I'll be heading up to the dam for my first time this year. Can anyone give me some help on catching springers from a boat up there.

I haven't gone up to try the springers there yet - but SOON! I have fished fall 'nooks and summer steelhead up there enough to give you some ideas to try; and hopefully someone that's been up there will add to this thread. ...

I have heard that the hogline anchorups have been doing well with K-14 Kwikfish in both silver/chartruse and silver/blue scale; either sardine/herring filet wrapped or with baitoil scent. Use a longer 3' lead dropper with about a 4 1/2' leader. And both rainbow colored and gold blade/green bead spinners are getting fish too. I am know using rolling cured prawns with a small Spin N Glo would work great up there. The Oak Tree hogline, or 2, are good ones if you get there early enough to get in - it's just down from Bonneville and you will see the big lone oak tree on the north side large slope there. The small hoglines just down from there along Ives Island are good too. What I would like to try when I go up, if there is enough room between hoglines or in an a good 14' deep current somewhere else, is backtrolling (especially on the stronger outgoing tide current). I know a number of things should work great doing that if you find the right water to work. Back bouncing bait; egg clusters &/or sandshrimp with small winged bobber, or prawns is a 'go to' method. Just as good would be slowly backtrolling bait with Jet Planner divers; the 20' version in about 10' to 17' water depths just out from the banks. Rolling prawns would be deadly for this (see my Columbia springer tips thread for a good way to rig up for this)!!! Also try small whole herring (yellow or red pack size) or plugcuts (green pack); this would be better in the lower river and prawns better up there though. And the eggs/sandshrimp too. Of course backtrolling flatlined (no diver or lead) K-15 Kwikfish or standard or Mag Warts in the colors mentioned, with herring oil or other bait scent, should be killer up there in the right spots. One thing that can be very good at times, and few try it, is using a clear transparent 20' Jet Planner with a 5' leader to backtroll unweighted spinners (size 4 or 5 Cascade bladed ones are good - lots of others too). That can work in medium sized tributaries also. Here's something to experiment with: try using a float to fish egg clusters, or 6" pink worms (with shrimp oil), or larger 3/8 oz. pink and white jigs tipped with a small piece of sandshrimp tail just a foot or 2 off bottom in places you have room to do that (not just the Col., tribs too). From the bank or boat you can cast these up stream and float them down to you then free spool them out below you for a ways; when the float stops or gets pulled under set the hook hard. Casting and swinging weighted spinners can work in some areas. Good luck and let us know how these things work for you.

Try a k15 with chartreuse head, pink butt. Use a jumbo jet diver about 90-100 feet behind the boat in 25-30 feet of water. Saw a bunch of fish hooked today using these methods. Good luck.