Looking for a fishing report

I'm thinking about fishing the NF this weekend an was wondering how fishing had been as of late. Also, this will be my first trip on this river and would love some tips for success.

Start early. It will be hot and sunny.

^^^ What he said. Plus, think "small" OFFerings. Large lures/bait will spook them easily. Good luck.

Fishing has been terrible this year on the north, but your best bet would be up high around packsaddle at first light. I'm done with this river even though it's 5 minutes away. I'm gonna save my time, money, bait and frustration and go to the coast

stinger believer said:

Fishing has been terrible this year on the north, but your best bet would be up high around packsaddle at first light. I'm done with this river even though it's 5 minutes away. I'm gonna save my time, money, bait and frustration and go to the coast

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I'm glad to hear it from someone else. I've hit the river over ten times this year. I get up at 4:30 am to hit the water somewhere before 6am (dragging my gorgeous girl with me so I could show her a good time on the water). I've thrown everything from jigs, spoons, spinners, baits (real and fake), yarn, spin n glos, egg beads, floats, drifts, and plunked from N Santiam state park to Packsaddle and walked upriver and downriver from all the main holes to where people generally don't go and fished the ruffles, behind rocks....not one bite.

All the other fishermen I've talked to haven't caught anything this year and don't know anyone who has.

Got a lot of nice stories from years past and enjoyed quite a bit of fellow fishermen comradery, though. So not a total loss.

Also, when is it a waste of time to be in the middle of the wilderness?

I don't mean waste of time to be out fishing. But I would rather at this point, save 5 trips to the north santiam and make 1 trip to the nestucca instead

stinger believer said:

I don't mean waste of time to be out fishing. But I would rather at this point, save 5 trips to the north santiam and make 1 trip to the nestucca instead

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I was more so expounding upon my own dismal experience.

Never a waste to be out on the water is what I tell myself when I've been skunked time n again.

Three of us spent an evening an half the next day with nothin to show for it. Talked to ten guys and the only fish we saw was from a guy in a drift boat.

North santiam report:
Woke up this morning bright and early thinking about where to hit up the north for steelhead. Thought about it for about an hour and all the trips I've made so far this summer with nothing to show, then I made a tee time for Santiam Golf Club and played 18 holes instead. Most productive Friday I've had all summer. You guys can have that river.