Stripers In Coo's bay

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

Howdy all...

I hear there are some stripers (stripeted bass. spelling?) in Coo's bay? Does anyone know how to fish for them? I do alot of striper fishing on the east coast. My uncle is a guide, so free boat rides. heh. I am thinking mooching with live eel or trolling large rapalas. let me know what you guys think?

[Chrome Bumper]

Live eel? Where ya gettin' live eel?

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

Im not sure. never been striper fishing on the west coast. On the east coast they fish with live eel, bunker fish. and cluster(5-10 blood worms on a hook). I looked at the oregon state fishing records, saw that a 60lb striper came out of coo's bay. Looks like there are some big uns in there. And that it isnt a widely practiced fish that is fished.

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

About eel... Ive seen frozen eel in the bait freezer at freddies, i would imagine we can call the bait company and obtain some live eel through them.

[Hogmaster]

Who's Coo?

I didn't know he had a bay! :grin:

Sorry. Mom's upbringing of me got to me again (it isn't proper to be possessive when writing about Coos Bay). Slap me!

But whatever you use in the way of live bait, please just make sure it is indigenous to Coos Bay. Or Coo's Bay if he really has one. :grin: :grin: :grin:

[ 02-25-2004, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: Hogmaster ]

[321mx-r]

Have a buddy that dose some work with the ODFW.And they had some unconfirmed reports of them in the Willamete last year.

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

Stripers in the willamette? thats a bit scary. Ive heard they like to devourge on salmon smolts. Ive also heard of Musky being pulled out of the willmatte near lake oswego.

[OuhtforTrouht]

I believe there's a run of Stripers in the Umpqua River and some of them get pretty big. I've also heard of a small run of them in the Willamette,in fact I believe there was an article written in the Oregonian a number of years ago about them.Not to many people know about them or where to fish for them and those who do have industrial strength zipperlips about them.

[fishingfirst]

You'll likely not get much response. It's a pretty "quiet" fishery. But you are correct use Rapala's or eels, not the real kind but plastic or rubber or whatever they are made from. It is a night time fishery as well. You'll also find that the Smith river is a little better, or it used to be, been a long time since I lived down there. My father-in-law has(had??) the line class record for 4lb line, a 47 lber, it's hanging on my wall, and I have the Field and stream from that year with the article and records, early 70's I believe. Anyway, it was caught from the Coos river while he was shad fishing.

Hope this helped. I would say your best bet would be to contact a guide in that area, I know there are a few that could help.

Scott

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

Fishingfirst....

Would you happen to know whereabouts in Coo's Bay to try for stripers? In the Marshes? And how deep waters? This is completely new to me. I would like enough info to be able to take my boat down there and try my luck at a striper..
Also.. where is the smith river?

[ 02-25-2004, 11:49 PM: Message edited by: ZodiacFisherman ]

[fishingfirst]

Well it has been a long time, but the fishing was in the Coos river, there are two forks to the river, most of the guys put in a Rooke Higgens park (any of the locals can give better directions when you get down there) and trolled that area. The river is all tidewater in this section, so pretty easy boating, also good boat ramps. It is also a great river for shad in May. You can probably get some pretty good info by stopping in at the Surplus center is Coos Bay.
I'm not sure if they still do it, but when I lived down there, I watched Fish and Game stock stripers lower down in the bay. Hopefully they still do, it was an awesome fishery.


The Smith river is north of Coos Bay by Reedsport. I know nothing of the fishery other than reports that I used to hear.

Hope it helps.
Scott

[K sled]

On the Smith and Umpqua rivers, I use Bomber long A plugs, Rapalas, Rebel 5-6".
Cast them out and retrieve them with a jerk. Spinning reel works best for me with 12# line, cause it has a fast retrieve. Use a sardine fillet set on the bottom with a sliding sinker.
You can also use live Pogies.
When fishing at night. Use no lighting, they are really spookie. Best to use an electric motor also.
You can also drift the river above tidewater while casting plugs or plugging.
Best time to fish above tidewater is March and April when salmon and steelhead smelts are coming down river.
They aren't as plentiful as they use to be. The Smith River dumps into the Umpqua at Reedsport.

GOOD LUCK!!

[3riversBob]

This brings back such a rush of memories from when I was kid in Coos Bay. We fished for Stripers by the Menasha pulp mill north of North Bend. We fished low tide in the channels along side the fill road going out to the mill. Casting plugs with a spinning rod. Mom would make up a huge batch of fish-n-chips when we came home with a few. I can still taste it. That of course was back in the '60's. Not sure where to go now. Good luck and let us know if you find any Stripers.

Bob

[Hogmaster]

Hey Zodiac -

Is Coo his first or last name?

I would like to find out more information about his bay! :grin: :grin: :grin:

Just kidding with ya here!

Good luck fishing!

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

Wow...

Thank you everyone for your valuable info.. One last thing. Where would be the place to get live pogies? Also do you recommend that i drift and throw plugs? Or troll with plugs? Also are Stripers shallow water or deep water bottem fish? Sorry about all these questions i keep on asking. Hopefully all this info that has already been posted in this forum will influence others to try their luck at a striper..

Tight Lines. Dylan

[K sled]

Dylan,
Pogies are just what I call bait fish that live in the water that you're fishing in-Bullheads, Catfish, Perch etc. Sometimes you can get live Herring at the docks in Charleston and Winchester Bay. Fish them under a bobber, or without, so they are swimming. Hook them in the top upper lip or through the bottom of the back fin, not through the body so you aren't killing them.
In the upper rivers, look for the Stripers below the rapids, or behind boulders or objects in the water-wherever they can ambush their prey. They can be anywhere from 2 feet or deeper.
I prefer casting plugs so you're not disturbing the water.

Ken
Ken

[Zodiac-Fisherman]

Ken,

Thank you for your valuable info. Im going to head down there in march and see what i can pull up. Ill let you guys know how i did...