Have you ever fished the Powder River? (the actual river)

raptorschild · 01-31-2010, 09:08 AM

My last couple trips to Brownlee has had me wondering if the meandering part of the Powder River along the road to Richland has any fish to offer. It gets muddy, but I've seen it clear, and it looks like great trout or smallmouth water. Anyone try it?

DogZilla15 · 01-31-2010, 01:58 PM

Yes, right below Thief Valley Res. in early spring.

This is probably the most polluted (ranching runoff) stream in N. America. Disgusting to say the least. I'm sure trout can be caught if the water is somewhat high but nothing to get excited about. Has potential but not till the cattle are kept away from the stream bank.

Oregon-Jet · 01-31-2010, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DogZilla15

Yes, right below Thief Valley Res. in early spring.

This is probably the most polluted (ranching runoff) stream in N. America. Disgusting to say the least. I'm sure trout can be caught if the water is somewhat high but nothing to get excited about. Has potential but not till the cattle are kept away from the stream bank.

It also has the highest population of rattle snakes at time.

raptorschild · 01-31-2010, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oregon-Jet

It also has the highest population of rattle snakes at time.

Hmmmmm.....snakes and polution....
So what you guys are telling me is that fishing the river is insanely good and the bass and trout taste amazing?

I was thinking the stretch that is about 10-15 miles out of Richland. It just looks way to fishy to not have anything living in it.

elcsports · 01-31-2010, 08:42 PM

If you are fishing the Power River, check out all of the little coves and main points in the spring.. Crappie and bass are going to be starting the spawn. There is a bunch of great points when you launch from Richland, OR. The bank directly across from the ramp is a good spot to start. There are lots of little fishing huts around the arm that have some brush piles on the front of them that hold lots of crappie and bass. The back lake just west of the ramp is good for bass and crappie. The first main point to the west is a good starting point. Use your depth finder to see where the bait is holding and you will find the fish. Usually 5-15 ft in the spring and 15-35 ft in the summer. Good luck....

codeman · 02-01-2010, 06:09 AM

i only fished the actual river once when coming home from a trip to oxbow. It was pretty hot out, early june. Because of all the moss and weeds in the water, we couldnt really throw crank baits or jigs. All we had with us that could work was small panther martins, 1/16 oz i believe. We absolutely killed the smallmouth. Nothing big, but me and my buddy caught right around 200 in about 2 hours. everytime youd retreive, dozens of little bass would come out from everywhere and fight to be the first one to hit the spinner. The water was pretty stinky, not real easy to fish. It was ok, but wouldnt bother with it again. Just head down to oxbow, you'll catch just as many bass, and they'll be ALOT bigger.

Hunt'nFish · 02-02-2010, 09:43 AM

I've never fished the lower Powder, but when I was a kid we used to slam some nice trout up higher. Below Phillips Res use to treat us very well.
Hunt'nFish

Blacktailfiend · 02-02-2010, 12:35 PM

Quite a few years back me and a buddy stopped to take a look at one of the pulloffs and we could see some pretty nice trout.(12-15 inches) made a few casts at them with crappie gear but no dice. I know if you go where it dumps into the flats you can usually catch some decent trout there in the summer so I don't see why there wouldn't be a bunch up the river.