The Creek

[mandinga]

I hit the oh so famous clackamas trib yesterday.

The creek looks as though a hurricane blew through and reorganized the entire makeup of the creek. There are new MASSIVE LOGJAMS and logjams that were previously there are nowhere to be found :whazzup:

The snaggers hole is completely different :cheers: :wave: :wave:so...good luck snaggers on finding a new hole!

The water was so high that the steelhead that I hooked were holding where the walking path once was :blush:

I had a blast when I found a massive school of whitefish(they must be in spawn mode) and hammered a couple dozen before calling it quits. The whitefish were chewing up black birdsnests, and tungsten eggs. Riverranger would have been so jealous :tongue:.

If anyone decides to go when the water drops you should be prepared to do some TREACHEROUS HIKING! :bowdown: There are no trails left at all, just 2 feet of silty mud and massive trees strewn about.
cm

[Navigator]

I take it you were in the Canyon below the hatchery?

[PTS]

I spent a couple of days this week including today on "the creek". I fished below the hatchery, Eagle Fern and upper Bonnie Lure. Water was high, clarity was good. I don't know where the "snaggers hole" is but I didn't notice much difference in the creek other than the fact that the water had been really high below Bonnie Lure and I didn't go very far down, like to the Clackamas.

I have never caught a whitefish in Eagle Creek, but I certainly would have enjoyed some good action like chrome mandinga had.

[mandinga]

this trip was the lower river...not the upper river.

the upper river looks the same, but below the lowest bridge is a mess.

I did hike into the canyon this weekend...water was good, but i didnt talk to any gear fisherman who had landed a fish...the flyfisherman on the other hand did a fair amount better!

[PittsburghD]

I'm a begining fly steelheader (done it under 10 times). Is this a good space for me? I'm a warm hand in the gear category for steel for many years and have slowly been dippin' backwards. I like a little privacy due to my noviceness with a 7 wt. I am fully geared for it though.

Thoughts?

D

[clacksteel]

I like a little privacy due to my noviceness with a 7 wt.



This is probably not the place for you then. If you hike far enough you can probably get away from some of the crowds, but if you go on weekends you will always have company.

[AndyK]

I like a little privacy due to my noviceness with a 7 wt.



This is probably not the place for you then. If you hike far enough you can probably get away from some of the crowds, but if you go on weekends you will always have company.



It is also not the place to practice casting (no casting room) and you will need a heftier rod then a seven weight to land a fish.

That is small water; if a steelhead decides to quit the hole where you hooked it, you won’t be able to stop it with a seven weight. That means trying to scramble downstream after a fish that you will probably lose anyway to a snag, etc.

[PittsburghD]

My steeleheading with a fly was only on the Big D in late summer. Slim fish rockets. Thanks for the heads up.

--D

[AndyK]

I've been fishing mostly on small creeks in the last month; they clear faster then the big rivers.

I have been using a nine-weight rod and the heaviest leader/tippet I can get away with considering water clarity. I have lost a couple fish trying to hold the fish in a hole. I also lost one fish that I couldn't hold! I lost one fish yesterday that jumped twice and then tried to run on me before throwing the hook (I was using a 01X tippet).

A lighter weight rod would have broke.

[Chas]

You can do it :yay:! Just be ready to do some moving :dance:. A 7wt rod with the right line and tippet works just fine if you can move :wave:.

------------------------
"It is all about the hunt"
CTPG

[mandinga]

These small creeks are actually awesome places to learn how to cast...how to roll cast that is....

I roll cast most small rivers anyways...and The Deschutes is another river that requires constant roll casting. On the other hand, I catch alot of fish by simply placing the fly in the slot that I want to fish and then letting the fly drift downstream.

and I also use a 7wt with light tippet.

Andy is right about losing fish, with that light setup I lose more than I land....but I can hook more with a light tippet.