I have a question about Whitaker.

Hello everyone.
I am new to this part of the siuslaw. I have never fished for steelies at whittaker. So I have some questions.
Where is a good hole to throw a line in. Are there any fish being caught on the slaw?
I drove past there today and the water looked pretty good....not too high...not too low.
It looked cold lol.
So my other question is what should i throw at them? Im new to jig fishing so specifics would be great.
Thanks everybody.
Dale

Its not that great of float water, there are some spots but not many. Most people dredge the bottom with drift gear. Good luck!

Annnnd with all the rain we are currently getting, plus snow melt, its gonna be out of shape for most of the week.

when the water is good its like a zoo there......there is so much good fishable water below!!...

yea, i just dont know where to go. I like the siuslaw for salmon in the fall...but im clueless to steelies in the winter. the siuslaw is just alittle closer to me. I hear the alsea is also a good place to go. I know with this rain, rivers will be high for a while. I plan on fishing a whole bunch this year...i just want to do my homework before i head out. the rest i can figure out. if anybody wants to split the bill for gas someday...id love to head out.
Thanks,
Dale

The alsea is good but unless you know of some good holes it a zoo on hatchery road. I have seen 16 guys fishing the meat hole by the hatchery on a week day. Its like a 30ft section of river. Lol. Whitaker is good, just fish down river from the line-up of people and you will find some good water.

so thing i was wondering about whitaker...is which hole should i try? There is a spot by that bridge...then there is another spot on the right side of 126. Its a pull out, not too far away from the tunnel. which of those seem like a better hole to fish.
thanks,
Dale

salmon_slayer87 said:

so thing i was wondering about whitaker...is which hole should i try? There is a spot by that bridge...then there is another spot on the right side of 126. Its a pull out, not too far away from the tunnel. which of those seem like a better hole to fish.
thanks,
Dale

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When i fish there i go early and fish the first pull out about 200 yards down river from all of the yahoos fishing by the bridge. Last time i went there we had four people, 3 of us tagged out and my dad( who couldnt catch a cold) lost 3 fish because he never sets his hook.
The far side of the river has a good slot for float fishing and the middle section has a rock grade that is great for spinners, and drift fishing.
Best part is theres only enough bank access for 4 guys max so no one usually invades your spot. Good luck. Hopefully i didn't start a rat race there.

haha maybe next time a PM lol. but thanks man.

salmon_slayer87 said:

haha maybe next time a PM lol. but thanks man.

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Haha, i thought about it, but that whole area is far from a secret. Hints the " get there early part". I usually show up 30 mins before daylight and get any spot i want. Except one chinease man last year was always in my spot super early. I think he camped there or something because he would have a fire going with a lawn chair and a tarp across some trees when it was raining. Lol.
He was cool though and let me fish next to him and keep warm by his fire. Never did see him ever get a bite but he was almost always there. I felt bad because we would limit in 3 or 4 hours and he would get skunked. But he was a plunker so that was probably why (roll eyes )

If you see a pull out I have a feeling it might be a place to catch a steelhead. I use to do the bank thing and had great luck. I enjoy the adventure of finding a spot never fished by me and try to figure out the puzzle. Some of the better holes on that stretch you are talking about can be fished from the bank. I would spend a day going from one pull out to the next and have fun fishing. I personally caught a lot of steel jig fishing through the Whitaker stretch, but that all depend on water level etc. Good luck!!!

Tred said:

If you see a pull out I have a feeling it might be a place to catch a steelhead. I use to do the bank thing and had great luck. I enjoy the adventure of finding a spot never fished by me and try to figure out the puzzle. Some of the better holes on that stretch you are talking about can be fished from the bank. I would spend a day going from one pull out to the next and have fun fishing. I personally caught a lot of steel jig fishing through the Whitaker stretch, but that all depend on water level etc. Good luck!!!

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thank you sir, I can't wait for these extremely high rivers to drop, so we can all get to fishing. lol