Hagg Lake stillwater fly fishing?

PDXSteelhead · 02-21-2006, 09:36 AM

Is it decent in the spring? It'd be nice to get out the pontoon boat for a day trip. Can you find some calm water? where?

3riversBob · 02-21-2006, 10:06 AM

Click HERE and the link will take you to a map of Hagg Lake. Either Sain or Scoggins Creek arms should be good for you.

Bob

steel_beaver · 02-21-2006, 04:40 PM

I've done pretty well right at the left end of that "dotted buoy line"...see the map. But anywhere should be good...stocked trout are not spooky

good luck

S_B

PDXSteelhead · 03-03-2006, 06:28 AM

Is Hagg going to be a zoo this weekend for the opener? I'm ichin' to break out the pontoon boat.

People don't start skiing on the lake this time of year do they?

3riversBob · 03-03-2006, 06:54 AM

Yes, it will be a zoo! How ever if you are tooning it and hit the coves you will stay out of most of the heavy traffic.

Let us know how you do if you go.

Bob

PDXSteelhead · 03-03-2006, 07:04 AM

That's what I wanted to hear.

I wanted to stay out of the way of the people pulling their ford fenders around the lake. I've been tying a bunch of stillwater flys and I can't get to sleep at night without knowing if they work or not.

I wanted to go to steelheading, but the choice of having numb feet in the river, wading, or kicking back on the 'toon, I don't know.

Is there a pretty good hold-over population or will I be releasing a bunch of little stockers?

McKenzie · 03-03-2006, 12:41 PM

Sain Creek arm has a channel running roughly thru the middle of the cove - the fish would probably be holding close to that channel. I haven't been out there for a drive yet this year, so I am not sure what the water level is like. Most of the spring it's fairly high, so the cove will probably be 15-30 feet deep most places, getting to around 6-10 feet deep near the creek's inlet. That creek is always a great hunting ground for small & largemouth bass, and good size gillies find their way into the weedbeds in late spring. I've never landed a trout on a dry-fly in Hagg, but they can be had on nypmhs/streamers. I've got some testing of new flies to do myself, but it'll be next week before I can get out to play, at the earliest. If you get into a hatch and take 'em on dry flies, let us know!

And if you happen to take a spinning rod along (you know, for those "just in case" times) I've done really well with 1/8oz rooster tails retrieved slowly. Green, ruby red, and black are the colors that produce best for me. Since most of the trout in that lake are stockers, you could probably do pretty well with a streamer in bright attractor patterns, probably something like a size 12 with 2-3x long hook. Again, if there's bass around, they'll nail the flies too. Later this year when the water warms, if you fish the shallow weed beds, you can find some nice size bass. Heck, 7 or 8 of hte last state record smallies came from hagg, and one of the more recent ones was taken on a black wooly bugger (and people give me grief for that being my favorite fly!)

Good luck man. Hopefully the water isn't made of chocolate milk when you go, and the weather is warm.

McKenzie · 03-03-2006, 12:43 PM

Forgot to add - Hagg does have a number of hold-over fish in the 12-16 inch range. Some larger. Scoggins and Sain Creeks also have small native runs of Cutthroat (couple years back a fellow took a 5lb cutt from the Sain Creek area - worm & marshmellow guy, but he proved they're in there)

nookslayer · 03-03-2006, 01:00 PM

I was just told that they are putting 18,000 brooders in to Hagg. With the bass getting ready to spawn I would think they'd be patroling the shores

Plem · 03-03-2006, 04:50 PM

easy Nooky- 18,000 "legal keepers" does not a brooder make. The 18,000 will be 10-12 inches. A brooder is 20+ and I really doubt they'll be putting any of those in for opening week end.

nookslayer · 03-04-2006, 08:18 PM

SO you're saying you lied to me to get me to go to Hagg?

Plem · 03-04-2006, 08:39 PM

<font color="orange"> 18,000 "legal fish" and you turn them into 20"ers and its me lying to you when all you catch is one 9"er. Hmmm- watch a video, tie a bug and get in the correct frame of mind my Padawon.

</font>

lilnorthfork · 03-04-2006, 10:27 PM

Launch at Ramp A, hang a right, and slow troll your fly in a line between the dock and the near corner of the cove. My 4 year old outfished me 15 to 1 in that spot last summer... :grin:

lnf

03-05-2006, 10:52 AM

Quote:

My 4 year old outfished me 15 to 1 in that spot last summer...

Yeah? and that is a surprise because? Do you suppose Lucio could give me a few fly fishing tips?

Super Fluke · 03-05-2006, 03:14 PM

The last state record smallmouth was caught on a zoom soft jerk bait 8.2lbs.I think the one that was caught on a wooly bugger was awhile ago.

PDXSteelhead · 03-06-2006, 06:14 AM

Well, the first trip to Hagg didn't go as planned. The water was too off color for good fly fishing,

and the constant F-bombs being yelled out from the bank and variety of boats made for a peaceful ambiance (do people know voices carry on the water?).

It's a little too big for my 'toon - unless I rig up an minkota on the back. I dropped in at ramp c and headed north, it was quite a row from the upper north end to get back to the ramp.

jfsfish2 · 03-07-2006, 09:08 AM

I agree about the noise on the lakes. Those that bring there loud radio's and barking dogs should stay home. Piece is the key.