Mckenzie River

try drifting some sandshrimp or eggs and small corkies.


HC

Its combat fishing at its finest but the fish are there and they are biting. In the pressure hole use just a small corkie. There will be bank fishers all over the place. If you are just going to greenwood drive there's some awesome holes down below where bait works really well. I'd go with sand shrimp, either drifted or on a diver

How many Ifishers fish the McKenzie anyhow? I'm out there all the time and have yet to officially bump in to any?

About the McKenzie drift, not a bad one, tons of pressure. Just look for good holes and the fish will more than likely be in there. Diver and bait work exceptionally well...

oregonwrestler

I will be there thursday and saturday along with 1000 of my best friends, I will be launching at the leaburg dam. Are you going to be there Oregonwrestler? Let me know.
DM

I'm one of the million people up there too. I'm drifting Friday afternoon. Hopefully things will pick up this week after it being rather slow last week.

Mrduckman and fellow respondees, thanks for the replies. My fellow Marine and I drifted from Leaburg Dam to the Leaburg Ramp yesterday starting at 16:00 and my partner slammed a nice 18Lb springer out of the second hole down from the dam with the logs sitting on top of the big rocks with a herring wrapped K-14 silver/lime Kwikee! We saw a few fish rolling in the majority of the deep salmon holes on the rest of the trip but no luck. Every DB we talked to had no luck so I think my partner flailed his fish into submission with that quickee! We used diver/bait, plugs and spinners but couldn't catch another one. Unfortunatly we did'nt have time to really work the holes the way they should have with the length of the drift and our limited time so we had to hustle down the river. We are floating again with my partner's dad's DB early thurs morning in in a brand new 16ft. silver Koffler, wood oars and 3 knuckleheads! Hope to see ya out there.
Semper Fi!

Picked up three salmon Friday afternoon, one native. Plan to fish the river 4 days starting on Sunday, provided there is a place to drop the hook. Doesn't anyone work anymore? I have to figure something else out, the fun is rapidly going down hill with all the presure on the river.
Don't say hi, don't stop just give me my 3 square feet of river to fish. However, look for the boat with the blue cooler in the back of the boat if you want a cold one. My success has been on small egg clusters.

[ 06-04-2003, 10:13 AM: Message edited by: northriver1 ]

You can thank guru's like Scott Haugen for advertising this river. Expect the crowds to get worse as more and more info comes. Wait until we have ten 25' sleds racing up and down just like the clack. It's legal just not looked upon as very courteous. My 2 cents... I'm fishing there Thursday.

I've fished it for over 15 yrs, and it was crowded then. Cold water, back bounced baits work best IMO.

Good to see it open to springers again.

Good Luck

GRB

well, unfortunately i wont be able to make it out there until at least the weekend. but even then, i might bow out to the crowds. generally when i'm fishin up there, i start out tryin to fool a steely with my fly rod up near the "waterfall" hole. If that doesn't work, then I'll go down and throw elbows and show the guys down by the "beach hole" and the "pressure hole" how to catch fish. occasionally i get to drift with a couple of friends of mine when i get the chance. oh ya, if you see a guy with a grey fishing vest and some camoflauge denier waders, come say hi.

starting next week, i'll be out there nearly everyday (or the mid fork).

oregonwrestler

I have fished the mac for 20 years and like you say this time of the year you have to have your own rock to anchor with or get on the river a 1-2 in the morning and camp in your boat to get one of the prime holes. I have of lat got tired of the crowds and started fishing some of the lower sections and have been doing Quiet well for steel head and a few salmon. there are other option. Good luck to everyone.

I used to fish the McKenzie till I figurred out it sucks. It only has the illusion of being a nice pristine river but it's not. It's the rude rude fisherman, the dam dams, the canals, EWEB and the methers. Add it all up and you've got a river that once was. I bet it was cool in 1643. Not much you can do about it, being so close to a major population center and all. Or is there. There has to be. :depressed:

If you want to go fish the McKenzie go fish the Umpqua.

I have been fishing the maksince about 88 for salmon and steelhead there is a heck of a lot of pressure up there, but if you use your head they dont bother you much. the holes have changed a bit and some dont fish as well since the floods of 96 and 97 but there is still a lot of beautifull water there. heck I usually dont put on untill 9:00 or 10:00am that give time for all the boat racers get down river then I just work the water over really hard I usually get my fish if there are any around..long lite leaders and the smallest corkie you can get or no corkie at all seems to work the best for me.

mrduckman,

anytime you need a friend along to take a drift down the ol' mckenzie let me know. i'll be more than willing to join you if i can. that goes for anyone here on ifish as i have yet to meet anyone else out there from ifish...

oh ya, forgot to mention that you may see me on a blue water skeeter pontoon boat here soon as its starting to warm!

oregonwrestler

Does'nt anyone work anymore!!! That's for you Northriver1.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">ANYMORE??? He hasn't worked for as long as I have known him. Gives a whole new meaning to "bankers hours".

Good luck to you guys this weekend! :cheers:

nope, mrduckman, that wasn't me. wish it was cause i've been to darn busy with school work lately. i was wanting to get out this weekend, but i dont want to fight the "free fishing" crowds. probably a good time to hunker down for finals week anyhow...

oregonwrestler

fishing the mckenzie is great but not this weekend ..too many bone heads i will be in winchester bay on 6 7 be in the LUCKY DUCK if ya see us wave or give a holler M. C. :grin:

Oregonwrestler,
When was the last time you floated it in a blue skeeter pontoon, Because I gave a guy a ride back to the dam on thursday with a blue pontoon, was that you?
KGS,I am running from the dam down to the town of leaburg on saturday a long with 2500 of my best friends. Went 1 for 2 on steelies but no chinook on thursday. Was at the ramp at o'dark thirty and there must of been a bakers dozen of boats in front of me. Does'nt anyone work anymore!!! That's for you Northriver1. I am patiently waiting to go to Winchester in 2 weeks. :dance: :cheers: :dance:
DM