Bethany Pond week of March 23-29

[mustardthetrout]

Fished Bethany a lot this week, mainly because it's ten minutes away from where I live. I also like the narrowness which makes casting across easy. It's around the same size as a lot of the other small lakes in the area, but it appears smaller and is a lot shallower. I heard they stocked it, so I gave it a try on Wednesday. Fished with green powerbait on a treble for about an hour...nothing. Saw a guy next to me limit out in about five minutes. Asked him what he was using and he said that he had Pautzke's eggs on a size eight baitholder. So I switched to that a few feet below a bobber...





The guy left, so soon I was outfishing everyone on the lake with the eggs. Trout must have been sick of seeing all the Powerbait, although some people around me caught a few on it. I limited out a half an hour later and switched over to a roostertail so I wouldn't deep hook fish.





I also picked up a small Bluegill on a salmon egg. I heard that there are a lot of other warmwater fish (crappie, bass, catfish, carp, etc.) in the pond, but I'm not really sure how I would fish for them...if anyone has any experience or tips, I would appreciate it!



I came back the next day and fished exactly the same as I had the previous day (eggs under a bobber). Fishing was even better than the previous day. Limited out in a half an hour while nobody else was catching anything. Weather a LOT warmer, lake more crowded.



Didn't come back until Sunday bc I was slaying the sturgeon friday (hehe) and weather was MUCH warmer than before. Arrived around eight and talked to a guy that had caught eight or ten since 5:00 am. Tried the same tactic as before...nothing. After putting up with this for half an hour, I switched over to a bunch of other techniques with little success. Roostertails...grubs...green powerbait...nothing. Finally hooked two with rainbow powerbait off the bottom (size eight hook) but lost one at the bank. Must be the warm weather or the increased fishing pressure instead of the time of day bc I arrived later in the day on the more successful previous days. I heard they'll be stocking it a few more times in the spring, and I'll probably give it a try sometime in the mid-afternoon due to my schedule.



Anyways, thought I'd give a report in case anyone was thinking of going.

 

[wollybugger]

Bethany Pond week of March 23-29

Thanks for the report!!! I think they also stocked common wealth this week too

 

[FishOn420]

I did some night fishing out there a few weeks ago and caught about 10 cat fish in a few hours. Caught 4 keepers and eat them. They were all a little over a foot and a heavy pound I would say. It was to dark to take pictures :/

 

[sapo]

@mustardthetrout, I am 99% sure that it's illegal to keep your limit and continue fishing, even if your using something that won't deep hook fish. I've heard it mentioned on here other times before that it's illegal, so just keep that in mind.

 

[sapo]

And yea wollybugger they stocked a lot of urban lakes near Portland area this week...including Commonwealth. They stocked Progress, but I don't know if the fish are sick or something, cuz its REALLY slow..Hardly anyone is catching fish and usually after a stocking everyone limits out quickly. I don't know what the deal is with Progress, idk if its the same in Commonwealth.

 

[Denduran87]

I've caught many cats, bass, and bluegill out of that pond. Nice job! Fishing a nightcrawler off the bottom will normally get you the catfish, blue gill like nightcrawler off a bobber, and bass like the rapala.

 

[rogerdodger]

The guy left, so soon I was outfishing everyone on the lake with the eggs. Trout must have been sick of seeing all the Powerbait, although some people around me caught a few on it. I limited out a half an hour later and switched over to a roostertail so I wouldn't deep hook fish.

Sapo is 100% correct, page 8 perm. regs, it is unlawful to:

14. Continuing to angle for the same type of fish after taking and retaining a catch or possession limit. Exceptions are provided for in bass fishing tournament regulations and while anglers are providing assistance to a disabled angler (see page 17). Anglers may continue to angle for sturgeon provided all subsequent fish are released.

you would need to retain 1 fish short of your limit to keep fishing. once you land the fish that gives you a limit, you cannot for them again until the following day. even if you give away fish that you have retained, that doesn't do it, you still cannot fish until the next day. cheers, roger

 

[Seahawkfan]

That water warms up fast! I bet this year even faster. The trout there have a hard time surviving past May from what I've seen in the past. Plus it seems like they never get a chance to pink up. Just my experience from a few years ago as I haven't fished it in a few years.

 

[mustardthetrout]

Thanks guys I'll keep the regs in mind next time. As for those catfish, they sound great! It seems as if all the cats I catch from these lakes are tiny and overpopulated, but Bethany sounds as if they have some bigger ones in them. Definitely an option I'd consider in the summer when all the trout are long gone. Thanks again!

 

[Lonnielove32]

Killed it at commonwealth
Nothing at Bethany not even a bite the 3 times I fished there
Same for Progress 3 times not a bite

 

[mustardthetrout]

Killed it at commonwealth
Nothing at Bethany not even a bite the 3 times I fished there
Same for Progress 3 times not a bite

Yeah I fished Progress pretty heavily for a season the first year they stocked it. Hard place to fish with the lake size and limited shoreline; gets crowded like heck. They have some cats but they're all midget sized (six inch range)

 

[sapo]

Killed it at commonwealth
Nothing at Bethany not even a bite the 3 times I fished there
Same for Progress 3 times not a bite

Ya lonnilove and mustardthetrout for some reason Progress is a little bit OFF, even though they stocked it..most of the stocker fish won't bite, although I managed to scratch up a couple today. Good news though, instead of 10 stocker trout a day at Progress, guys are pulling out huge holdovers right now. In the past week I've seen four or five 16"+ fish pulled out of there, and yesterday maybe a 4-6 lb monster was caught while I was there. People were catching biggies even before they stocked it..So, if you go, there's a really good chance at a nice one right now.

And, for those who don't know, the thing about Progress is that since it's probably the deepest urban lake in Oregon (about 60 feet) the trout survive over the years and there's always big trout in there year-round, instead of lakes like Commonwealth or Bethany where they die in the summer. So, in the winter, when people think the fishing's over, I head down there and can sometimes get really big trout. Even though people think it's trashy, Progress is an urban gem because of the constant big holdovers.

 

[mustardthetrout]

Ya lonnilove and mustardthetrout for some reason Progress is a little bit OFF, even though they stocked it..most of the stocker fish won't bite, although I managed to scratch up a couple today. Good news though, instead of 10 stocker trout a day at Progress, guys are pulling out huge holdovers right now. In the past week I've seen four or five 16"+ fish pulled out of there, and yesterday maybe a 4-6 lb monster was caught while I was there. People were catching biggies even before they stocked it..So, if you go, there's a really good chance at a nice one right now.

And, for those who don't know, the thing about Progress is that since it's probably the deepest urban lake in Oregon (about 60 feet) the trout survive over the years and there's always big trout in there year-round, instead of lakes like Commonwealth or Bethany where they die in the summer. So, in the winter, when people think the fishing's over, I head down there and can sometimes get really big trout. Even though people think it's trashy, Progress is an urban gem because of the constant big holdovers.

Exactly! I think I've only limited out there twice but I always seem to hook some of the bigger ones. I once saw a guy who had been there for hours land a fish from the dock that must have been at least 5lbs while using three spinners at once (almost certainly not legal)