Smallmouth question???

[Bill Monroe]

A reader from back east who has fished the Umpqua and John Day with guides is about to retired and move to Eugene.

He's asked for information on smallmouth fishing on the Willamette (all the way to Portland) and Columbia and I'm sorry to have to tell him I know very little.

I've referred him to the Oregon Bass and Panfish Club as well as telling him he ought to join IFISH; also that I'd ask the question here and he could view the answers without any trouble at all.

Thanks very much for the help!

[Thecrease]

Bill

If he does a search and types in Willy he will get quite a bit of information.

Now we are in the dog days of winter but March will bring the smallies a biting again.

I am always willing to take someone fishing especially retirees who have weekdays off since I have Wed/Thur off.

Tell him to PM me

Clayton

[ExBassGuide]

Thats good to know I have Tue- Fri off :-)
We should give it a shot next spring:tongue:
Roger

[Thecrease]

Originally Posted by ExBassGuide

Thats good to know I have Tue- Fri off :-)
We should give it a shot next spring:tongue:
Roger

Roger

Lets do it. It sounds like you are retired with those days off .

[lwilling]

Originally Posted by Thecrease

Bill

If he does a search and types in Willy he will get quite a bit of information.

Now we are in the dog days of winter but March will bring the smallies a biting again.

I am always willing to take someone fishing especially retirees who have weekdays off since I have Wed/Thur off.

Tell him to PM me

Clayton

[lwilling]

Clayton; I am the retiree from the East that Bill Monroe referred to in his question. I wasn't sure what 'PM' meant in your response so I am responding as a member of Ifish. I would greatly appreciate if you would take me fishing on the Willamette after I arrive in Oregon. I have all my own equipment and will be glad to pay for all the gas. I will be retired so I can go anytime during the week. I did the search you suggested and got a lot of hits. Lots of great pictures of largemouth and smallmouth. I would really like to know where these areas of the Willamette are located and are there any wadable portions of the Willamette. In addition, do you know of any conventional tackle smallmouth guides for the Willamette or the Columbia. I have not been able to locate either. If there are others out there that know of guides please let me know. This message is more like an email than information regarding fishing but I had to start somewhere. Any help you can give me in getting started to fish for smallmouth (or largemouth) will be greatly appreciated. I look forward to your response.

Lee

[Bill Monroe]

Lee,
Sent you an email...
Bill

[1bigfish]

Originally Posted by lwilling

Clayton; I am the retiree from the East that Bill Monroe referred to in his question. I wasn't sure what 'PM' meant in your response so I am responding as a member of Ifish.PM is short for Private Message.I would greatly appreciate if you would take me fishing on the Willy after I arrive in Oregon. Once you get here just let us all know you are here and ready to fish and I am sure there will several people like Clayton that are willing to take you out.I have all my own equipment and will be glad to pay for all the gas. I will be retired so I can go anytime during the week. I did the search you suggested and got a lot of hits. Lots of great pictures of largemouth and smallmouth. I would really like to know where these areas of the Willy are located and are there any wadable portions of the Willy.There are really not many places on the Willy that that are wadable in fact I would avoid ever trying it. In addition, do you know of any conventional tackle smallmouth guides for the Willy or the Columbia.There are very few that guide on these two rivers for bass. Bass in the NW(OR/Wa) are considered to be a "trash fish" by many people out here. In a way that is nice because there are so few people that are fishing for bass that sometimes you can have the river all to yourself when the salmon/steelhead are not running. It also make the bassfisherman a very small but very close-knit community and usually very willing to share info. I have not been able to locate either. If there are others out there that know of guides please let me know. This message is more like an email than information regarding fishing but I had to start somewhere. Any help you can give me in getting started to fish for smallmouth (or largemouth) will be greatly appreciated. I look forward to your response.

See Ya when you get here.

[bassin]

Bill:
I sent Lee a PM also. Am about to join your ranks as a retiree too.
We may have to send the day on the Col. river this spring.

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by bassin

Bill:
I sent Lee a PM also. Am about to join your ranks as a retiree too.
We may have to send the day on the Col. river this spring.

Gimme a call...

[Hunt'nFish]

I envy you guys.......work just seems to get in the way.
Oh, the endless days of bass & walleye fishing in the ranks of the IFish Old Farts Club would suit me just fine!
Can I get an honorary membership?
Hunt'nFish

[Thecrease]

Email sent

[Tar Heel]

Lee, where are you moving here from? I fished fo smallies in the foothill rivers of NC b4 moving west. Sounds like u fished two of the best rivers out here already, but yeah, there are some bigger ones on the C.

[Tar Heel]

Oh yeah, and I meant to add that some of the Walleye Guides on the Columbia R. could probably put you over some smallies, and will probably get a tickle out of someone willing to pay for it..... I doubt you will have trouble figuring it out, if you have a boat, as you really just need rocks and current, and after some time, I'tl come together. Get a ''fishing Map'' of the two Rivers, and some honey holes are rt. there for public use. The rest is pretty much all the fine tuning stuff, time, gas, crankbaits and plastics, that we love to fuss over. On the Col., the bass fishing is best anywhere upstream from Bonneville, but I have a few spots closer to PDX that are OK. If your from NC, you get a free ''three hour tour'' in a 72 Whaler! Welcome to ''the other'' sportsman's paradise.

[boblag]

One thing to consider on the Columbia and Willamette is the tides. I think a lot of guys prefer the outgoing or incoming tides when the water is moving as opposed to high or low slack.

[lwilling]

Originally Posted by Tar heel

Oh yeah, and I meant to add that some of the Walleye Guides on the Columbia R. could probably put you over some smallies, and will probably get a tickle out of someone willing to pay for it..... I doubt you will have trouble figuring it out, if you have a boat, as you really just need rocks and current, and after some time, I'tl come together. Get a ''fishing Map'' of the two Rivers, and some honey holes are rt. there for public use. The rest is pretty much all the fine tuning stuff, time, gas, crankbaits and plastics, that we love to fuss over. On the Col., the bass fishing is best anywhere upstream from Bonneville, but I have a few spots closer to PDX that are OK. If your from NC, you get a free ''three hour tour'' in a 72 Whaler! Welcome to ''the other'' sportsman's paradise.

Tar Heel; I am a Sooner from Norman, OK. Smallmouth fishing here takes a backseat to largemouth so Oregon with its smallmouth possibilities is exciting. I have fished the Umpqua and the John Day but the fish were mostly small. I am interested in the Columbia and the Willamette because of the possibility of larger fish. I do not have a boat but have posted another message on the Bass and Panfish group regarding a Mokai. This is a kayak like boat with a small jet powered motor. It is supposed to be made to order for the kind of rivers found in the Pacific Northwest. I am still investigating but realize that I will need to fish with someone that has a boat or I will have to purchase some sort of watercraft. In any case, thanks for all your advice about getting into the smallmouth swing of things and especially the insight regarding getting a walleye guide to take me out for smallmouth.They might be laughing but I will be having a great time.....Lee

[1bigfish]

PM sent about guides.

[Tar Heel]

Sooners are cool. When Mr. Monroe say '' back east, '' I was thinking ''up north.'' At any rate, maybe we could do a trip this spring. I am not into the club or tourney stuff, but wouldn't mind some company. You have some good lakes near Eugene for LM's.

[mountnmann1]

Hi, I'm brand new to the board, and like Iwilling I'll be moving to Eugene soon from VA. Whats the winter smallie bite like? Its tough here at home, but they can be caught.

[YoungBuck28]

if you live in eugene then the umpqua is a good bet. the guides were probably trying to get you a lot of fish cuz thats what their selling point is. there are lots of big smallies on the ump you just need to target them. also dorena lake has great largemouth fishing. lots of big fish because there is mercury in the water so its mostly c&r

[mountnmann1]

Thanks Youngbuck. I've read and heard the Umpqua is an excellent smallmouth fishery. Is it wadeable? I'm flying out next week for about a month and I'd like to give it a try.

[YoungBuck28]

sorry i meant that dorena would be a ok winter fishery. i've only fished the umpqua for bass in the summer during low flows when you can get down to the chutes in the rimrock. there's lots of bank access then but i dont know about wading. and dorena as far as i know is a boat fishery.

[YoungBuck28]

i think the smallies kind of go into hibernation. i've never seen them caught when steelhead fishing.

[sbasser]

Originally Posted by YoungBuck28

i think the smallies kind of go into hibernation. i've never seen them caught when steelhead fishing.

I don't know the smallie fisheries around Eugene, but Lk. Washington (Seattle) produces big Smallies all winter. So, I'd say that you should find the largest lake with Smallies in your area and hit it when you can stand the weather. You'll need a boat, tho. The best results come from "The Rev Rig" (basically, a 3-way rig with a 4 oz weight and a jointed Rapala or 1' diving crankbait) or Drop Shotting in 50' -60' of water. If your lake isn't that deep, all the better, I guess.

I'm not a fan of this sort of fishing, myself. It sounds boring, the bait is moved by the boat, so you could call it trolling, or "strolling" or whatever you want. I don't like pulling fish out of that depth. If you do it, be prepared with an extra rod with about a 4 oz jig tied on, with the barb filed off. Use it to pull the fish down to the bottom, let it set awhile, and it'll get itself loose. Besides, I just don't like the cold that well, being old and hypoglycemic. But it does prove that Smallies are not in hybernation, FWIW. C&R, Steve

PS: Check out the Steelhead Brewery and Restaurant in Eugene. Pale Ale & Pizza!

[tnj8222]

Originally Posted by Tar heel

Oh yeah, and I meant to add that some of the Walleye Guides on the Columbia R. could probably put you over some smallies, and will probably get a tickle out of someone willing to pay for it..... I doubt you will have trouble figuring it out, if you have a boat, as you really just need rocks and current, and after some time, I'tl come together. Get a ''fishing Map'' of the two Rivers, and some honey holes are rt. there for public use. The rest is pretty much all the fine tuning stuff, time, gas, crankbaits and plastics, that we love to fuss over. On the Col., the bass fishing is best anywhere upstream from Bonneville, but I have a few spots closer to PDX that are OK. If your from NC, you get a free ''three hour tour'' in a 72 Whaler! Welcome to ''the other'' sportsman's paradise.

i moved from the monroe wingate area of nc about 6 years ago.wheres my free tour :P

[Tar Heel]

Originally Posted by tnj8222

i moved from the monroe wingate area of nc about 6 years ago.wheres my free tour :P

Well, as long as your NOT a Dook fan, you bet! Lets talk in April. Don't know about you but I love it hear. All this water can be put to good use!

[tnj8222]

Originally Posted by Tar heel

Well, as long as your NOT a Dook fan, you bet! Lets talk in April. Don't know about you but I love it hear. All this water can be put to good use!

oh yeah i love it hear. i was born here and i have spent most of my life here in washington. picked up bass fishing there, i think the fishing is tougher here. Dook who? haha

[mountnmann1]

Originally Posted by Tar heel

Oh yeah If your from NC, you get a free ''three hour tour'' in a 72 Whaler! Welcome to ''the other'' sportsman's paradise.

I'm from SW VA.........................but I hate Duke. Do I qualify?