I was also up there recently. I took the canoe at my daughter up on 7/2 and we had a great time. Chloe was excited because she got the coveted stern position in the canoe to practice steering.
A hard paddle across the wind left us on the west shore with a large hill breaking the wind. Chloe disembarked to explore the shore and capture newts. It was bright and sunny so I tossed spinners from the bank into the small coves not really expecting much action. While distracted by watching Osprey search for lunch I got a nice hit. I was so surprised I didn't get the hook set in time. I fished abit more with no bites and then Chloe and I had a nice lunch picnic style. Chloe's newt expedition had almost 30 in her net, while mine still hadn't see a trout by the time we headed back across.
On the way back I decided to troll a spinner. Evidently the trout liked Chloe's somewhat uneven and meandering path. Only a couple minutes of trolling hooked my very first cuttie. A nice fish in the 12 to 14 range! After a pic it was cool to see it melt into the deep under our boat.
Also, as far as access goes. According to the Weyerhaeuser hotline (1-888-741-5403) the gate coming up from Yamhill will be locked at the start of fire season. The season started on the 12th, so the gate should already be locked. If it's not, I would expect it to get locked 20 min after I passed it, if you know what I mean. That leaves the road up the Trask from Tillamook.
My first Cuttie! and on one of my own spinners. Black body, brass blade, bit of green tape ala Jed Davis.
A net full of newts.
