Catching trout in the Clackamas river

[tim]

i havent fished the clackamas river this year yet and was wondering if anyone has had any luck. im most curious about the waters around the memaloose bridge and above. i know they use to stock the river at the bridge and a few spots above but dont think they do anymore. im guessing promatory is the highest they stock. not sure. but i do know there are some nice sized trout living in there. i fished it a few times last year with moderate success. hoping to do better this summer. just curious if anyone has fished it? and how high up they stock the clackamas? thanks for reading.

 

[beaverfan]

The upper clack should have decent trout fishing right now. The only stocked fish below the dams are salmon/steelhead smolts. The lower Clack has a small wild population of Rainbows, but they are few and far between.

 

[tim]

nice

nice

thats what i was hopin to hear. thanks. ill be headin up there tomorrow. ill post my outcome when i get back. hopefully attach a pic or two. next question would be the lure or set-up. i normally use 2lb test with a rooster tail. but only had a little luck. as a kid my dad taught me worms. i havent tried a worm in a long time. so i guess im asking lure/worm/other?

 

[SmallStreams]

Following your mention of the Oak Fork, I went up there last night as a scouting expedition. 5 minutes out of the car by the bridge above Harriet, I hooked a whopper 3" cutthroat. That was all I hooked... that fast water makes it hard to find any holding spots without putting a ton of weight on the line. I toured the rest of the way up above Harriet to Timothy and will, hopefully soon check out the upper half by hiking into the canyon.

 

[beaverfan]

Get yourself some kastmasters! There is a ton of colors to choose from, I usually just stick with brass or half brass/half nickel. They work awesome up there.

 

[tim]

very nice smallstreams. i was thinkin the water might be a little two quick still. i hike in about halfway to harriet and the highway and theres a beaver dam. tons of cuttys under it and in the pool it creates. i only made it in one time last year. up the stream from the dam a friend i was with caught a nice rainbow. maybe 14 inches. just fun to put on the waders and explore. glad you caught something atleast. those little cuttys fight.

 

[SmallStreams]

We tried the uppermost section Saturday, July 3, hiking downstream from Timothy Lake for about 2 miles. Beautiful water and nice holes, but no fish... no strikes, nada.

Harriet Lake was pretty crowded as you'd expect, so we scrambled down the hilllside where the guardrail is, about halfway between Harriet and the bridge. A couple strikes on the spinners, but nothing hooked, so I switched to a fly and got to watch some small trout repeatedly try (and miss). Anyone wishing to poke around there will probably get more action with fly right now.

 

[tim]

i fished the clackamas today. i started out fishing under the memoloose bridge. we caught a couple little guys on lures and then we moved about two miles up river to a deep stretch. we caught about 5 more little guys but also caught 3 really nice natives outta that stretch. all three of the bigger fish were caught with worm. and they were alll caught about 5 ft from the bank. not much of a worm user but it worked today. i will be headed back soon.

 

[strawberry shortcake]

My grandma fed her own brood plus foster kids on Friday fish year round with just worms and grasshoppers. She would knee-slap laugh at today's fancy lures (and I have used a couple). I would say that for some waters, a worm on a hook is your best option.

 

[dangerranger]

i fished the clackamas today. i started out fishing under the memoloose bridge. we caught a couple little guys on lures and then we moved about two miles up river to a deep stretch. we caught about 5 more little guys but also caught 3 really nice natives outta that stretch. all three of the bigger fish were caught with worm. and they were alll caught about 5 ft from the bank. not much of a worm user but it worked today. i will be headed back soon.

Last time i checked the regs it was flys and lures, catch and release only from North Fork Resivoir upriver..... i got checked by the state troopers up there last year

 

[minnowmagnet]

Tim, the upper Clackamas has a lot of small brook trout and cuts that are fun to catch and release. I don't think you can keep anything up there. I fish with a little yellow with red-dots panther martin. I also like the blue fox size 0 brass lure. No fish up there can resist either one, as I proved last week. Look for log jams which create little pools of slowly moving water and you will be catching them all day.

 

[halibuthitman]

park at bonni lure and hike out to the clack at the mouth of eagle creek and you can just slay 8-18'' rainbows all evening on a tan elk hair caddis, I was there monday nite and we had about 20 takes in 2 hours with my son catching the largest at 18''.

 

[RicerAP1]

Went out today with my little brother to your spot and had no luck with nymphs or caddis. We walked back towards the car and found a couple holes by some fallen trees with some small ones swimming around. Caught about 10 tiny ones on dry flys. Any advice on catching the bigger ones halibuthitman?