Lewis and Clark

Flying Roast Beef · 10-21-2002, 01:18 PM

Where is this place? Not the park off 84 but the hunting area? And how does it work there? Is it a reservation system or is it a first come first serve type thing? Thank you.

bigshark · 10-21-2002, 04:19 PM

I suppose there is a web sight for refuges but I can't tell you how or where to bring one up. Perhaps someone with better skills can post one. Addressing your specific question the L&C
Refuge is on the lower Columbia R. It starts close to Tongue Point and the area upriver to about Nate Cr. hatchery. It can be accessed from both side of the river but the channel can be very dangerous so pick your side a stay there. I have only launched from the OR side at John Day and upstream at Aldridge Point. P.S. I'm speaking of the John Day River that is close to Astoria, not the one above The Dalles. It's a boat only hunt. Hope this helps a little. It's open seven days a week and there are no reservations. Someday this may change
but I hope its a long time in the future.

[ 10-21-2002, 05:23 PM: Message edited by: bigshark ]

mallard0311 · 10-22-2002, 07:15 PM

If your talking about hunting ducks and geese and I am assuming the lower Sandy River. If that's the case. No reservations, first come. Take Lewis & Clark exit off I-84 and park on the North side of the freeway. You can follow the Sandy River down river to the Columbia or park at East end of off ramp and go in there. It is a long hump and I don't like humping the deeks and gear all that way. My son in law has been averaging 1 duck a trip and it kicks his butt.

Capin' Dan · 10-23-2002, 12:13 AM

Be very very careful when hunting this area. The tide can come in very quick and make getting back to your boat impossible due to the little gullies that fill up on the islands. Been there have the brown shorts to prove it. If you want I will be happy to show it to you and do a hunt or two. You must have a boat. Long decoy lines 10+ feet and heavier type wieghts.
It can be fun if there are enough people or wind to get them moving. Whoops I didn't tell you where it is. Easiest to get there from the Oregon side launch at JOhn Day or Aldrich point. I recommend the John Day Launch. I also highly recommend that you take a ride and look at the area during a low tide as close to zero as you can and then a high tide of around 7.0 to 7.8 to see what is still available and plan your spot based with those levels in mind.

Dan!

[ 10-23-2002, 01:16 AM: Message edited by: Capin' Dan ]

Lured In · 10-23-2002, 07:35 AM

FRB as has been mentioned, there are theoretically two areas with that name. One of which is actually misnamed.

The Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge is down just east of Tongue Point, and given my first experience down there this year, there are good numbers of birds, but heed those warnings. All of the area is open with the exception of two islands. They are listed in the OR bird regs. My advice is that if you are going to hunt here, go in the daylight and make sure you watch the tides until you are familiar enough to go in the dark.

The Lewis and Clark/Oxbow Regional Park area east of the mouth of the Sandy is the other area. There are really only a few places to hunt here, but with some walking and the low water you can walk almost up to Corbett to hunt along the river. I have only had a couple good days there and with the recent Fishing and Hunting lies article, I will probably not hunt there at all this year. I have already seen a dramatic increase in the number of rigs in the two parking lots. The actual hunting area is north and east of the BPA power lines and north of 84. It can be accessed from either the NE Lewis and Clark parking lot next to 84 (on the north side and east of the exit ramp) or from a west bound turnout about a mile west of the Corbett ramp.

Neither of these require reservations and are both open 7 days a week.

Either way, good luck and keep us posted.

skein · 10-23-2002, 07:51 AM

Cap'N or Lured In,

What kind of boat works best in the LC area? Can you get around with a regular sled or do you need something special like a scull boat or a go-devil? I had thought of getting close with my sled, then doing the actual lay-out and hunting from my inflatable which I can tuck up in the weeds.

I've looked at the area some from out on the river, but never had the opportunity to really watch the tide changes. Is it better to plan hunts around the smaller tide exchanges, or do you not worry about the amount of water - just make sure you can get back to your boat?

Sounds like that's an area where, at least the first few times, you might want to go with someone who's been there before. I have LOTS of respect for the big river.

Skein

Bounty Hunter · 10-23-2002, 08:11 AM

Hey Cap D.,

I wouldn't mind taking you up on your 'help the rookie out' offer. I've enjoyed your anecdotes on your lower L&C hunts the past couple of years. I've been wanting to go and I finally got a boat that I am confortable it can handle hunting out there (14 foot Gregor with an 8hp Honda). I know you likes using those 10 footers out there :shocked: , but I wanted to have more freeboard

. LMK if you'd be up for it.

Thanks!
Wade

Lured In · 10-23-2002, 10:55 AM

Skein...that depends on where in L&C you want to hunt. Some take 'duck boats' and drag a layouts or bipod behind. Other have fully camo'ed out duck boat with blinds that they hunt from. You are really not limited by method, only by water depth and where the ducks want to work. My advice is to go scout it out during LOW tide in your sled in the middle of the day(Make a note of how low like a 0 tide or a -1 ft low so you can reference future low tides.). See how much water is around and how much will come in with the tide. For example you can see where the water rises to on the high. So if you see a big 'beach' at low tide, you know that when a 4 foot high comes in, it will be in say 3 feet of water. That should be more than enough to float you sled. The key is to get off that beach before the high runs out. My advice is find a good flat (long gentle slope) at low tide. Plan on anchoring and covering you sled there and hike to the beach to hunt. Just keep in mind that if you are going to leave at high tide you may not be able to get to your boat or decoys. The water level really does swing 3-5 feet or more on the tides so be careful.

If you can camo or cover your boat, hunt from it or your inflatable and you should be good to go.

From what I saw most people are launching at John Day and hunting Cathlamet Bay. Come out of the John day channel and hang a right to get to the bay. Look on a lower river map and you will see what I am talking about. Good luck.

Jellyhead · 10-23-2002, 07:57 PM

Skein,

I have used all methods you asked about. I use the scull boat on days I know I will be in protected water. I would never think of getting in any of the main channels on a iffy day down there with that boat. If it even looks like it will get iffy, I'm heading in. Just not worth it.

I also had a great boat/blind combo (that Drummer/Fisherman now owns) that was great for hunting right out of. It was very deadly. It was a good boat for nasty days, having the blind built right on it to keep the wind and sideways blowing rain off of you. But I was limited with that boat to areas that I knew I could float it in, at least enough to leave when I wanted to.

And I've done the mother-ship/layout thing too. Just make sure you have a rock solid anchor for youre mother ship while you are in you're little layout boat up in the marsh. I often had thoughts of my mother boat drifting off and having to paddle all the way back to the ramp with my layout. Not the best thought to have. But at least I made sure I had an adequet anchor.

One last comment, would be to learn the area with a buddy. And have established names for areas you hunt. The reason I say this, is because I hunt alot down there by myself, and it's nice to have someone who can come looking for you at "pintail point" or "mallard bay" if the worst happens, and at least he will know where to start looking. Just make sure you let someone know where you are going to be hunting at if you go it alone.

It's kinda like the last real duck hunting frontier to me. Tons of spots that would take a lifetime to learn them all.

Aaron

[ 10-23-2002, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: Jellyhead ]

Flying Roast Beef · 10-23-2002, 08:03 PM

Thank you for the input. Sounds like a boat show. I'll have to check it out with a friend of mine I think. I have a drift boat but it's not a Columbia River boat. Thanks guys!

Clarity · 10-24-2002, 01:31 AM

Hi guys, I'm new to the hunting board but I've always wondered about the L&C area. This may seem like a stupid question, but what is the mud like? I mean, if you step out of your boat in 2 feet of water near one of the islands are you going to sink to your neck?

Bounty Hunter · 10-24-2002, 08:04 AM

Good question diamondside.

I've wondered that myself. Any one know?

I wonder if chest waders or something less like hip waders would be best (so you can get out of them). If it's like some of the mud flats on the north Sauvie Island unit lakes, it could be trecherous.

Another reason I've wondered about that is that people talk about watching the high and low tides. Well if I hunt out of a 14' aluminum boat, I figure I can just drag that thing down to the water when it's time to go. However, if the mud's too soft to walk on that might not be an option.

I guess we are talking about a huge area here, so maybe you can't generalize with all the different terains....??

Jellyhead · 10-24-2002, 08:51 AM

There are all kinds of terrain in the whole area. Some areas will have sand bottom, others will be mud. The mud in most places I have hunted was solid. I'm sure there are some areas that aren't. Don't just go bailing out of the boat, without testing the ground first.

I know what you mean about the N. end of Sauvies. I've got a wading boot lost somehwhere in Cunningham lake :depressed:

Also, remember that the L & C has a big tidal influence. All of the water that is on a flat at high tide will flow out through channels. If you are hunting a new area at high tide and wading an unfamiliar area, be careful. Some of the channels can be deep. I've had a couple of close calls with those channels. They'd definitly fill you're waders and make for a cold ride home.

Aaron

Lives_to_fish · 10-24-2002, 12:48 PM

I agree with most of the above views. This is my primary hunting grounds and I really like it. No way I would hunt it with hip waders, unless you like being wet and cold. I have had very few times when I had any problems with deep mud. As far as the outgoing tides, you just have to think ahead. Most of our hunting consists of taking the boat ride out and setting up and hunting off of land with the boat near by. So we keep an eye on the boat and sometimes have to move it a few times when things start to get shallow.
I run a 18’ john boat which works well for getting around in shallow water. There are a few times each year when the wind is really kicking the swells up to 3+ feet that I wish it was a deep V, but not very often.
I have an avery blind, but don’t use it much down there. The boat is just to hard to fully conceal, because most of the vegetation is marsh grass, so the birds can see everything for miles around. If there were more trees… that came down to the water it would be different. A smaller boat or better blind with lots of fast grass would work though. The avery comes in most handy along small rivers like the Willamette… where the boat can tuck in along the bank
One of the best things I ever did, for learning the area, was to get a good map and arieal photos off http://www.terraserver.microsoft.com/ so that I can really understand the layout of the islands.

Sometimes we have gone out and set up, and not done that well right off the bat, but if you pay attention, sometimes you can see where the birds are working and relocate and then things start working.
The birds also tend to work with the tides. When the tides change, so do the flight patterns. You can have great shooting and then the tide will change and it can be all over.
And don’t forget the diver hunts, later in the season.
Well I am starting to feel like I am blabbering on, so I will finish up with this. It is hard work to learn the area, but it is my all time favorite place to hunt.

btw Jellyhead, nice skull. are you doing much skulling, or are you using it more as a layout?

Perfect Drift · 10-24-2002, 06:21 PM

Hunt time question, Do you go at o dark thrity or go with the tides. I have wanted to go there for years now but never could find anyone to tell me the ropes.Do you launch early or with the incoming or outgoing tides. Assuming one knows where the heck they are going.

[ 10-24-2002, 07:26 PM: Message edited by: Kaus ]

Lured In · 10-24-2002, 08:08 PM

WOOHOO... the rig is packed and we are headin' out for L&C tomorrow. :grin: Gonna hit the falling tide (low around 10am) and then the rising tide till around 100pm (high around 3pm). Will post up how we do. 4 guns and two dogs should be fun if the birds cooperate. I am betting on thick fog and light wind based on the forecast.

bigshark · 10-24-2002, 08:46 PM

My experience with time of day Kaus is to go in the early AM on an INCOMING tide. The birds will raft up on the mud flats way out in the afternoons. Yet if its calm the will stay rafted some times even when they are then afloat. When the wind blows they seem to move all the time no matter the time of day. But the incoming tide in the morning with wind or fog is always a sure winner for us.

Jellyhead · 10-24-2002, 09:10 PM

LTF,

Thanks for the comments on the sculler. I sculled up those geese in the early season down towards L&C.

Sculling is murder on early season geese. So far, I've been using the sculler to lay out for ducks in the marsh. I haven't had a chance to scull it yet for ducks, because they have been decoying so well. Maybe this weekend if the wind is calm.

How did the whole thing work out with your boat, after the wreck and factory defects and all?

Aaron

Capin' Dan · 10-26-2002, 11:20 PM

Guys in answer to the mud thing. I can be down right nasty in some of the little gulllies on the islands. What I do is send my lab on ahead of me and see how far he goes down and then work from that. If he is up to his belly in mud I don't cross in that area. Sometimes its sandy sometimes its hip deep in mud. It is always good to have a buddy when hunting this area.

Dan!

Lured In · 10-28-2002, 07:41 AM

Well we had a great time and my dad and brother got lots of shooting, but not too many ducks.

They had a great time and we did not see another soul or even hear a shot.

Definitely seemed to be fewer birds, but that could be a function of both a lack of hunting pressure and weather (light wind) to move the birds.

Saw a lot fewer pinnies and tons of widgeon. No where near as many mallards too. The birds were either red hot on the dekes or didn't look at all. A little more wind and an earlier high tide would have been awesome.

All in all it was a great time and its always fun to get your family into some good shooting.