Mollala

[NEUTRON]

Well my "buddy" left me a message Friday
evening at 8:30 pm he couldn't make our
planned trip to the Columbia, so I went down
to Willamete Sat am. Pretty slow, saw 1 fish caught in about two & 1/2 hours. Went home,
while mowing the grass; lawnmower went kaput.
Couldn't take it anymore, so I removed my
outboard from the drifter and headed out about 1:00 pm. Caught and released two natives and passed one other boat on the lower end. That's peaceful fishin, maybe I
didn't want to do the bumper boat thing anyway.

[SteelieSteve]

Good to see someone can catch nice fish in the Mo. I've been able to catch a bunch of downrunners there but never any nice ones. Fished it for more than 20 years too. images/icons/shocked.gif

[HOGTIDE]

Have to agree with SS. I used to fish the 'MO' quite a bit in the spring. But, I usually caught 'backsliders'. They must have been bright sometime...I just couldn't figure out when.

It IS a very quiet, relaxing, little river to fish.

What time of the year do you find bright cruisers?

[Jennie@ifish]

I fished the Mollala for years with my Dad and brothers.
That is why I am such a neurotic nutcase on the board... images/icons/grin.gif a bi polar problem child that has gone through fishing abuse!
I think it was a case of... "We have to take Jennie (the baby of the family) again???"
Blame it on The Mollala.
I hate to say it, but I was tormented as a child on those roads going up the Mollala!
Child abuse!
I remember my Dad screaming, while pumping on the brakes on those windy skinny roads over looking cliffs that went for miles... Not only was I legally blind then, and all I saw was a blur of nothingness over those roads that went down down down, they didn't have seat belts then!
THE BRAKES ARE OUT, THE BRAKES ARE OUT!!!" I would tighten up in total fear until I noticed my brothers heads turned teeheeing at the big joke. I was terrified!
I would get home and my mother would say to my Dad, noticing my tears...
"OK, what did you do to her now???"
Then we had the Willamette follies..
Let's see how fast we have to go to get Jennie rolling around on the deck of the boat? Usually 40 mph with a 360 degree turn would take me off my seat and roll me very near the motor... Oh that must have been fun for them!
Or how bout this.... Let's put Jennie on my shoulders and wade across the swollen, swift flowing Sandy, and see if she can hang on...
Now I don't wade at all!
Anyway, just Mollala memories coming back at me!
Nice, quiet river? Not in my childhood!


Jen images/icons/wink.gif

[NEUTRON]

Went back Sunday... Sorry for the spelling error... It's Molalla. Took my 6 and 10
year old along overiding their mothers opinion that it is not safe with just me without another adult... What a time we had, nobody else today. Missed one take down and
my 6 year old long line released a nice steelie that jumped twice and did a little tail walk for us. I think I might have convinced them what patience will do. Great
weekend, is it Friday yet? Yea there are downrunners, but have you watched the counts
over the falls this year. I would say best in ten years, I wish the summers were still
planted in the M though.

[SteelieSteve]

Caught my first Steelhead on the Mo. 1978, and yes it was a spawner. images/icons/rolleyes.gif

[ 04-16-2001: Message edited by: SteelieSteve ]

[dogfishboy]

http://www.ifish.net/gfx/vanf2.jpg

http://www.ifish.net/gfx/van1.jpg

http://www.ifish.net/gfx/1vanf3.jpg

http://www.ifish.net/gfx/vandone!.jpg

We've fished the upper Molalla for summer steelhead for the last 15 years. My buddy - in the green waders - took a couple friends up there earlier this month and found this van parked in one of our favorite drifts. They got there at first light to find the van and went back down to the Dickey Prairie store to call 911. Later that morning with all the rescue, fire and local media folks standing around the bank, he decided to give the drift a shot and hooked this winter steelhead ten feet in front of the van and handed off the pole to his guest.

No one was in the van. It had been stolen and dumped in the river about 500' upstream.

[ 04-16-2001: Message edited by: dogfishboy ]

[ 04-16-2001: Message edited by: dogfishboy ]

[ 04-17-2001: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]

[ 04-17-2001: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]