Findlay's Guide Service

Don’t miss out on this years massive run of fall chinook salmon!  Once again the run will be close to a million chinooks, so fun will be had by all.  I’l be fishing 8/8 – 8/14 and 8/20 – 8/28 and still have seats available.  If you’re interested give me a call at 503-468-6353.

Thanks,

Todd Findlay

Friends –

What a start to the Astoria/Buoy 10 season.  I had the pleasure of meeting some some really great people and boy did we get into the fish!  We had doubles just about every trip and we even hooked and landed my first triple of chinooks.  You talk about excitement!  While the chinook season in Astoria is closed we still have plenty of options.  One being a short run up to Tongue Point where we can keep any chinook as well coho.  Another option is to fish for coho close to the Astoria bridge.  These fish are getting bigger by the week and aggressive, meaning you better be ready for a lot of hook ups.

I still have open weekend seats in September, which include Astoria as well as wobbler fishing closer to Portland.  Just let me know what you’re looking for and give me a call at 503-468-6353.

And don’t forget, October – November means Tillamook Bay and river chinooks.  Options include fishing the bay out of the sled or when the rain hits we’ll move to the local rivers and fish out of the drift boat.  Without a doubt, one of my favorite locations to fish in the state…

Thanks,

Todd Findlay

503-468-6353

August 2nd – Just got back from Astoria after the long anticipated opening.  Two of us fished Saturday and we ended up landing 4 silvers and a small chinook that went back.  Today the fish bit right on time and it was game on!  Landed two nice chinooks and then 2 keeper silvers, as well as a couple of natives that went back to continue their journey.

Tides are going to be great next weekend as well as we get later into August.  If you’re looking to have some fun on the water or learn a few things get ahold of me ASAP as seats continue to fill up.

Thanks!

Todd

Check out my Facebook page (Facebook.com/findlaysguideservice) for some updated salmon and sturgeon pictures and reports.  Salmon season has been open above the Astoria bridge and it’s been red hot!  We’ve had a double as well as boat limits so far this year.  I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like after they open it up below the Astoria bridge on Saturday.  Should be awesome with the 3rd largest (920,000) run of chinooks expected.  Oh yeah, lets not forget another 900,000 coho!  Does it get any better?

I still have some open seats, so if you’re looking for a great experience let me know.

Thanks,

Todd

It’s been awhile since my last update and wanted to let everyone know what I’ve been up to.

A couple of weeks ago I hit the Columbia with a buddy in search of late springers and summer chinooks and we found both!  Landed 3 chinooks, however all were natives and got to swim another day.  Great weather and got to enjoy fishing with a buddy.  Hooking fish on top of that that was just a bonus.  If you’re looking for something close to the Portland airport on the Columbia river let me know.  And don’t forget about evening trips.  I’ll bring the bbq and you can relax and enjoy the sunset.

Last week I had a really neat experience.  I got a call from a guy who wanted to take his family out on the water and show them around and possibly wet a line.  So we decided on an afternoon trip and started out in the Willamette hooking a few sturgeon.  The kids had a great time helping dad reel in a couple sturgeon to start the afternoon.  Then we headed out to the Columbia to let everyone play on the beach and find some souvenirs to take home while I fired up the bbq for dinner.  Ended the evening by chasing salmon and getting some great pictures.  Everyone had a great time and I was glad to provide a new experience for the family.

On Saturday I took some good friends out to Astoria to do some catch and release sturgeon.  This fishery is absolutely epic right now, so don’t brush it off just because it’s catch and release.  One surprise to me was that I think we hooked more oversize fish than keeper size and each one broke water with the largest being around 8ft long!!!  If you want to experience this phenomenal fishery let me know.  I have 4 seats open on 6/28 as well as some dates in July.  Again, it’s all about big fish that just tear you up on salmon gear.  So much fun!!

By the way, my buoy 10 / Astoria salmon seats are starting to get reserved so don’t wait to reserve your place in this fantastic fishery.

If you have any questions please call me at 503-468-6353 or email me at findlaysguideservice@yahoo.com

Thanks,

Todd Findlay

So I took a couple of guys out in the Willamette last weekend and we hooked 4 spring chinooks and landed 3 nice hatchery fish.  Even got one of them into his first spring chinook.  Great feeling for both of us!  Oh yeah, let’s not forget the weather was in the 80s.  You gotta love fishing for summer chinooks, springers, or even steelhead this time of year.  Doesn’t matter if it’s on the Columbia or Willamette, it’s all good!

If you’re interested in a trip with me in June and or July there are some great opportunities:

• Catch and release sturgeon in Astoria.  Fishing is incredible right now with lots of action and little to no crowds.  Makes for a great Father’s Day gift.
• Willamette river spring chinooks.  The fish continue to pour in and I expect to find biters through June.
• Columbia river summer chinooks.  These chinooks tend to be large, powerful, chrome and close to Portland.
• Columbia river summer steelhead.  Summer steelhead tend to be aggressive biters and very acrobatic.  Not to mention great table fare.

If you’re interested in finding out more please give us a call at 503-468-6353

Thanks,

Todd Findlay

It’s been a  couple of weeks since my last update, so I thought I’d share….

Spent last weekend in Rockaway Oregon and got to fish a day on Tillamook Bay fishing for springers as well as crabbing with the kids.  Started the day out fishing  by myself and headed right for the backside of the south jetty.  Didn’t seen a fish hooked and didn’t mark much so I headed out to a little deeper water and finally marked a fish and it instantly started to chew on my plug cut herring.  This fish fought like a 30lbs fish and only ended up being around 15lbs.  You gotta love springers in the ocean!  Ocean started to lump up so I headed inside of Tillamook Bay and started fishing along the north jetty.  Tide was running out hard, so trolled with the tide and nailed my second fish, which weighed close to 20lbs.  Again, fought like a beast…  Tip when fishing by yourself, PATIENCE……  It’s hard enough to net a fish for someone else, so when you’re by yourself you better have that fish worn out before you even think of netting it.

Crabbing was slow inside the bay and we just threw rings to keep the kids busy.  They had a great time and only one pinch drew blood, ha!!

Fished closer to Portland, Oregon yesterday with two buddies and we put on a clinic hooking 10 spring chinooks and putting 6 in the boat!  Fishing has been great, now I just need to start putting customers in the boat.  It’s been frustrating with fishing this good….  Tip for this time of year with the water temp in the mid 60s, troll faster than normal.  These fish are active and trolling fast really helps trigger a reaction…

What’s upcoming???  June catch and release sturgeon in Astoria.  I know, you don’t get to take meat home, but you have to trust me when I say hooking these hard fighters one after another will quickly make you forget all about not taking meat home.  I’ll bring the bbq out as well just to make sure you’re fed and have the energy…

Another option closer to Portland would be summer steelhead fishing on the Columbia.  These fish are aggressive and are incredible fighters.

And of course, the best for last….  Astoria fall chinooks and coho, aka Buoy 10!  Seats will fill up quickly, so get ahold of me ASAP.

Until Next Time,

Todd Findlay

May 17th

Went out springer fishing yesterday with Troy and what a great day!  We missed an early bite, however we continued to grind it out and had five chances and should have gone home with two limits.  The season is not over yet!  If you check out my Facebook site (facebook.com/findlaysguideservice) you’ll see pictures of our three keepers.  It’s interesting to see how these fish shut down and how a tide change can totally turn things around  to make you feel like you can’t get your bait in the water fast enough as the bite turns on.  I love the challenge of fishing for springers, due to the fact that you had better have things dialed in in order to be rewarded.

I started booking my first Buoy 10 trips last week and can’t wait for August!  With the third largest run of 900,000 fall chinooks forecasted this year make sure you don’t miss out and call me at 503-468-6353!  Oh yeah, lets not forget a massive coho run a well.

Before I end this week’s update if you’re interested in a great catch and release Astoria sturgeon fishery let me know.  These fish are big and aggressive, so make sure you’re ready to do battle.  These trips would make for a great Father’s Day gift…..

Thanks,

Todd Findlay

The 2015 spring chinook season continues to be strong with multiple chances each trip. If you don’t have the time to spend all day out on the water I do offer 1/2 day afternoon trips. It’s a great way to relax after a morning at work.
Upcoming fisheries to reserve your seats now include June/July catch and release sturgeon fishing. It’s a lot of fun fighting these fish in shallow water. Just make sure you’re ready to hook up all day long.
And right around the corner is the famous Buoy 10 fishery. These seats will go fast, so don’t wait to get the prime seats now. I’ll be down there every weekend starting in August thru September as well as an extended stay from 8/15 through 8/30.