Lakes Green Peter Reservoir Fishing Reports 2021

[realradiobrian]

Spent most of the day exploring the far end of Green Peter Reservoir, trolling deep on my kayak and coming up zero as the weather turned cold and made the fish sleepy.

I started out at 10 feet, went to the bottom, and all the way back up trolling a kastmaster, then spinner with egg with a green flasher. Tried the silver flasher with a couple of go-to Panther Martin patterns. Nothing.

I took off the weight and threw out the Panther Martin by itself and knocked three out as the sun peaked out a bit in the late evening. I had trolled all the way to the mouth of the creek by that time. There were tons of fish holding there in the clear water, at least a dozen or so big spawning fish changing colors like a fall chinook and what looked to be carp or sucker fish. The rainbows were all around that stretch that has a campground further away from the mouth of the creek in the deeper water.

Some folks were finding luck with them using bait near the bridges from the bank, though I didn't have much luck throwing the spinner over the hole they were fishing. On the way back to the ramp I trolled a copper Mepps spinner and caught bass the whole way back. I lost count and I never keep bass, but they were all about 1.5 pounds smallmouth. The first few I swore the same fish had been following me because they were all the same exact size, but their colors and patterns began to get a bit darker the further south I went and hit different schools. After just earning 3 rainbows and losing so many more it was a nice way to end the long cold day that rained most of the time.

I had planned on camping, but since it was raining and I was wet and cold I decided to just drive home. Next time I go I plan on taking jigs with a few pink squid and white curly tails and see what happens. Seems like some scent and plastics could be fun there along the bottom doing a slack, pop retrieve.

 

[Gulfstream]

Great report!

 

[troutdude]

@realradiobrian GP holds rather large Chinokanee. I'm not sure if they spawn in the Spring. But if they do that's likely what you saw.

I've seen them upstream, in Quartzville Creek. But that was 30 years ago and I don't recall what time of year that was.

A couple of fellow OFFers caught a 10 pounder a few years back, in April. There may be some that are larger too. FYI--I've heard that the Chinokanee don't make for good table fare. But that may have come from a fisherman who doesn't want the rest of us catching them. LOL

 

[realradiobrian]

Yeah, that was where I saw them - the mouth of Quartzville Creek. They had to be spawning, that coloring is unmistakable and the water was super clear though it was cloudy out so it made it hard to get a better look. Super interesting though. I checked the regs and all it said was that salmon could be kept as part of kokanee limit (25). With coloring like that, they wouldn't be feeding anyway and likely look and taste like an upper river fall boot even if they snapped at the spinner.

 

[troutdude]

Yeah, that was where I saw them - the mouth of Quartzville Creek. They had to be spawning, that coloring is unmistakable and the water was super clear though it was cloudy out so it made it hard to get a better look. Super interesting though. I checked the regs and all it said was that salmon could be kept as part of kokanee limit (25). With coloring like that, they wouldn't be feeding anyway and likely look and taste like an upper river fall boot even if they snapped at the spinner.

Yep. Not worth keeping if in spawning mode. The meat would be all mushy and what not. Just like your aforementioned "fall boot". LOL

 

[coffeenut]

View attachment 627947
Spent most of the day exploring the far end of Green Peter Reservoir, trolling deep on my kayak and coming up zero as the weather turned cold and made the fish sleepy.

I started out at 10 feet, went to the bottom, and all the way back up trolling a kastmaster, then spinner with egg with a green flasher. Tried the silver flasher with a couple of go-to Panther Martin patterns. Nothing.

I took off the weight and threw out the Panther Martin by itself and knocked three out as the sun peaked out a bit in the late evening. I had trolled all the way to the mouth of the creek by that time. There were tons of fish holding there in the clear water, at least a dozen or so big spawning fish changing colors like a fall chinook and what looked to be carp or sucker fish. The rainbows were all around that stretch that has a campground further away from the mouth of the creek in the deeper water.

Some folks were finding luck with them using bait near the bridges from the bank, though I didn't have much luck throwing the spinner over the hole they were fishing. On the way back to the ramp I trolled a copper Mepps spinner and caught bass the whole way back. I lost count and I never keep bass, but they were all about 1.5 pounds smallmouth. The first few I swore the same fish had been following me because they were all the same exact size, but their colors and patterns began to get a bit darker the further south I went and hit different schools. After just earning 3 rainbows and losing so many more it was a nice way to end the long cold day that rained most of the time.

I had planned on camping, but since it was raining and I was wet and cold I decided to just drive home. Next time I go I plan on taking jigs with a few pink squid and white curly tails and see what happens. Seems like some scent and plastics could be fun there along the bottom doing a slack, pop retrieve.

Thank you! Curious as to why you don't keep the bass. IMO, they are much better tasting than planter trout, but perhaps people don't want others to know about how good warm-water species are when fried up and piled high on fish tacos..yum-yum!

 

[troutdude]

My buddy and I only C & R bass. But I may keep one in the near future. It's been a long time since I invited a smallie, or a bucketmouth, over for dinner. ;-)

 

[realradiobrian]

Years of fishing on the Yakima. Heard it was best to avoid them there, trout are always in clean water. I lived in TC mostly from 2005-2020, I had to fish for them eventually to have fun in the hot summer months.

 

[coffeenut]

There seems to be no shortage of warm-water species, especially smallies! When I was a kid - 56 now - smallies always seemed to be more of an eastern species, the Willamette Valley being more of a largemouth area. I may be completely ignorant about this, though. It seems now that the smallies have begun to take their place. Pretty sure the Umpqua has had smallies forever, but they seem to have grown in numbers exponentially in other waters. Have they been in the Willamette system forever?? Then there are the Walleye in the Columbia/Willamette system, but don't get me started on those!

 

[troutdude]

Let's not get OFF track here. This thread is about Green Peter reservoir. While there are tons of smallies (as there are all over Western Oregon).

 

[coffeenut]

Sorry...moderator...Okay...Green Peter...Smallies, dinky kokes, land-locked Chinook, planter rainbows, probably some chub and brown bullhead, and maybe a few crappie...nuff said...

 

[gfisher2003]

Sorry...moderator...Okay...Green Peter...Smallies, dinky kokes, land-locked Chinook, planter rainbows, probably some chub and brown bullhead, and maybe a few crappie...nuff said...

Do the chinook and kokanee go up the middle Santiam and quartzville?