Eagle Creek again

[SandyRiverFisher]

Hi All!

I fished Eagle Creek this morning again! Wow, two days this week, its a record! My wife got sick and couldn't go to work, so She let me go fish the early morning.

Anyway, wish I had gone to the Sandy. A buddy of mine knocked 'em dead on private property up above Dodge Park. Said all the fish he and his dad caught were chrome, too!

As for Eagle Creek, I fished pocket water below the second ladder for about a quarter mile. NO FISH. I think they are done moving till the next rain. Once I hit the deadline below the falls I walked up above and had the first two holes there all to myself for awhile. LOTS of fish up there. All those that made it through with the last rain are kegged up there in those deep holes. Problem is, they arent biting. I fished for more than an hour over a school of maybe thirty fish, throwing every trick in the book at them to no avail. Eventually I moved up into faster water and did get a BIG buck on a tiny blue corkie and some eggs. The fish was in decent shape and weighed eighteen pounds. After I caught him a lot of people started showing up and pitching trebles, but that issue has already been discussed at length so Ill leave it alone. I will say that if you go be prepared to deal with the snaggers, though.

I started to walk upriver, but as soon as I rounded the bend I could see about fifteen people in the next hole doing the same as those below, so I decided to leave. After hiking back up I drove down to One'O'clock rock to take a look. ZERO fish down there, and no one fishing. I would say the if you want to fish in the creek right now to go up betweent he second falls and the hatchery. Otherwise the Clackamas may be a better bet until we get rain. On the plus side, if you do go up high there is a fair mix of fish and more that enouph chrome little hens to make your chances of getting a decent fish very good.

Good luck to any who decide to give it a try!

[Spot]

My buddy and I fished Eagle Creek this morning also. The pools had some fish in them but they were pretty freaked out by the crowds on the banks. I did managed to score an ~18lb. Chinook hen in the pocket water about a mile below Eagle Fern. I was using my best low water techniques (most learned on this board over the last year+). She was hooked on a small steelhead candy with just enough weight to get it to the bottom. The fish was holed up in a tiny pocket under a miniature waterfall. I still can't believe that such a large fish could have fit in there. There were several fish taken from the hole right in Eagle Fern but it was combat flossing (I mean fishing) at it's finest and I'd rather take my chances with the ones you can't see than stand shoulder to shoulder.

[Deleted User]

SRF,
You had a decent trip, ive noticed that around here it seems that for a trip to be considerd great a lot of fish need be caught. Not the case for me. Your fish seems to me to be a real prize! One is more than enough. Hell one hook-up makes a day exciting! Dont get me wrong, I do catch fish.
I catch just enough to keep my spirits up. I love you posts keep them comming.

friendly fisherman

[SandyRiverFisher]

Hey friendly fisher,

It was a decent trip, no it was a great trip! Any time I get to be on the river is time well spent and catching fish is just an added bonus. this moring there was a warm breeze and the air smelled like fall. Who could ask for more than that?

But to put things in perspective, one fish out of a stretch of creek that holds thousands really isn't great sucess by most standards. Not that I care, its like you said, who needs more than one? I try not to kill more than I can eat fresh anyhow, although I do take a few hens this time of year for the smoker, and because I NEED the eggs for springers come April!

Hey spot, was your chinook hen all burned out, or in good shape? Last year about this time I saw a kid land a close to forty pound chinook up by the hatchery after the first hard rain, but that fish was really dark and spawned out.

[Spot]

SRF, my hen was definately a smoker. Her fins were all in tact, her back was still green and her eyes were clear but she wasn't chrome by any definition. When I bled her she started to release her eggs and I watched a nice plump fish turn into a slightly saggy and suddenly much darker fish. I'd have released her if she'd have been a native but I have no problem taking hatchery fish for the smoker.
I know what you mean about the fish being secondary. I would have called this day good even without a fish!

[Ramstrong]

That's funny spot because she was a native. Eagle creek hatchery only releases steelhead and coho. Unless they've started releasing tules and telling nobody about it. If she was releasing singles did she really smoke up that well?

[Spot]

You bring up a the same question I had Ramstrong. I had initially assumed this fish was a friggin big Coho till I got it on the bank. It was fin clipped but it had the markings of a Chinook and Jaw lines don't lie. Two of my buddies checked her out before she was prepped for the smoker and it's definately a fin clipped Chinook.
It's currently brineing. The meat's a little pale but still really firm. I figured I'd give it a two day cure and a nice long warm smoke. I'll let you know how it turns out. It was definately in better shape than a lot of the Coho I saw kept at Eagle Fern.

[Ramstrong]

Spot,

That is very interesting. I caught a clipped chinook jack 3 weeks ago below the hatchery. He was in awesome shape for being so high up. Just a little bronze on the sides and a white belly. I would have released him but he inhaled my eggs and was bleeding very badly so he became dinner. I wonder if the hatchery was holding some nookers for another hatchery and there were some escapees. Very interesting to say the least.

[SandyRiverFisher]

Hi NWRedside,

My friend is catching coho. He's got one **** of a honey hole up there on private property and he catches several fish each morning and evening, and he has the photo's to prove it! He says he's driting eggs, small mepps spinners, and black/red jigs. However, I have heard that there are chinook being caught that are bright, and I myself have caught nice bright nooks as late as the end of September. Fall fish or springers, I dont know for sure. Historically there were bright chinook in the Sandy system almost year round, and the river does in fact have fresh nooks coming in as late as December even today, although catching them is a rare event.

Not all coho in the Sandy go up Eagle Creek. The river does have a signifigant wild component that passes Marmot Dam to spawn in the upper reaches of the system, including the Salmon River. In years past you could go up above Marmot and catch fish that strayed from the Cedar Creek hatchery and apparently fallowed the wild fish up. In any case, Dodge Park and my friends honey hole are below Cedar Creek, and if you wanted to try it I am sure there are fish to be had in any of those holes right now.

Just between you and I, garbage hole is underrated for salmon, hint,hint! Try the faster water up top just before dark. This hole is not far below my buddies place.

[NWRedside]

SRF,
I noticed in your first post that say you're friend has been doing great on the sandy above dodge on some private property, and that he was getting some bright fish. I'm curious as to what he is getting? I've always thought that all the silvers go up cedar creek, and as far as I can tell, those should be the only bright fish in the river right now. If anyone else has any info on the silvers , that would be great.
Been fishing the sandy all last week with limits everyday! Best fishing I've experienced in a long time!