A
ArkansasAngler
Greetings all of you at OFF! I just found this site and I'm glad I did (I also love Vbulletin)
I'm going to be in the Salem/Portland area on one of the weekends near the end of May this year for a wedding. Since Oregon is known for good fishing, I figure I have to take advantage of the situation.
I'm mostly interested in TROUT. But, are there any other types of fish that can be caught at that time of year? I wouldn't be opposed to catching bigger fish if they are available.
Being from Arkansas, I've had the opportunity to fish some great trout fisheries here. (little red and white rivers, plus yearly stocker places)
I'd mostly be interested in places that:
1. Are accessible from the bank or wading. If worst comes to worst I need to be able to rent a boat for a day.
2. Aren't just yearly stockers. I can catch 10-12" stocker rainbows at home.
3. Are scenic. I want to enjoy the beauty of the country. I don't want to sit on a concrete dam. Again, that is because there are plenty of dams I can sit on in Arkansas.
4. Aren't too crowded. Although the trout areas here are crowded, if this is possible then I'd rather be less crowded. Of course the better areas are crowded...so catch 22.
5. Anything is preferrable to rainbows and browns. I catch them here and would like to catch different kinds of fish.
6. Aren't overly restrictive on technique. Around here there are artificial, single barbless hook, catch and release only areas. What can I expect to be the norm there?
Obviously the imporance goes down as the list goes on. I'm very familiar with overcoming adversity while fishing so I expect the worst. Also, I have rainclouds that follow me around so unfortunately for the rest of you, it will be raining when I visit. Sorry.
I will only have a couple days to fish. I would love to hike in somewhere and fish a remote area but I just won't have time.
Tackle:
I use spinning tackle with 4-8# line around here. The water is always a shade of stained and I do fine with 8# green shaded mono. I'm planning on bringing a 2-piece rod with a light action for trout fishing. I'm thinking 4# line...what diameter should I shoot for? My rod is only 5'6, the brushy areas around here require a shorter rod. Will that be a problem?
I slaughter the nice sized trout using larger lures than other fisherman. I think there is a preconceived notion that you have to use tiny baits for trout that exists here. With the water conditions and the sheer size of the trout, I do well with larger lures. Example being, most people will use a tiny rooster tail while I'll go with a larger spinner with 2x as large of a hook. I catch a lot of nice sized browns, especially in bad conditions when people using live/power bait catch only stocker rainbows. I wish I had a picture of the 6" brown I caught on a big spinner...the hook was literally as big as the fish could open its mouth. I still don't know how he got his mouth on that hook.
Does the clear water that abounds your area dictate smaller lures? I may have to stock up. I have a lot of roosters. Bumblebee is awesome around here. Well, I've caught fish on a bumblebee rooster everywhere I've ever fished. I can catch largemouths of good size on these as well as the smallest panfish.
Do rapala minnows work? I get lots of trout on countdowns in either a largemouth or brown trout pattern.
In fact, the brown trout pattern is my most productive color for almost any bait. That may be because they are the only trout that reproduces naturally in the waters I fish. They never see baby rainbows.
How about rebel crawfish crankers? These catch fish like crazy. I also use the medium size to catch smallmouth. Are crawfish even indiginous up there? What color works best? I generally use a red/black or natural color.
I don't have many spoons or flies. Can I survive a trip without an expensive arsenal of flies? I generally use a clear bobber that you can fill with water tied 4' above the fly with spinning tackle. What spoons (brand, color, size) should I look for? Do I even need a spoon this time of year?
We don't have massive insect hatches here so I don't even know the types. Midge? Caddis? It's all greek to me. I know about house flies, deer flies, and horse flies.
Is it too much to expect a place that has brookies packed in like cordwood, isn't crowded, is easy to wade or bank fish, and is breathtakingly beautiful?:lol::lol:
I'll keep you updated with my plans if you're interested.
If any of you ever take a fishing trip to Arkansas (or Louisiana) then I can offer up some good advice. (largemouth, smallmouth, striped/hybrid, giant rainbows or browns, catfish, gar, crappie, and gulf fish like redfish and speckled trout)
I'm going to be in the Salem/Portland area on one of the weekends near the end of May this year for a wedding. Since Oregon is known for good fishing, I figure I have to take advantage of the situation.
I'm mostly interested in TROUT. But, are there any other types of fish that can be caught at that time of year? I wouldn't be opposed to catching bigger fish if they are available.
Being from Arkansas, I've had the opportunity to fish some great trout fisheries here. (little red and white rivers, plus yearly stocker places)
I'd mostly be interested in places that:
1. Are accessible from the bank or wading. If worst comes to worst I need to be able to rent a boat for a day.
2. Aren't just yearly stockers. I can catch 10-12" stocker rainbows at home.
3. Are scenic. I want to enjoy the beauty of the country. I don't want to sit on a concrete dam. Again, that is because there are plenty of dams I can sit on in Arkansas.
4. Aren't too crowded. Although the trout areas here are crowded, if this is possible then I'd rather be less crowded. Of course the better areas are crowded...so catch 22.
5. Anything is preferrable to rainbows and browns. I catch them here and would like to catch different kinds of fish.
6. Aren't overly restrictive on technique. Around here there are artificial, single barbless hook, catch and release only areas. What can I expect to be the norm there?
Obviously the imporance goes down as the list goes on. I'm very familiar with overcoming adversity while fishing so I expect the worst. Also, I have rainclouds that follow me around so unfortunately for the rest of you, it will be raining when I visit. Sorry.
I will only have a couple days to fish. I would love to hike in somewhere and fish a remote area but I just won't have time.
Tackle:
I use spinning tackle with 4-8# line around here. The water is always a shade of stained and I do fine with 8# green shaded mono. I'm planning on bringing a 2-piece rod with a light action for trout fishing. I'm thinking 4# line...what diameter should I shoot for? My rod is only 5'6, the brushy areas around here require a shorter rod. Will that be a problem?
I slaughter the nice sized trout using larger lures than other fisherman. I think there is a preconceived notion that you have to use tiny baits for trout that exists here. With the water conditions and the sheer size of the trout, I do well with larger lures. Example being, most people will use a tiny rooster tail while I'll go with a larger spinner with 2x as large of a hook. I catch a lot of nice sized browns, especially in bad conditions when people using live/power bait catch only stocker rainbows. I wish I had a picture of the 6" brown I caught on a big spinner...the hook was literally as big as the fish could open its mouth. I still don't know how he got his mouth on that hook.
Does the clear water that abounds your area dictate smaller lures? I may have to stock up. I have a lot of roosters. Bumblebee is awesome around here. Well, I've caught fish on a bumblebee rooster everywhere I've ever fished. I can catch largemouths of good size on these as well as the smallest panfish.
Do rapala minnows work? I get lots of trout on countdowns in either a largemouth or brown trout pattern.
In fact, the brown trout pattern is my most productive color for almost any bait. That may be because they are the only trout that reproduces naturally in the waters I fish. They never see baby rainbows.
How about rebel crawfish crankers? These catch fish like crazy. I also use the medium size to catch smallmouth. Are crawfish even indiginous up there? What color works best? I generally use a red/black or natural color.
I don't have many spoons or flies. Can I survive a trip without an expensive arsenal of flies? I generally use a clear bobber that you can fill with water tied 4' above the fly with spinning tackle. What spoons (brand, color, size) should I look for? Do I even need a spoon this time of year?
We don't have massive insect hatches here so I don't even know the types. Midge? Caddis? It's all greek to me. I know about house flies, deer flies, and horse flies.
Is it too much to expect a place that has brookies packed in like cordwood, isn't crowded, is easy to wade or bank fish, and is breathtakingly beautiful?:lol::lol:
I'll keep you updated with my plans if you're interested.
If any of you ever take a fishing trip to Arkansas (or Louisiana) then I can offer up some good advice. (largemouth, smallmouth, striped/hybrid, giant rainbows or browns, catfish, gar, crappie, and gulf fish like redfish and speckled trout)
