Anyone been to Vernonia Lake (Pond) lately?

[Clyde]

Just wondering if the water's up and if anyone's been catching any crappie or smallies.

[Sandz]

Smallies? In Vernonia? WHAT?!

[Bad Wood 75]

There arent any smallies in vernonia that I know about. I have caught a ton of trout and some perch but I havent hit any bass yet... Kinda wierd

[Clyde]

I'm kind of new to bass fishing but I swear there are small mouths in there...I've caught a couple of dinks...unless the were LMs!!! If not, then they were MASSIVE crappies!!! But I'm pretty sure they were SMs.

[Dave Smith]

No smallies in Vernonia- Lately, it seems like no Largemouth, either- he he. Who was the genius that decided to net out all the bait-sized bluegills in vernonia? the bass fishing has been taking a nose-dive ever since.

[Clyde]

Yeah...I just checked my "Fishing Oregon" and they are large mouths.

If I actually started cathing bass on any kind of regular basis (more than 4 dinks like last year!), I might start figuring out how to tell them apart... :laugh:

Hell, at this point, if it wasn't for my boy, I'd probably not be able to tell the difference between a trout and perch!

[Sandz]

LMB: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/trinityriver/images/Bass.jpg
SMB: http://www.permatrophy.com/jpgs/Showcase/smallBass03.jpg
Crappie:
http://www.idaholakefishing.com/crappie.jpg

Differences are pretty clear. A LMB is going to have a Latteral Line down the center of its side. It is also a dividing line from where that deep rich green fades out to its white under belly. A SMB is going to have verticle, almost tiger like stripes. We call them Bronze Backs because they generally are a rich bronze/brown color. The other distinguishing thing is the mouths. The LMB mouth extends past the eye usually when mouth is closed and has a huge difference in side when you are lipping it. Crappie are flat fish, not round, and are more of a specked color patern than anything a bass would hold.

[Sandz]

Here is one of the larger crappie I have rangled in
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c147/Sandz110/DSCN0513.jpg

[Clyde]

Okay then...I have positively never caught a SM in my life. I didn't realize they were so dark brown. And Sandz, that's a helluva crappie there.

[Sandz]

Yeah its amazing what you can pull out of the willy some times. If you want to hitch up and go banking with me some time let me know you live maybe 5-10 min from me. I can hopfully get you into some smallies.

[Clyde]

Appreciate the offer...I always go with my boy and the canoe, it helps keep him out of trouble (he gets bored and there too much to do on the bank :laugh:). We could squeeze another in easy since you're a skinny one. We might be heading up there this weekend but I'm going to try for crappie...might bring the bass pole just in case. I definately need help with the bass, I'm a struggling but I'm also not in a huge hurry to be Mr. Bass Pro, just watching Cal catch perch keeps me pretty darn interested.

[Maddie'sDaddy]

I have seen some very big largemouth come out of there, if you can figure out how to get em to bite. My friend lives accross from the lake and his father in law hooked a 7 pounder last year. They also put in some big stealheads but like the bass hard to catch.

[Rank Amateur]

No smallies in Vernonia- Lately, it seems like no Largemouth, either- he he. Who was the genius that decided to net out all the bait-sized bluegills in vernonia? the bass fishing has been taking a nose-dive ever since.



:bigshock: :bigshock: I know the answer to that question. Hey, ODF&W sanctioned the netting. :shrug:

That's been 15 years ago or better, but you are right, seemed to tip the balance. Hey, there are tons of perch!

Hey, ODF&W is having a fishing event for the kids tomorrow, Saturday at the lake. They are dumping a ton of trout today, so the bass fishing is going to stink for a while.

[Dave Smith]

By "the bass fishing is going to stink for a while", do you mean, like, another ten years? he he. BTW: there were a couple of locals that initiated the bluegill netting. It was designed to help the warmwater fishing. As usual, when something is really working well, someone has to try and fix it.

[Bad Wood 75]

I went out to vernonia the last two nights and hooked into some quality bass. I caught 4 nice fish each weighing about 2-3 pounds a piecce. I didnt hook into any dinks for a change. They were all nice big fatties. I caught them off of a baby bass super fluke right at dark. They arent hitting topwaters yet. My father managed a few off of a floating rapala. Its about time they started biting out there.

[portlandstatekid]

what area of the lake were you fishing, and structure around?

[Dave Smith]

Don't know how ya do it, Badwood. Though I have caught a few in the 2 to 5 pound range, most of my fish from Vernonia come in two size catagories: 12" and 24". Unfortunately, the 24 inchers are getting ridiculousy scarce. I have some good memories and great picures, though. Dave

[Bad Wood 75]

I would love to see some of the larger fish pics you have Dave. I have done pretty well at Vernonia over the past couple pf years. I fish mostly the right side of the lake. I think it is the western side. I just pitch senko's and super flukes out into the pads then let it drop right off of the edge. There is a lot of structure out there, but I dont fish it a lot. I fish the pads mostly from shore and I have done great. I have caught a ton of bass using brush hoggs in the summer just pulling them over the pads and letting them fall into the open spaces. Small buzz baits did quite well for me last year in low light conditions. I recommend people dont use really large spinners up there. I have never seen them hit the large ones. The bass I catch up in Vernonia come off of mostly senko's and other plastics. If you are going to use top waters make sure you use the smaller variety. Rebel and Storm make some nice imatation lures such as grass hopper poppers and the small natural looking crank baits. These lures are great baits to use. Floating rapalas are also a great choice at Vernonia. Jitter bugs have also produced greatly for me up there. When you bring a boat or a float tube out on Vernonia Pond, try to fish the pilings. Throwing senko's around these will produce some great fish. The largest I have caught out of there was right around 5 pounds. The fish that have been hitting lately have been quite large for being so short. I dont know if there was a greater amount of food available this year or what, but these fish are pigs. They are about 14-17 inches and are quite fat. I will take my camera out to Vernonia next time and try to catch and take some pics of these fish. Well if any one has anything to add to this post, it would be a great help to our fellow Ifishers. If some one has a map of Vernonia with some of the structure on it, I think that it would be a great help. I learned how to bass fish on this small body of water and Vernonia is a great place for beginning bass fishermen and women to try their luck. I would be GLAD to help out anyone or show them the ropes of Vernonia Pond some time. Send me a PM if you want to go fishing sometime

[Rank Amateur]

The fishing will stink because the big boys are eating whole trout.

My Dad was the guy who intiated the bluegill round up. We used to have a great balance between bluegills and bass and crappie. Then the bluegills took over and stunted, yes I'm sure they were great bass food. It was talked over with ODF&W and they brought up the trap to try and swing the population back in balance. The bluegills were so small that it took 500 to a five gallon bucket. I believe 10,000 was the estimate of bluegills taken out of the lake. Unfortunately it appears that it swung the balance back too far the other way. Now bluegills are far fewer, although the crappie have seemed to hang in there.

We could probably debate all day what is the best to do with these small ponds, sit on our hands or try to manage. Just for your information, while you may consider my Dad a villian, just be glad he cared about the lake, because he was primarily responsible for keeping water in the lake for many years and did if for free. Keeping the city on track with the lake has not always been easy, it took a champion to keep them in line. Without his input, the lake would have been drained and scraped clean to get rid of lilly pads and pilings! :bigshock: It seems some people have no concept about structure and it's benefits for fish. :cheers:

[Dave Smith]

Rank, who is you dad? Webb? Dick Webb? You need to know that none of us think of your dad or anyone as a villan. What's done is done and the lake will cycle around again. However, if your dad had not fought to keep the structure in there, it would have never had a chance to cycle around again so thank him for us, will ya? Dave

[Rank Amateur]

No problem Dave, I just could not hold my fingers any longer. :laugh: You are close, Don Webb, Dick is his brother.

He thought he was doing good, so did I, but we both were shocked to see the bluegill population disappear. Who knows what the actual cause was, surely we did not wipe out the bluegills with the net, there were still plenty after the trapping operation. I don't remember if the yellow fin perch were in there at the time, I don't think so, maybe they preyed on the bluegill fry and wiped them out. There are tons of perch now, most pretty small, so there should still be plenty of feed for the bass.

The bass in the pond are quite interesting, as you well know we had several caught that went around 10 pounds. I have not heard of any of those for a few years though. I have talked to a local bass fisherman though who does very well at the lake. We talked that maybe the lake needs a special regulation to help conserve the bigger bass. Any thoughts on that? The pond is pretty small and it gets a lot of action. :cheers:

Hey also what are your thoughts on the lily pads, I know they make great habitat, but a lot of people are concerned that they will take over the whole lake. The city has tried several times with a special herbicide and has had mixed results. The thought is to control, not eradicate the pads. Personally, I would think that one of those powered cutters would be safer, but more labor intensive. Any thoughts?

[Bad Wood 75]

I believe that the pads need to be contained some how. They are great cover but they get quite thick in the summer. I think that the trimmer idea would work. As long as they dont spread over the whole lake, they dont bother me

[Maddie'sDaddy]

My buddy lives across the street from the lake and we went to fish one day and there absolutely no places left to fish ,busy day out there. I know they recently added the fishing docks but what are your thoughts on more bank access on the west side. Im kinda mixed on the subject , it does relieve some fishing pressure but at the same time bank access on that side is very limited. Lots of catynine tails out there.

[Quackhead]

I find that bitsy bugs (black/blue) with a black pork rind trailer do well when they haven't started to hit the topwater. When there hitting topwater then poppers and chug bugs work well. I like using brush hawgs when the sun has been up for a while. The lilly pads do seem to hold the most fish. My biggest fish from there was caught on pilings(6lbs 11oz). With the bitsy bug. Nice place to fish but usually not spectacular bass fishing.

[Dave Smith]

If anyone is interested in seeing giant bass in that pond again, step one is to quit puting steelhead in there. Step two is to maintain high water levels in the spring. Step three is to encourage people to release all bass. Also, Bluegills are much better than yellow perch at rearing small bass until they get big enough to eat the trout. Sorry, but increasing bank access may be great for trout, but it is terrible for bass- especially on the shallow, west side. Those cattynine tails are very necessary and need to have lot's of water in them, too. With just a few exceptions, anyone who catches a big bass takes it home to show there buddies and army of relatives and then it stays in there freezer until the next ice age. Anyone who catches a small bass takes it home and eats it- not good. It also needs more "structure" (not weeds or pads) and some viable places to spawn besides four or five pillings and two gravel beds that get run over by every belly boat in Portland. Let's make it an I-fish project!! who's in?

[Bad Wood 75]

I would be very willing to just in and help with that project. It would be a great thing for Ifish and it would put our name and belief's

[Rank Amateur]

I'm in also. I'm sure my Dad will come along also. We only live a few blocks away and have a tractor if that could be of any use. Gravel, we need some gravel beds? I just happen to know of an organization in town that could spring for financial support.

If we get together, lets talk regulations, this organization would be more than willing to sponsor a change.

The docks were one of my Dad's projects, with help from the city and locals. Funding was through the R&E board.

On clean up day I went around the lake and trimmed the grass at the access points. I was having the same thoughts about cutting some fishing access points, maybe we need to discuss this?

What's the deal with the Steelhead Dave, I didn't know they would do harm. I thought they were good to feed to the Eagles.

Hey, I know the ducks are good, they feed the bass their young every year. Saw a hen with one duckling today, hmmm...where did the rest go. My Dad swears he saw a full grown duck pulled under! :bigshock:

[Clyde]

Thanks for all of the info...I spend a lot of time out there when Hagg just gets too popular. I'll be the one in the green canoe with the impatient 5 year old. Say "hello" if you see us. I love that little lake. I'm going out this Saturday morning...was gonna go last Saturday but at the last minute a friend mentioned Riverfest and I decided to stay away.

Heard a rumor about a huge tournament will be held out there by KUPL? Anyone else hear this?

Also...besides a worm, what's the BEST thing to toss out there for my boy to catch some perch? I like to keep him interested!

[Mr. Sturgeon14]

Okay then...I have positively never caught a SM in my life. I didn't realize they were so dark brown.



To tell you the truth there was only one SMB that i have caught in my life that was brown all of the rest were green. The only brown one i caught came out of OC on the willi. I do numerouse johnday trips and umpqua trips every year and all the smallies were dark green with stripes, even the 20+ inchers so tell me if im wrong but i do believe that smallies come in two colors

[Rank Amateur]

I have heard of the KUPL derby too. It was brought up at city council meeting. Don't know much more than that though. I think they were shooting for later June.

Can't help you on the perch, because a worm is what I use.

[Clyde]

I would love to help out...it would be a great project for all involved and the city. I'm sure the local Boy & Girl scout troops would be interested too.

I'd also love to see more submerged structures, especially around the docks...anything to help kids get one...and iFishers as well. Plus, with more structures I am guessing that there would be more places for those big ones to hide out! I've heard that old weighted down Christmas trees work well too...perfect tie-in with the scouts if we have a place to store them for a while. (The trees, not the scouts)

I have to admit that when I'm out there I feel a little like I'm trespassing...it's so tiny and I really have done nothing but pay my very cheap park fee.

[Bad Wood 75]

I was out at vernonia yesterday and I caught 3 fish. 1 was about5 inches off of a 5 inch senko, one wa abou 12 inches and the third was about 2.5 pounds. It was one of the nicer fish I have caught out of there. I released all of them

[portlandstatekid]

good to hear that you're catching bass out there. i'm anticipating a trip out there soon.

[fishingfreak]

Sandz that crappie your holding on to did you catch it at vernonia lake or some where else. cause i went there about last week i caught a couple of crappies but there not even close to that size.oh and one other question is Sauvie Island a good spot to go fishing and what kind of fish they have there.

[Sandz]

Ha I wish I could find crappie like that in Vernonia, it was outta the Willy, was just using it to clarify what they look like in responce to LMB/SM/Crappie. I have caught a bunch of fish banking from Sauvie's, I had a couple friends show me some good spots for some decent bass.

[Clyde]

Yee Haw! Went out this morning and caught a couple bass...one was 11" and the other was 13"...don't know the weight since I didn't bring a scale. Wow, it feels good. Strangely enough, my boy didn't hook into a single thing! No perch, trout or crappie. Anyone have some secrets for trout out there? I've heard that chartreuse eggs or marshmallows do the trick but have yet to try them. Cal was disappointed that we had to let them go...but I assured him that we would be back and maybe next time he'd be the one to catch them! It took a LOT of convincing. :yay:

[portlandstatekid]

were you banking it or out of boat??? will you find the bass at vernonia tight to structure/shallow? thanks for sharing.

[Clyde]

I was in my canoe and fishing off the pads. Caught one with a spinning bait and another on a small senko.

[Bad Wood 75]

Well I have been to Vernonia Pond twice in the last week. I went on Friday and caught 3 really nice fish. Then I went out last night and caught 5 fish with 3 being over 2 pounds. I caught them all off of a green senko.