Where to take small boat?

[rollcast]

Hey all,

I have a small (11' coleman crawdad) boat with an electric motor (no outboard) that I throw in the back of my pickup. Does anyone have any suggestions on ponds/lakes to fish that would be fun and safe. I am fairly new to the area, on the east coast there were lots of ponds and small lakes to take my little boat. I mostly want places where I can catch some bass without getting swamped :smile:

Along these lines, I have walked around the Smith and Bybee area, but have not found a way to get my boat to the water. Has anyone ever put in an Kelly Point Park and tried to go through the slough to these lakes? If so how much portaging was required?

Thanks for any information/tips.

[The Fishing Geek]

Quite some time ago the Oregonian published a book on places to fish that are close to Portland. You may want to contact Bill Monroe at the paper or their front desk to see if they still sell this book. When I bought mine it was available only from their downtown Portland office but it was very helpful.

[rollcast]

Fishing Geek,

Thanks for the information about the book. I called the Oregonian and they are looking into it, but did not have much recollection about the book. Do you have a title, author, ISBN, etc for the book?

Thanks,

[SailCat]

Hi, rollcast-

Hey, I used to have one of those fun boats. Unfortunately, I stored it in a friend's barn and when the barn burned down ....

Anyway, here's (http://www.dfw.state.or.us/ODFWhtml/FishText/WWFishing/WWIndex.html) a web page with a county-by-county rundown on warm-water fishing locations which offer public access.

'Hope it helps & let us know how you do!

~MT
The Guide's Forecast (http://www.theguidesforecast.com/)

[Paddlefish]

Rollcast:

Sauvie Island is littered with various sloughs and ponds; take your pick. Most of the island closes during the wterfowl season, though. (Don't forget your pass/parking permit.)

The arms of Hagg Lake offer relatively sheltered conditions and decent fishing (if you think a state record smallmouth qualifies as "decent.") Unfortunately, Hagg closes during the winter, effective two days from now. :shocked:

The Yamhill River is usually pretty free of boat traffic. Launch at Dayton.

My "secret next door" is the Tualatin. Lots of shoals and snags make it tough on motors, so we manually propelled folks usually have it to ourselves. Launch at Stafford Road, Rivergrove, Brown's Ferry Park, Cook Park, Hwy 99W, Hwy 219, or any of a number of other places.

The problem with the rivers is that when the fall and winter rains arrive (if ever, :whazzup: ) the rivers will either become high and fast or really high and really fast. :depressed:

That's why we have steelhead fishing. :grin:

[The Fishing Geek]

I couldn't find my copy of the book last night, but I did fire off an email to Bill Monroe last night to see if he knew the status of this book. They probably quit printing it, but maybe he might still know where to get a copy of the book.

[Whopper Stopper]

I have a 10" Don Hill that I push around with a 3 hp Minn Kota. I had a ball launching at Cedar Oak and catching Smallies up and down stream on the boulder piles. No trouble with current or chop. :grin:

[rebell]

rollcast

Only 1 1/2 hours away you can find all kinds of small lakes to put your small boat in. The north coast has dozens of small lakes that are perfect. Lytle, Cape Mears, Cullaby and Sunset are just a few. Any good map of the Oregon coast will point you to a bunch of different lakes, and they all have largemouth in them.

Do some exploring, Im sure you will be suprised about the amount of good bass fishing we have up and down the entire coast.

Good luck and good fishing!

[The Fishing Geek]

Just got an email from Bill and unfortunately they're not publishing that book anymore. The alternative to that book would be the must-have book "Fishing in Oregon", which no Oregon angler should be without. Well worth the price.

[Bankbound]

I'll second that geek. :grin:

[rollcast]

First, I want to thank everyone for all the useful information. I already own the Fishing in Oregon book, but I am never sure how accurate or good the information is in a book. Many times such books have out of date information. I am hoping to take my boat out next spring (I am recovering from shoulder surgery right now). When I do I hope to publish many a report - hopefully some of them will entail catching fish :smile:

I have a question for Whopper Stopper, where is Cedar Oak?

Also, to add something back to the conversation. I lived in Corvallis for 3 years before moving up here. I did find one little pond to which to take my boat. On my map it is called Porter lake. I caught several 4 to 5lb bass from this pond, although typically I would catch 3/4 to 1 lb fish. This pond is off of Smith loop road (off 99W south of Corvallis).

Thanks again for everyone's help.

[Smj]

rollcast, Cedar Oak/Cedar Island boat ramp is toward the north end of West Linn. Go south on McAdam past Lake Oswego, take a left turn at the 7-11 and follow the road down the hill to the ramp.

I was introduced to my addiction by a friend that took me fishing (and catching) salmon and steelhead in a Colman Crawdad with a 3 horse Merc. We pulled plugs and caught winter steelies in the sandbar hole in Jan. and caught springers at Sellwood from that little tupperware boat!

Good Luck

Smj

[marko]

The book you guys mentioned is "Fishing Holes a Short cast from Portland" It was written by Jack Webster and edited by Bill Monroe. It was published by the Oregonian. My copy was printed in 1989. Jack Webster was very active in the Bass & Panfish club of Portland. You might contact them.
Another book I have is "Guide to Warm Water Fishing, Portland Metropolitan Area" It is published by ODFW.
In addition to the metrio area a good place for your small boat are the small lakes out at the coast. They are everywhere along the coast. Sunset lake, Cullaby Lake, etc.

[Tanner]

Originally posted by Whopper Stopper

I have a 10" Don Hill that I push around with a 3 hp Minn Kota. <font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Dude, how do you fit into a 10 inch boat? :tongue:

Rollcast,
Try going out and buying the book "Fishing in Oregon" by Madeline Sheehan Dinesse (Something like that). Great book with a wealth of knowledge of where to fish in Oregon.

[reelman]

To fish Bybee Lake park at the trailhead and drop your boat in the canal. Go down the canal to within 200 yards of the end. There is a 15' portage to Bybee. Lots of small bass and panfish. Wouldn't want to eat anything from this area, so let them go.