My wife Eileen and I made a run down to fish the Columbia River below Wanapum Dam.

I got what I was looking for, and that was uncrowded waters to fish for salmon. What I didn’t count on was the lack of fish.

I have friends that fished here, off the mouth of Crab Creek earlier in September and had good success. I think I am too late for this fishery.

I didn’t mark a single fish on my depth finder while fishing off Crab Creek. There was one other boat there and they were just as frustrated. I trolled up to the rail road trestle and above it for a while and still had no luck.

The one bright spot of the day was using the new boat ramp that Grant County PUD has built on the west shore below the dam.

It is state of the art and allows anglers to the popular fishing area off Crab Creek and avoids the perilous crossing the shallow reef above. This is going to save anglers lots of time and a few props, too.

I did notice quite a few boats fishing above Wanapum Dam on the west shore. This is where the fish are now, I guess.