My fishing buddy Rollie Schmitten and I traveled to Northport, which is just south of the Canadian Border on the Columbia River, and spent two days fishing. This stretch of the Columbia flows much like it has for eons and the water is big and often wild.

The first day we fished with guide Brian Day, of Day Fishing, for walleye, which is his specialty. I had been warned that walleye fishing can be very tough in the early spring, when water temperatures are still in the high 30s, but Day knew where to go and if there were any willing biters he would find them. We fished three holes from the Border to 12 miles down river and caught fish at two of them.

It was snowing and very cold at the start of the day, but we got a couple of sun breaks. Our group boated a total of eight walleye and a burbot and even released a couple of small sturgeon.

Starting about May Day said that anglers can get walleye of incredible numbers here, and I hope to return to get in on that action. It would be worth the trip just to stay at the Lazy-Daze-Retreats, our lodging host, which offers amazing comforts at incredibly low prices.