumes of water upstream. Trolling into the heavy current along Desdemona edges intercepts migrating fish. A dual-species setup with natural bait is required because the <55°F water suppresses aggressive chinook behavior.

Locations

Bridge to Fort in mud, Sawdust Pile

Gear & Technique

Bait (herring + scent); troll downstream.

Target Species

Chinook

Rationale

After the high slack, the moderate outgoing ebb begins pushing bottom-hugging chinook back downriver. Scented bait fished low into the mud targets these dropbacks efficiently in cold (<55°F) conditions.