Fern Ridge Reservoir

[wrestlerstud32]

do they stock fern ridge with trout? i hear it is a good warm water fishery though.

 

[Bfishin]

do they stock fern ridge with trout? i hear it is a good warm water fishery though.

No they don't stock trout in F.Ridge. It does hold bass, crappie, carp, mud cats, etc. Basically like you said, warm water fishery. I've caught a few cats out of there, but haven't fished it much.

 

[JeannaJigs]

They definitely don't stock it, I don't think trout could survive in that mud puddle, but like bfishin said, there is no shortage of warm water fish. I drive by it daily on my way to work, but have yet to fish it myself, maybe one of these days I will give it a try on my lunch break since it's less than 5 minutes away, I always see people fishing right near the highway.

 

[specreck]

do they stock fern ridge with trout? i hear it is a good warm water fishery though.

They don't stock it but if you look at the regs for Long tom river, it holds trout according to regs......so who knows

 

[TTFishon]

I've caught cutthroat in Fern Ditch when I was a kid. I'm sure they are still there.

 

[specialk]

i have fished fernridge and caught some nice cutthroats its been a few years though.simply used eggs and/or worms and always fished up as close to the dam as you can possibly get on the outflow side. there is a cement slab you can walk on [no more than a few inches of water]and where the water comes out of the dam, fish one section over from that, [kind of slack water ] we used to catch some nice 14to15 inchers

 

[TTFishon]

i have fished fernridge and caught some nice cutthroats its been a few years though.simply used eggs and/or worms and always fished up as close to the dam as you can possibly get on the outflow side. there is a cement slab you can walk on [no more than a few inches of water]and where the water comes out of the dam, fish one section over from that, [kind of slack water ] we used to catch some nice 14to15 inchers

I used to fish below the dam every winter when I was a teenager. We caught them all along the dam from one end to the other. Another spot was where the Amazon slough enters the lake over off of Fir Butte Rd. That was before they reconstructed the little dam just before it enters the lake. It used to be a cement wall about two and a half to three feet high with tractor tires in the water at the base. Every winter we'd go there too and catch tons of cutts using crappie jigs jigging them in and around the tires. Now it's just a bunch of rocks and too shallow to fish.

 

[Stoods]

I've caught some bass and crappie on Fern Ridge from the canoe, but never a trout. I usually head into the little canals or back on the other side of the highway, near the Coyote Creek access point. It's a nice way to spend a Friday or Saturday evening.

If you head back into the Coyote Creek area, watch out for the bees. We were headed underneath the 126 bridge and were swarmed - someone had apparently knocked a nest down nearby. Not a good thing when you're in a canoe!

 

[SmallStreams]

Long Tom River hasn't received hatchery fish since at least the '60s (if it ever did).

Go to Google.com and enter +"Long Tom River" +cutthroat and you'll find some water quality & fishery reports that mention how cutthroat in Fern Ridge Reservoir make spawning runs up the Long Tom and tributaries. The unique aspect is that they take on the silver hue of searun cutthroat during the spawning runs.

These spawning runs occured before Fern Ridge Reservoir existed, but the silver hue didn't occur until the reservoir was built.

Water temperature is going to be the key to finding the trout. Find the coldest spots and you'll find the fish.

 

[FernRidgeChamp]

Long Tom River hasn't received hatchery fish since at least the '60s (if it ever did).

Go to Google.com and enter +"Long Tom River" +cutthroat and you'll find some water quality & fishery reports that mention how cutthroat in Fern Ridge Reservoir make spawning runs up the Long Tom and tributaries. The unique aspect is that they take on the silver hue of searun cutthroat during the spawning runs.

These spawning runs occured before Fern Ridge Reservoir existed, but the silver hue didn't occur until the reservoir was built.

Water temperature is going to be the key to finding the trout. Find the coldest spots and you'll find the fish.

Thank you for this information. I have not caught a cutthrough in Fern Ridge but will certainly make it my mission ray:

FRC

 

[leach laker]

ODFW doesn't stock it. In years past they may have. They used to stock Kirk Ponds. Although a warm water fishery, it's not hard to imagine there being CutThroat at times; Tributaries to the Long Tom hold Cut Throat. Still not ideal conditions....I would have to say it's very unlikely to find one, but won't say it's impossible.

 

[fishin_fool]

Used to be able to catch some nice cutties from below spillway at fernridge and if heading towards veneta first creek past dam used to have some cutties in it but its been 25 years since I fished over there...

 

[drownworms]

the long tom b4 and after dam holds trout.Used to fish the crap out of it when i was younger.In winter when lake is empty and gates are fully open wed walk down near the damn(long tom side) and use crappy jigs or eggs and will catch a lot of trout.Since they fixed the damn the crappie fishing in the lake has been poo poo.Going to try for cats this winter as they used to hit pretty nice after lake was lowerd.I'll have to make sure i check to see if the trout are still there also.

 

[TTFishon]

the long tom b4 and after dam holds trout.Used to fish the crap out of it when i was younger.In winter when lake is empty and gates are fully open wed walk down near the damn(long tom side) and use crappy jigs or eggs and will catch a lot of trout.Since they fixed the damn the crappie fishing in the lake has been poo poo.Going to try for cats this winter as they used to hit pretty nice after lake was lowerd.I'll have to make sure i check to see if the trout are still there also.

Remember to check the regs. It's not open to catch and keep year around anymore.

 

[a-mac]

Hey guys. I'm new to this forum and just moved to Corvallis from Indiana. I've been checking out google earth to try and find a good place nearby to bass fish, which is why I'm looking at fern ridge. I tried to call in to the park but everything was closed. Are there any special lake permits needed to fish here? I saw posts mentioning water levels... Are the boat ramps still accessable? One last question... Which ramp would be prefered to have decent nearby bass fishing right now? I blew my powerhead on my '89 blackmax 150 a few months back and am limited to trolling motor only. I haven't managed to pick up a job quite yet so I'm planning on fishing tomorrow...kinda bittersweet. Btw, would anyone know a good place to find an old merc like mine... I had the lower unit repaired ($3k... Thank u insurance!) a month before the engine blew (kentucky lake incident) so I'd like to try and keep it alive once I find employment. Any info on any of the several questions would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone cares to join my bass hunt tomorrow shoot me an email! fishnhunts@gmail.com

Live2Fish~Fish2Live
-aaron mcalexander

 

[leach laker]

A couple things to know...there is a $98.00 fine if you fail to purchase a $3.00 parking pass at the county parks. Be careful, they may look boarded up, but they are patrolled by public works and they lay the smack down on the no-permit parking.

Also, break-ins occur.

The lot at Kirk Ponds does not have a fee.

 

[fishing man]

they dont but u can catch some nice trout from below the dam

 

[CPLLEWIS]

Fern Ridge did have healthy run of cut throat. Prior to my 4 years far away from Oregon, in 2003, I fished some waters flowing into Fern Ridge and it never failed to produce. We were fishing with 1/8 Oz. roostertails. I can't remember the colors. Upon my return I tried the same holes many times and couldn't get a single bite out of them. Hopefully this spring I can hit them again and catch a few.

 

[rayc308]

how come ODFW does not try to help the bass in Fern Ridge this could be a great place for bass. I know bass are here but could be a lot better.think how a big bass tournament could be for the area. I know at one time you could catch a lot of crappy but not any more.

 

[CPLLEWIS]

Ray,
All warm water fish in Oregon are introduced species and quickly out compete natives especially in warmer waters that are not ideal for natives in the first place. Just by regulating these invasive species ODFW increases their populations.