Another (soon-to-be) new arrival to Oregon

[Midgie Hater]

Hi Folks.

Thought I should post and introduce myself. My name's Les Hudson. I currently live in Scotland (born in England but lived up here for over 20 years) but will be moving to Oregon (somewhere east or south-east of Portland) hopefully by the Summer. We're looking at places on the outskirts of Gresham, or preferably further out - maybe Boring, Damascus or Sandy. Not too far away from the city as my wife works there.

I'm a fly fisher, mainly for trout here in Scotland but i'm very keen to get into salmon and steelhead fishing once I get there. Seems if we do settle in that area (it's likely) my local river will be the Sandy. Obviously it's a bit early to be asking for detailed advice and to look for folks to meet up with but I didn't want to register on the forum and stay quiet until I arrive in the NW. Besides, forewarned is forearmed as the saying goes so i'll certainly be asking a few general questions about the fishing in the area - especially stuff like regulations, where it's legal to fish once you have the required licence, endorsement and tags/s (obviously i've done a bit of research and downloaded the Oregon regulations and info. on the Williamette Zone too). A brief scan of the forum shows me there's already a lot of useful info so i'll be ploughing through that too!

I'm also a very keen backpacker, hiker and mountain climber - albeit we don't have anything the size of Mt. Hood here, but I have done some alpine-style stuff in the past so maybe one day However, on the hiking and backpacking thing i'm really hoping to get into Oregon's wilds with a travel fly rod so that'll be something else i'll be asking about in due course as it's one issue that the regs. don't seem to shed much light on as far as I can see

So, I look forward to interacting with you all, and eventually putting faces to names once I move to your amazing State!

Thanks folks.

Les H

 

[eugene1]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on making the future move to god's country!

I have a friend who is a professor in Edinburgh. He doesn't care for the area or the weather there.

Best,

 

[Raincatcher]

Welcome to the forum! :thumb: You can check the regulations here: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/fishing/index.asp#rules
Be aware that you are required to be a resident for six months before acquiring your resident license but you can also get the day to day tags until you qualify. Sandy is a great little town, but it does snow quite a bit there. Best of fishing to you and safe travel.

 

[JonT]

Welcome to the forum! I'll be making the move to Hood River in a few weeks. Pretty exciting.

 

[eugene1]

Non resident annual is also available. That's what I did. More money than a res. but if you fish a lot it's worth it.

Be aware that you are required to be a resident for six months before acquiring your resident license but you can also get the day to day tags until you qualify.

 

[bigsteel]

Hi Folks.

Thought I should post and introduce myself. My name's Les Hudson. I currently live in Scotland (born in England but lived up here for over 20 years) but will be moving to Oregon (somewhere east or south-east of Portland) hopefully by the Summer. We're looking at places on the outskirts of Gresham, or preferably further out - maybe Boring, Damascus or Sandy. Not too far away from the city as my wife works there.

I'm a fly fisher, mainly for trout here in Scotland but i'm very keen to get into salmon and steelhead fishing once I get there. Seems if we do settle in that area (it's likely) my local river will be the Sandy. Obviously it's a bit early to be asking for detailed advice and to look for folks to meet up with but I didn't want to register on the forum and stay quiet until I arrive in the NW. Besides, forewarned is forearmed as the saying goes so i'll certainly be asking a few general questions about the fishing in the area - especially stuff like regulations, where it's legal to fish once you have the required licence, endorsement and tags/s (obviously i've done a bit of research and downloaded the Oregon regulations and info. on the Williamette Zone too). A brief scan of the forum shows me there's already a lot of useful info so i'll be ploughing through that too!

I'm also a very keen backpacker, hiker and mountain climber - albeit we don't have anything the size of Mt. Hood here, but I have done some alpine-style stuff in the past so maybe one day However, on the hiking and backpacking thing i'm really hoping to get into Oregon's wilds with a travel fly rod so that'll be something else i'll be asking about in due course as it's one issue that the regs. don't seem to shed much light on as far as I can see

So, I look forward to interacting with you all, and eventually putting faces to names once I move to your amazing State!

Thanks folks.

Les H

welcome les!!great to have another fly fisherman around here!

 

[troutdude]

What? You're not a carp fisherman? I thought that carp angling, in England, was the equivalent to our Steelhead fishing?

:yikes: :lol:

I'm sure that, you'll like it a lot here in my home state. You won't be far, from the Clackamas and the mouth of the Deschutes too. Some good fly fishing, for trout, in the upper Clack tribs too.

Welcome aboard!

 

[troutmasta]

Welcome Les-

I'm not an avid fly fisher but I am a die hard angler and am positive you will love our beautiful counrty in the NW. There are a ton of very experianced fly anglers on the forum and

many folks looking to help out newcomers to the area.

Good luck with the rest of your move, and have a safe trip!

Cheers!

 

[rogerdodger]

welcome to OFF! you are going to love Oregon, my wife and I have visited Scotland twice, parts of coastal Oregon are similar to the Highlands, other parts of Oregon totally different...we even have been making plans to walk the West Highland Way on a future trip...you are going to love the fishing here, steelhead and salmon on a fly rod! and great hiking all over.

one quick tip to understanding the regulations: they basically come in 4 "layers": General, Zone, Special, and mid-year updates...each one over-rules the previous if it modifies something. So the General applies everywhere, then if the Zone makes a change, it takes over for that item, then if there are Special Regs for the specific body of water that change anything, that takes over, again just for the item addressed. and then if they issure a mid-year update, for example the coastal and ocean salmon rules come out mid-year, then that update takes over...

cheers, roger

 

[Midgie Hater]

Wow, what a warm welcome! Thanks folks I'll be back to do your replies justice in a little while as i'm just skyping with my wife while she has a late lunch break at work (damn time differences! )

 

[TimberTodd]

Welcome to OFF Les.

 

[Midgie Hater]

Hi guys. Sorry, I got distracted after the call with my wife so i'll reply properly to you all tomorrow because as it's now after midnight here and I need to get up for work at 7am my time. Thanks again though for the welcome Les

 

[wozniasm]

Welcome aboard Les!
You're going to love it!
As far as hiking, there's tons of lake that you can hike into that are rarely touched!

 

[Raincatcher]

Non resident annual is also available. That's what I did. More money than a res. but if you fish a lot it's worth it.

You're right, eugene1, I completely forgot about that one. Thanks! :thumb:

 

[Midgie Hater]

Ok, at last I get some time to do you all justice so:

I have a friend who is a professor in Edinburgh. He doesn't care for the area or the weather there

Pity to hear that Eugene1. I suppose our climate isn't for everyone, but I have to say that the weather in Scotland isn't as consistently bad as many believe, although Edinburgh can be quite cold and windy at times. However, I think Edinburgh is one of the great, architecturally and historically stunning cities of the World, and i've travelled a bit

Raincatcher: Thanks for the links to the regs I actually already discovered them as I thought I should do some advance research - both the general Oregon guide and the one specifically for the Williamette Zone. Seems very comprehensive and explanatory. Certainly the place to start in attempting to get a handle on the angling picture over there.

Yes I saw that I will need, initially, a non-resident licence ($106! That's without the Columbia River Basin endorsement which I think takes it up to $116 if I recall correctly. Still, given the size of the zone and the options available I think it's fair enough that a newcomer or visitor should pay more than a resident). According to the blurb in the pdf you can get a resident licence after 6 months so that's not too bad at all. When you consider that, given the exclusive nature of some of the salmon fishing in Scotland, you can pay hundreds of pounds just for a DAY depending on the time of year and the quality of the fishing, that's got to be good value by comparison. Btw when you talk about daily tags - does that mean a non-resident can't purchase an annual one? That was one bit in the document which wasn't entirely clear - to me anyway. Also, are two in fact required? It also mentions the "Hatchery" tag? I take it this means one for wild-run fish and one for fin-clipped hatchery fish? Or have I got that wrong?

JonT - so a new adventure for you too! enjoy, and thanks

bigsteel: thanks Yes I do love fly fishing and it's good to know there's a healthy community of like-minded souls here. I occasionally get the spinning rod out too, but have to admit that i'm not very good at it due to lack of practice, so yes, fly is still (and will probably remain) my main "weapon"

What? You're not a carp fisherman? I thought that carp angling, in England, was the equivalent to our Steelhead fishing?

:yikes::lol:

Haha! Yes! certainly in England carp fishing is really big but although i'm originally an Englishman and did some of my first fishing down there (and not on the fly), i've lived in Scotland my whole adult life and done the majority of my angling here. In Scotland carp fishing is almost non-existent and the predominant species are game fish like Brown Trout, Salmon and Sea Trout (the anadramous form of Brown Trout as i'm sure most of you know - our Sea trout are your Steelheads I suppose, only nowhere near as big except in rare cases. Sadly the growth of fish farming on the west coast had a terrible effect on runs of Sea Trout in some places down the years and some rivers which used to be famous for them are now almost devoid ). There are also some Charr in many of the highland lochs where they are deep and cold enough - which many are. There are quite a few lochs with healthy pike populations too. Loch Lomond is famous for pike, and catches of 30lb + are not unheard of. Some freshwater lochs which have fish farm cages have populations of "gone wild" escapee Rainbows too but they're not native to Britain as you'll also be aware. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. I know you guys have some Browns in places too which were introduced from Britain at the turn of the 20th Century. Also there are very rich coastal waters in Scotland but i've never done any sea fishing myself - yet. A good friend of mine is an avid coastal angler and has caught all kinds of species including Dogfish, Spurdog, Pollack, Coalfish, Flounder, Cod, Gurnard, Rays and many more. I hope one day to have a go myself off the Pacific NW coast. There's an outside chance I may get my first ever coastal fishing here in Scotland before I leave if I can get time off work at the same time as my friend.

I'm sure that, you'll like it a lot here in my home state. You won't be far, from the Clackamas and the mouth of the Deschutes too. Some good fly fishing, for trout, in the upper Clack tribs too.

Welcome aboard

I'm sure I will and i'm looking forward to it. Yes i've read a bit about the Clackamas, and as you say it isn't too far away. the Descutes is a little further but i'm sure i'll get there at some point. Thanks

I'm not an avid fly fisher but I am a die hard angler and am positive you will love our beautiful counrty in the NW. There are a ton of very experianced fly anglers on the forum and

many folks looking to help out newcomers to the area.

Good luck with the rest of your move, and have a safe trip

It's ok troutmasta I wont hold that against you Seriously though, I can't wait to see it and get out there. Great to hear that help is at hand from a friendly group - as i'm discovering after making that initial post! Thanks for the good wishes.

my wife and I have visited Scotland twice, parts of coastal Oregon are similar to the Highlands, other parts of Oregon totally different...we even have been making plans to walk the West Highland Way on a future trip...

Great! Yes my wife says the same on both counts about Oregon. I should say she's originally from WA and currently living in Battleground with her folks until she finds a place for us before I come over. It was her idea for us to locate SE of Portland. She went to school and uni in Portland and has always loved the Beaver State as much as WA. As to Scotland - great to hear you've had the experience. Although by US standards it's small, I still haven't explored it all in 25 years of avid wandering, mountain-climbing, backpacking and just general touring. Good things come in small packages sometimes As to the West Highland Way - tbh popular routes like that are something I tend to avoid, but there's no denying it's a great way to see a good swathe of the southern and central highlands. But if you like more solitude rather than processions of other hikers I can certainly recommend a good few places that are less crowded which you might enjoy - even if you do the WHW too

one quick tip to understanding the regulations: they basically come in 4 "layers": General, Zone, Special, and mid-year updates...each one over-rules the previous if it modifies something. So the General applies everywhere, then if the Zone makes a change, it takes over for that item, then if there are Special Regs for the specific body of water that change anything, that takes over, again just for the item addressed. and then if they issure a mid-year update, for example the coastal and ocean salmon rules come out mid-year, then that update takes over...

Thanks for that. Useful! From reading the general Oregon guide and the zone guide i'm starting too see what you mean, but the additional info. about mid-year updates and special regs. is especially helpful.

Thanks TimberTodd. Appreciated

Welcome aboard Les! You're going to love it! As far as hiking, there's tons of lake that you can hike into that are rarely touched!

Thanks Judging by the research i've done so far, the photos i've seen, from reading my backpacking guide (as well as one of William S Sullivan's day hiking guides which a member of my NW family got me for Christmas last year) and the great welcome here, i'm sure i'll be like a cat that got the cream Great to hear what you're saying about wilderness lakes. That is certainly something i'm keen to do and learn more about, especially in terms of the rules, and permissions required. I've seen mention of "tribal" permits for some lakes, but not much else. So are some of the wilderness lakes freely accessible? can you literally just take a travel fly rod and try your luck at many of them? I guess i'll find out at some point!

I should add thanks to Raincatcher for those other links too. I'm sure they'll be very useful when I get there - and tantalising in the mean time

Folks, thanks again for this welcome. Really gratifying. Can't wait to get there, even if I will miss the Scottish highlands at times. Plenty to distract me over there though!

Les

P.S: I've just realised, on previewing, that this reply post is literally peppered with emoticons! I'll try to keep them to a minimum next time (oops...)

 

[rogerdodger]

Btw when you talk about daily tags - does that mean a non-resident can't purchase an annual one? That was one bit in the document which wasn't entirely clear - to me anyway. Also, are two in fact required? It also mentions the "Hatchery" tag? I take it this means one for wild-run fish and one for fin-clipped hatchery fish? Or have I got that wrong?

the annual tags are the same cost for residents and non-residents...

the Combined Tag allows you to record 20 salmon/steelhead that are wild or hatchery fish (it also covers halibut and sturgeon). It is the only tag that wild fish can go on and you can only get 1 Combined tag per year. For many folks, this is all they need.

the Hatchery Tag lets you record 10 salmon/steelhead, only hatchery fish. But you can buy as many of these tags as needed during each year...

cheers, roger

 

[Midgie Hater]

Thanks Roger Of course when I think about it the clue is in the name - "combined". Doh! Yes, I can imagine that one would be all that I would require in my first year - and probably thereafter too! Anyway, work calls, 1.20am here which means i'm approximately two hours late for bed! Speak to you soon no doubt.

Les

 

[eugene1]

I think you'll do just fine in terms of OR fishing!

Let us know when you get here, maybe a member will let you tag along for a day.

Best,

 

[GungasUncle]

Another Welcome
Re: wilderness lakes - yes, you can walk or hike into hundreds (if not thousands) of lakes and ponds in this state on public lands and try your luck. The Mt. Hood Wilderness has a number of these lakes - most have rainbows, some have cutthroat, and a few have eastern brook trout. Some of the larger drive-up public lakes also have populations of brown trout and brookies. The state no longer deems the browns to be worth stocking because they're not native, so the general consensus is we let them all go just to perpetuate their population. Some folks keep browns, but most folk let them go. Brook trout are overpopulated and stunted in most waters they inhabit, and the state allows unlimited retention in some water bodies to combat this.

The city of Sandy is a nice place to live, and not too bad of a drive into Portland. A good friend of mine is a police officer for the town there. It's a safe, quiet community. It's close enough to the larger cities for things like shopping and entertainment and you are also close to a number of excellent fishing, hiking, and camping locations. You're minutes from the Sandy River, Clackamas River, an hour and a half drive to the deschutes river, and a whole host of lakes and small streams. Forum member Eggs also hails from Sandy.

 

[Midgie Hater]

Thanks eugene1. Yes, I think i'm definitely going to "do fine" the options seem, if not limitless, then "extensive". Yes, I hope that someone on the forum will show me the lie of the land. obviously it will be really good to hook up (no pun intended) with like-minded folks who have the knowledge and the experience - and hopefully make some great new friends!

Gungasuncle (love the forum name ); thank you for the welcome and for the information about wilderness lakes. Obviously there will be times when it will be nice to just pull up, walk a little and get fishing but as I mentioned before, the prospect of wandering off into more remote areas with a tent and a fly rod (just as I do here) is really enticing. Yes I read somewhere about the issue with brook trout. Sometimes the same situation occurs here with browns - albeit they're native to Scotland. This usually occurs in one of three ways: either the location, climate and altitude of the loch (lake) means that the fish don't grow to large size - mainly because of an under-abundance of food in the form of fly life, because there may be a significant presence of predatory species such as pike which feed on the trout and mean only a few reach larger proportions, or (sadly) they become notable fishing spots and the bigger trout are taken in large numbers, leaving only the smaller trout which may still spawn when becoming mature but because of the aforementioned fishing pressure, don't get to larger size. As i'm sure all of you will know, trout are cannibalistic and once they reach a larger size cannot survive on insect life alone, but require to predate on their smaller brethren. These trout, as they grow, become more nocturnal and wary and harder-and-harder to catch. Interesting point: with regard to Sea Trout and the larger cannibalistic Brown trout: especially with Sea trout, most of the "serious" fishing for them is done at night (in rivers especially) when they become more active, and the same for the larger cannibal brown trout.

Good to hear Sandy is a nice community. There's no absolute guarantee that's where we'll end up but Becky (my wife) certainly mentioned it as a strong possibility if we can find a suitable place to rent - which we'll have to do to begin with anyway. I suppose it won't be too much of a blow if we end up in Boring or somewhere else nearer to Portland. Despite being born in a city in England (Birmingham to be exact) I lived right on the edge of that city as a kid, almost into the countryside, so had the best of both worlds and as a result i've never been a fan of city-dwelling. I'm most at home somewhere at least semi-rural