Estacada/EC jaunt

[alm21]

Ok, so I have the kids tomorrow and I have never been to Eagle Creek. The word on the street is that it has slowed and what is there is dark. None the less, I think it may be a good scouting opportunity for myself because I can always pop into Faraday Lake with the kids to go after some trout.

I was thinking about starting high and working back. Is starting at Eagle Fern Park a good place? The regs state that there is a fish ladder a half mile below there and you have to fish 300ft below it. I am wondering if there is any fishing access from Eagle Fern Park. Can someone confirm? Thanks

 

[metalfisher76]

Ok, so I have the kids tomorrow and I have never been to Eagle Creek. The word on the street is that it has slowed and what is there is dark. None the less, I think it may be a good scouting opportunity for myself because I can always pop into Faraday Lake with the kids to go after some trout.

I was thinking about starting high and working back. Is starting at Eagle Fern Park a good place? The regs state that there is a fish ladder a half mile below there and you have to fish 300ft below it. I am wondering if there is any fishing access from Eagle Fern Park. Can someone confirm? Thanks

There are a couple good holes at eagle fern. Go just a bit further to Snuffin rd. bridge and maybe you can show the kids a few fish swimmin around. Mine thought that was cool. On your way back down (after ya leave the park) if ya stop at the yellow gate (don`t block) then you`ll be at the fish ladder. There is a tree on the opposite bank with a yellow sign, this is the deadline. Don`t do what I saw last week, and fish above it, you must go below. The holes are lined up and it can be a hike if ya want to go the distance.

 

[metalmania]

Ok, so I have the kids tomorrow and I have never been to Eagle Creek. The word on the street is that it has slowed and what is there is dark. None the less, I think it may be a good scouting opportunity for myself because I can always pop into Faraday Lake with the kids to go after some trout.

I was thinking about starting high and working back. Is starting at Eagle Fern Park a good place? The regs state that there is a fish ladder a half mile below there and you have to fish 300ft below it. I am wondering if there is any fishing access from Eagle Fern Park. Can someone confirm? Thanks

The creek is very high and dirty, save your gas money and go somewhere else.

 

[alm21]

So, I was going back and forth on where I was going to go today. My seven year old son wasn't really into fishing today and he's too young for the salmon excursions. So, it was going to be me and my 12yr old daughter who is really the one I am trying to get interested in going after salmon. After a slow start in the household, we left around 10am today and headed to EC to more or less scout the territory.

There are a couple good holes at eagle fern. Go just a bit further to Snuffin rd. bridge and maybe you can show the kids a few fish swimmin around. Mine thought that was cool. On your way back down (after ya leave the park) if ya stop at the yellow gate (don`t block) then you`ll be at the fish ladder. There is a tree on the opposite bank with a yellow sign, this is the deadline. Don`t do what I saw last week, and fish above it, you must go below. The holes are lined up and it can be a hike if ya want to go the distance.

This was very helpful. We drove up, saw the yellow gate and continued to Eagle Fern. Pulled into EF and there was a guy checking out the water so I talked with him. I misinterpeted the regs and thought you could only fish below the fish ladder before Eagle Fern but he was able to clear that up for me. That is what I love about the forum and chatting with people on the river - you learn so much! The water was brown and raging so I decided to drive to the hatchery to show my daughter some fish. This trip was more than anything about getting excited about salmon fishing so seeing some fish would help stoke that fire. We drove to the hatchery, and it was further out than expected, and we saw a butt load of fish there which really got my daughter fired up to fish. She didn't want anything to do with Faraday at that point. We parked up the road and tried to find the trailhead but couldn't. As we were packing up to leave, a couple guys rolled up and we talked. They helped me by telling me where to go to find the trails. So off we went. We hiked and found some holes and there were fish running through them. Most were quite dark but it was great for my girl. We fished, hooked 3 lost 3 and had a great time. She has the bug now and was a trooper.

The creek is very high and dirty, save your gas money and go somewhere else.

Yes, it was high and dirty, no doubt but we did see fish and all in all was a good day. I think there was snow melt washing things out.

 

[metalmania]

I must have missed you too out there, when did you fish up at the hatchery? There's a lot of fish up high, but only found one worth killing. I actually landed a buck that only had a tail fin, and no others:shock:.

 

[alm21]

I must have missed you too out there, when did you fish up at the hatchery? There's a lot of fish up high, but only found one worth killing. I actually landed a buck that only had a tail fin, and no others:shock:.

I didn't check what time it was when we hiked in but probably around noon and we hiked out around 5p. We may have seen you because after we hiked out of the first hole we walked the trails looking for the next hole and at one point, we were looking down on a hole where it looked like the water split a bit with a small side stream. There were 4 guys down there, looked like 3 were together. At the hole we ended up at, I talked with a guy who had a nice hen and then he landed a nice buck but it was a native. I actually gave him a hand and ended up releasing the fish for him. He hooked into one after that too and the hook got loose, flew back and the weight and hook hit him in the face. It gave him a puncture wound in the check and knocked him really hard. He didn't stay much longer after that - I wouldn't have either.

Fishing EC is definitely different than the Sandy. I bought a new pole and it was a bith long for EC. I let my daughter use my other pole that I have been using all season which was a better size for EC. It's a nice area, I can see why people like going there.

Not sure what rig you drive but if anyone ever sees a silver mercedes parked around the Sandy or EC/Clack area (maybe Wilson soon too), good chance it's me. I hike around with a green backpack and I usually try to make small talk with the people I come across.

 

[metalmania]

I didn't check what time it was when we hiked in but probably around noon and we hiked out around 5p. We may have seen you because after we hiked out of the first hole we walked the trails looking for the next hole and at one point, we were looking down on a hole where it looked like the water split a bit with a small side stream. There were 4 guys down there, looked like 3 were together. At the hole we ended up at, I talked with a guy who had a nice hen and then he landed a nice buck but it was a native. I actually gave him a hand and ended up releasing the fish for him. He hooked into one after that too and the hook got loose, flew back and the weight and hook hit him in the face. It gave him a puncture wound in the check and knocked him really hard. He didn't stay much longer after that - I wouldn't have either.

Fishing EC is definitely different than the Sandy. I bought a new pole and it was a bith long for EC. I let my daughter use my other pole that I have been using all season which was a better size for EC. It's a nice area, I can see why people like going there.

Not sure what rig you drive but if anyone ever sees a silver mercedes parked around the Sandy or EC/Clack area (maybe Wilson soon too), good chance it's me. I hike around with a green backpack and I usually try to make small talk with the people I come across.

Haha I was one of the guys fishing down there, although I was the only one not snagging those fish,lol. I was down at the very beggining of the stream where it runs into the creek. I killed 1 nice buck out of there and killed a hen that I gave away. I think I saw your car up at the parking spot.

 

[Cohosanders]

Are y'all fishing eagle fern park side or the other side of the Hwy?? How about 1-O-clock rock? Is that hole good right now?

 

[metalmania]

Are y'all fishing eagle fern park side or the other side of the Hwy?? How about 1-O-clock rock? Is that hole good right now?

I was up in the canyon fishing below the hatchery.

 

[Cohosanders]

Thanks I figured it out.I think that's where I am gonna go and then maybe Wilson.

 

[Cohosanders]

11/01/09 @ Eagle Creek

11/01/09 @ Eagle Creek

The water cleared up and dropped. Lots of spawned out fish. A few keepers. I got all mine on eggs. First time to the hatchery holes!!!! Beautiful day.