Sandy slaughter

Why does it feel like this river is being overtaken by flossers and snaggers with 6ft leaders and a shred of yarn or essentially tossing a hunk of lead with treble hooks and dredging the bottom? I can't go on the water above Oxbow without seeing these guys everywhere. And it seems that they tend to be the "friendliest" guys on the water trying to befriend you and somehow attempting to justify their techniques through idle chat.

Sorry, felt like venting.... Probably because I've been getting skunked hardcore and I see these d-bags walking out with fish.

I share your pain.. I live 10mins from great holes on the Sandy and Clackamas.. and rather drive 2 hours to fish a river free of scum of our sport.

Thats one of the reasons i stopped going to those holes. I as well only live a few miles from some great spots. Now i just avoid them and fish from troutdale to oxbow.

I fished Dodge park yesterday for the first time. It was my first time ever on the Sandy. There were 8 of us on the gravel bar. 2 guys were tossing out what looked to be small spinners and let them set in the slower water( there wasn't enough current to really drift a spinner). They were doing an awful lot of hook sets compared to everyone else. Not sure if they were trying to snag, but I have never seen anyone fish spinners that way.
Todd

too many peole hard up for a fish,its a shame

My last 2 trips were the same way! I could not even get a good float on my bobber rod, throw spinners, or dift fish correctly! Except these guys had more like 8 to 10' leaders! I am seeking new river destinations this year! I hiked over 2 miles below and 2 miles above Dodge and still was seeing anglers! Last year I did not see anyone in these holes! God forbid going to Cedar creek if these holes are packed I could imagine what its like.

I made it out there yesterday for the first time this year. Fished from 4:30 to dark. Hiked past 4 guys that were either spinner fishing or bobber fishing. Had the lower hole to myself (fishingfreak knows the hole). Saw probably over 100 fish roll, but most looked like dark springers and jacks? I only saw one nice chrome larger fish roll. Nothing for me either, thought I had one on but it was just some old line that my spinner caught. And a branch.

I feel all of your pain. I am new to fishing rivers in the PNW, and I have never seen anything like what I have been seeing for the last three weeks fishing on the Sandy. I can't believe the amount of trash that these Sandy River Angles leave behind. I guess I will probably never need to buy any pre-tied leaders ever again, since I must have picked up thee dozen of them just on the banks around Dodge Park and the holes up steam. That place with the parking lot up the road from Dodge is the worst.

I even hiked down to Cedar Creek from the hatchery. What a nightmare. I should have known when I saw that the parking lot was full.

But...


I have found that there is another river that dumps into the Sandy at Dodge park that indeed does have fish in it. You just have to hike a ways, and you'll see them stacked up in the normal places fish stack up in rivers. No scumbags around either. But, shhhh... Don't tell anyone.

Otto said:

.........I have found that there is another river that dumps into the Sandy at Dodge park that indeed does have fish in it. You just have to hike a ways, and you'll see them stacked up in the normal places fish stack up in rivers. No scumbags around either. But, shhhh... Don't tell anyone.

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There is a reason no fishermen are up there.... Check the regulations!

GDBrown said:

There is a reason no fishermen are up there.... Check the regulations!

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You know I thought that too but I can't find anything in the regs that says you can't fish it. Did it change this year?

Bull Run River up to watershed boundary (Clackamas Co.)
• Open for adipose fin-clipped Chinook salmon, adipose fin-clipped coho salmon, and adipose fin-clipped steelhead entire year.
• Closed between markers 100 feet upstream from and 100 feet downstream from PGE powerhouse.
• Use of bait allowed.

Sandy River (Multnomah/Clack. Co.):
1. Mainstem and tributaries upstream to ODFW markers at the mouth of Salmon River
• Open for adipose fin-clipped steelhead entire year.
• Open for adipose fin-clipped Chinook salmon Feb. 1-Oct. 31.
• Open for adipose fin-clipped coho salmon entire year.
• Closed within 200 feet of Chinook salmon spawning areas located in Oxbow Park where posted by ODFW markers Sept. 16-Nov. 15.
• No angling from a floating device upstream from a point that is 200 feet below the Oxbow Park boat ramp.
• Use of bait allowed.

Modest_Man said:

Bull Run River up to watershed boundary (Clackamas Co.)

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I read in a fishing book that this is about the first mile of the river up from the mouth. So if that's correct you can fish BR River up from the Sandy R for about a mile.

I was at Cedar Creek Saturday and Dodge Sunday. No one was catching except the flossers. There were fish rolling everywhere! Cedar creek Saturday was the worst angling experience I've ever had. I got there at 5:30 to stake out a spot but was bumping shoulders and snagging other guy's lines by 7 as they all moved in and set their hooks every 5 seconds. I left by 8 because it was so ridiculous out there. I probably won't go back until all the fair-weather fisherman are gone.

you can fish bull run up to the first dam. which is the watershed boundary. (have fun hiking that) with exception of the 100 feet above and below the old powerhouse.

Hurts me reading about what Cedar Creek fishery has turned into. Ever since the flood of 96 this place has been abused. I've watched snaggers over the years in the big hole and never was it as bad as it is now ......remember when you had to cross the whole river to get to the fish?.. I will leave this place to all the hammerholes and remember the good ole days when I would drive my Jeep all the way down to the bottom of the hill....boy that was fun too!

Unfortunately, I think the upper Sandy has become a breeding ground for questionable techniques due to the accessibility and the well known Coho run. I speculate that there are many “new-to-salmon-fishing” folks going there trying to figure out how to catch a fish and when they find themselves unsuccessful with the “accepted” techniques, they begin to alter to mimic those they see catching fish not necessarily realizing (or caring) about the shady means. In addition, if they know the guys standing next to them don’t have a problem keeping a snagged hatchery fish, they might find themselves justifying it as well. When in Rome…..

I got a several questions on this subject, I hope that others, who are in the know, will chime in!! I did all my fishing up in Alaska before we moved to Oregon. This business of "flossing" is a new one on me. I too use a leader 4 feet all longer sometimes when I retrieve plugs. I don't want to do anything unethical. IMHO snagging is not as easy as it sounds, the river has to be really packed with fish before the snagger would have any success. I sure don't see such a density of fish in Oregon waters. But I truly dislike people who ignore our laws.

One more question: is it really such a long hike down to the mouth of the Cedar Creek and Sandy? My knee really bothers me lately and I don't know if I could hack the hike.

With this kind of undisciplined crowd, this coho run doesn't have much of a chance of surviving. Heck, it's just down the road from the hatchery, why don't they have more of ODFW people down there catching the law breakers?

AlaskaKid said:

I got a several questions on this subject, I hope that others, who are in the know, will chime in!! I did all my fishing up in Alaska before we moved to Oregon. This business of "flossing" is a new one on me. I too use a leader 4 feet all longer sometimes when I retrieve plugs. I don't want to do anything unethical. IMHO snagging is not as easy as it sounds, the river has to be really packed with fish before the snagger would have any success. I sure don't see such a density of fish in Oregon waters. But I truly dislike people who ignore our laws.

One more question: is it really such a long hike down to the mouth of the Cedar Creek and Sandy? My knee really bothers me lately and I don't know if I could hack the hike.

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The way I see it, when you look at the "parts" that go into Flossing, individually, not so bad. But it's a matter of intent by the fisherman to use a combination of "accepted" techniques to catch a fish that is neither attracted by bait or reacting by instinct. For example, drifting is an accepted method, long leaders are acceptable in many cases and using yarn-only can be very effective. Even when combining all of those things, one could argue that they are fishing by accepted means until.... you start hook setting on every cast. These guys are drifting these long leaders across the bottom of river hoping the leader lays in the fish's mouth and then yank back hooking the fish on the outside of the mouth. Retaining fish that are hooked in that manner is illegal. Their intention is illegal. A lot of times, the fish gets snagged somewhere other than around the mouth. I see this as a sophisticated way of snagging.

Some holes will hold enough fish that if you drag a Buzz Bomber across the bottom enough times, you have a decent chance of snagging a fish. I've seen a guy around Dodge Park do this more than once (snagging in the belly and keeping the fish).

AlaskaKid said:

With this kind of undisciplined crowd, this coho run doesn't have much of a chance of surviving. Heck, it's just down the road from the hatchery, why don't they have more of ODFW people down there catching the law breakers?

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it is not ODFWs job anymore . the law enforcement end of their job was handed
over to the OSP .
i do see OSP at a few of the upper holes , but not often enough .
if ODFW personnel see violators , they can call OSP and report violations , but not detain violators .