Mary's River Fishing

Yes, people fish the Marys River. Go above Philomath and you'll find cutthroat trout. In the Corvallis area, it's warm water fish.

Some good sized trout are in there around Philomath and above.

Great. I'll get myself down there for sure. I guess that makes sense that Mary's in the the Willamette zone since it feeds into it.

i was wondering about this as well. is there anywhere to access the river above philomath on hwy 20? since the river is the only one close to me open in winter it would be saving me gas if i can find a place worth tryin there that isn't slack water

Well I do intend on hitting the mouth of the Mary's this weekend to see what I can come up with as far as scaled friends go. I will post a report. I am still learning the area but I am going to go from probably Avery park to the mouth

There's not a whole lot of bank access near the mouth. But, as Smallstreams suggested, you'll find warmwater fish in there. A dude caught a 50 lb. cat in there a few years ago. I've also heard of sturgeon lumbering about too. It's VERY murky and discolored.

We fished around Avery Park quite awhile ago....wasn't impressed. Hard to get to the water and it just seemed yuck.....thats just my opinion.

lilsalmon said:

We fished around Avery Park quite awhile ago....wasn't impressed. Hard to get to the water and it just seemed yuck.....thats just my opinion.

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People float it in canoes above philomath. There is a lot more gradient from Mid Philomath on up. Ive caught some lunker trout out of that thing and Greasy Creek back in high school when I used to attack the creeks.

Never been above Philomath....have to try that out some day.

lilsalmon said:

We fished around Avery Park quite awhile ago....wasn't impressed. Hard to get to the water and it just seemed yuck.....thats just my opinion.

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Well, I was gonna keep that to myself...but, that's my opinion of it too. There is NO part of the Avery Park area, nor the mouth, that has ever made me want to fish it. And, I've lived here for over 50 years!

Oh, and I used to wade it all of the time around Philomath (and once was a certified member of the occasional "splash n' giggle" crowd). I fished it, swam in it, etc. from between Corvallis & Philomath (to the east), on up to the Hwy. 20/34 split on the west end of Philomath. Don't waste your time with any of those areas either! At least go past Philomath (i.e. Wren or farther), if you want some glimmer of decent trout action.

You can get from Corvallis to Wren, in about 20 to 25 minutes or so. And in those upper stretches, wet flies are a "go to" method. It's inhabited mostly by cutties, with an occasional 'bow in the faster water. Of course, traditional spin tackle/bait also work too.

Yeah TD is right on that!

And RWS is right about upper Greasy Creek too (and trib of the Mary's that flows along Hwy. 34 out towards Alsea). Nice 'bows up there! But, don't forget to ask landowner permission.

lilsalmon said:

Never been above Philomath....have to try that out some day.

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we will for sure! me and dad plan to...we should plan a trip after it rains. i recieved a pm from someone on a good area to try

Sounds like the upper stretches are the way to go. Anyone know of a decent place to access the bank up there? That's close to the road.

I might wander out there on Tuesday and just check it out......good time to scout it out after my interview. Will let you know what I find.

(first post and yes I know this is an older thread) I live on Marys River above Wren and my 8yo girl catches trout quite often. They're not big, but definitely legal. Between crawdads and trout, she catches her own dinner pretty often. There are a few bridges where people could fish, but it's mostly private property above Philomath. The water is very clear and plenty of shallow rocky areas mixed with deeper pools. There are 5 bridges on Harris road, and plenty of Starker owned land you can get permission to use for free. It's rugged terrain, but you could follow the tracks for a real "Stand By Me" experience.

Since you're above Wren, perhaps you know whether there is a falls and how tall they are? I've heard from kayakers that there is one, a couple miles south of Hwy 20, but never confirmed it.

Good question- I'll ask around. I don't go very far in that direction because it gets far from the road. Here's a video I made of the January flood though: http://youtu.be/wl1jBBkTSjU

Archer762 said:

There are 5 bridges on Harris road, and plenty of Starker owned land you can get permission to use for free. It's rugged terrain, but you could follow the tracks for a real "Stand By Me" experience.

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Welcome to OFF.

Starker Forest Products office, is on the south side of Hwy. 20/34 (also called Philomath Blvd), just before you go over the rise and down into Philomath. You can go there, and obtain a permit (free, I believe). The Starkers and their staff are very nice folks (client's of mine).