Salmon River(Sandy basin) question

02-12-2002, 05:37 PM

Can anyone tell me if there will ever be a summer steelhead fishery above Marmot Dam and/or in the Salmon River on Mount Hood? Thru the 80's and 90's, I had many great days steelhead fishing on the Salmon. I understand the native restoration projects but can't we still have summer run fish up there to catch? Does anyone have any good stories of summer fishing on the Salmon? Because I have a million! I always enjoyed driving up above to get away from the crowds on the Sandy. I'm upset that this fishery has been taken from me; can anyone explain?

Bryan · 02-12-2002, 06:18 PM

Short answer is no. But here's the kicker... According to the experts there are NO indigenous summer steelhead in the upper Sandy and other tributaries. ODFW are intercepting all hatchery fish at Marmot Dam and recycling them to Lewis and Clark boat launch. The ODFW will allow "native" summers (read: fish from hatchery ancestors) to pass the dam. The upper Sandy and beyond is closed to "targeting" salmon and steelhead but you can fish for trout... Read into that what you will! All I can say is use a stiff trout rod. I don't think it's restricted to artificial lures only, but I am not 100% sure. My guess is that they will not open the upper basin to fishing for summer steelhead or winter fish for that matter becasue they will not allow hatchery fish to pass the dam. :depressed:

Two summers ago I caught and released a beautiful 40" summer steelhead :grin: just below the dam. It was the most amazing fish... I caught it in the beginning of August. It hit a #3 brass Blue Fox as the lure hit the water behind an exposed rock.
Anyway that is the short story about my fish... I mean about the summer steelhead above the dam.

Bryan

Steelie Ben · 02-12-2002, 10:40 PM

My Grandmother owned some property about a mile above wildwood right one the river, my dad has since bought this land from her. I am 22 and have been fishing that river for a good 18 years, I caught my first trout there. I was really irritated that they closed the upper river to all hatchery fish.

I have caught only one non-clipped fish my entire life fishing up there. I think that it was a hatchery fish due to the severly damaged dorsal fin. :shocked: I have had many days fishing for summers up there where my buddy and I would hook 10 or more fish in a single day. The biggest we ever got was one that went about 15#, it was an amazing day when that happened. The weather had turned dark and it started to pour, the slot we were fishing was not more than 10'x20' in dimensions. As soon as it started to rain fish began to pour through the riffle below the slot filling it to the max, the smaller fish were getting pushed to the shallow side of the slot. We started drifting a shrimp tail through there and we hooked up on 17 consecutive casts, the biggest being the 15#er. We both left with our two chrome bright steelhead and memories that the ODFW can't take away. :grin:

02-13-2002, 06:27 PM

Thanx dudes. I get it now. Yeah I too have memories from up there that ODFW cant take away either. Thanx again!

Leatherneck · 02-13-2002, 07:30 PM

I have so many memories on the salmon river.I did all of my fishing above the wooden bridge at wildwood recreation park.I Would get there at 2am and walk that trail about half mile up to the main hole called the metzger hole named after the sports caster rick metzger. Jim teeny would often fish there. It was fun watching him put a clinic on those summerfish with his nymphs. That was back in the early 80's. Go up there in sept and watch the springers its pretty amazing.

02-16-2002, 08:39 AM

anyone else?

fishbait · 02-16-2002, 02:35 PM

Many mornings, chargers and crawdad tails, 4 or 5 fish within the first hour or two, 5-6 wt fly rod blank tied as ultra lite spin. ........ great fun.. Quit not long after Steve sold to Rick M.

Steelie Ben · 02-16-2002, 10:19 PM

My dad property is right above metzgers old house, he just built a huge new log house right on the banks of "his" hole. I remember one day there was about ten guys fishing Metzgers hole, Metzger had been complaining about snagging there cause the fish were just stacked like cordwood. True there were a few fish snagged but when there is 300 fish in a little hole its hard not to foul hook one every now and then. Anyways, my dad was fishing and I was watching cause it was so crowded I didn't want to mess everones line up(I was only about 6 at this time). A couple of the guys heard a rustle in the bushes on the top of the cliff on the other side of the river, about five seconds later a ODFW officer plummeted off the cliff right into the middle of the pool. :shocked: He had been up there watching for someone to take a foul hooked fish. Well he swam over to our side, climbed out of the water and jogged down the trail without saying a word to any of us.

After he had gone the hole place errupted in laughter, it was histerical. :grin: Some of you may have heard this story and thought it was just that but I can vouch as an eye witness as to what happened.

02-16-2002, 11:28 PM

Steely Ben that is one of the most outrageous and comical stories i have ever heard!!!!! I believe it too. Can you please elaborate? I totally know that cliff on the other side of the Metezger hole. I love it !!!! Thanx man. Please lets hear more about that!!!