Its just all a big scam

[redsox0407]

I moved here to Oregon in 2007, so this is my 3rd year trying to catch a salmon, steelhead, or anything bigger then a stocker trout. 3 yrs and zip, well I did hook a couple at waterloo but they actually called in their buddies and they came over and yanked the hook out. its not for a lack of effort, I've tried to come up with a number of hours I've spent at the rivers (mainly the santiams) and I figure 200 is a fair guess. I've used bobbers with a million different types of bait, bait with weight, spinners, spoons, cork and yarn heck I've even used top water poppers that I would generally use for bass, and don't even get me started on hunting black tail here. So I've come to this conclusion, I'm either the worst fisherman ( and hunter) on the planet which I can except due to the laws of probability being on my side now, or my theory on the fraudulent actions of the ODFG are indeed fact.. This is my theory: There are no fish in the rivers and there isn't any deer or elk on this side of the cascades The fish first: I've seen guys catch huge (to me) Chinooks @ waterloo so I figure these are droid or robotic fish that the ODFG have invested a slew of $ in, in order to trick me into the illusion that there are salmon in these rivers. I think the "rowdy bunch" (witch to me are a great bunch of guys once you get to know them) are actually ODFG employees that are trained in secret covert remote control salmon droid operations. I think all the salmon runs were destroyed single handedly by all the meth heads dropping meth or what ever they use into the river when parties were busted up. As far as the hunting, I've seen sign and tracks and 1 buck and a bunch of cows. I think the ODFG employs hundreds of people to walk the wood directly in front of and out of sight of us hunters. as they are walking they drop little pellets everywhere, and o yea they walk in boots with deer and elk hoofed soles leaving the appearance that actual elk and deer were actually there. I don't know what happened to all the bucks and bulls but I'm almost positive Obama had something to do with it. Anyone else think I'm on to something?

 

[beaverfan]

I would say you are probably doing at least one of these things wrong:

1. Depth, you can fish for years and not catch anything if your fishing the wrong depth. Get your gear on the bottom and your success (and snags) will increase.

2. Reading the water, reading the water is key to salmon/steelhead fishing. Spend some time learning what types of water whatever species your targeting like and hold in. A lot of reading water can be learned from a book but nothing beats experience.

3. Proper presentation, your lure/bait may not be properly presented. Subtle details can make a huge difference when the lure/bait is in the water.

4. Don't get frustrated! That ones huge, if your getting frustrated out there your not having fun and fun is what fishing is all about. Catching something is just a bonus the real joy is being on the water in nature!

 

[nativefish]

Keep at it, a lot of it is timing i have learned. There are certain times of the year, not only during coho season that the fish are in (and pretty much in the same area) and there are more of them than you can shake a stick at. Then there are other times when you go out knowing there is not much out there that is gonna look at your offer. If your getting skunked a ton, try to hook up with someone from here and see if they can show you a thing or too. Guides are cool, i have learned a lot from them but it kinda sucks when you are only puling plugs or diver and bait etc while your with them and you dont own a boat to try your new techniques with. Still is a great time and i have gotten into some of the biggest fish of my life with a guide. But basicaly my advice is find someone who enjoys fishing and go with them and you might learn something or take someone that doesn't know what their doing and teach them what you do know. Its all fun, after being skunked as many times as you have and more possiby i learned to just enjoy my time on the river, lol. But ya, you might be onto something, i think the fishing game and widlife boys are all ran by private intrest and the fish counts are a bunch of jokes. I had one cop on the columbia harass me about how i released a fish cause they were woried about mortality rates.... Next day the gil-nets came out and caught 15,000 fish in a night. How is that for mortality!

 

[Drew9870]

There are not many places where the fish will hold up on the Santiam, the water is always high enough for the fish to shoot right through. Besides, most of the people who know the Santiam don't seem very willing to give info.

 

[redsox0407]

Aswome replies guys I appreciate all the input and yes I go fishing to be at the river and relax #1, if I didn't I would have quit when I was 10 but yea it does get frustrating at times… my time will come.. till then I just keep enjoying this awesome Oregon outdoors.

 

[JeannaJigs]

There are not many places where the fish will hold up on the Santiam, the water is always high enough for the fish to shoot right through. Besides, most of the people who know the Santiam don't seem very willing to give info.

Not true at all, never fished the santiams before this year, and i had people give me TONS of info, and I caught a handful of fish...

 

[Drew9870]

It sure would be helpful to be proven wrong then......

 

[OnTheFly]

I don't know what happened to all the bucks and bulls but I'm almost positive Obama had something to do with it. Anyone else think I'm on to something?

Absolutely!!!:lol:

Seriously, never give up. Remember part of the experiance is being on the water. I recall when I first arrived here (wow! has it been 24 years already?) I went after all the big fish and came up short almost every time and now.....well now I'm still out there not catching anymore salmon or steelhead as when I did when I got here. Slinging a fly rod may have something to do with it though.

 

[SantiamDrifter]

There are not many places where the fish will hold up on the Santiam, the water is always high enough for the fish to shoot right through. Besides, most of the people who know the Santiam don't seem very willing to give info.

I wouldnt say its a tight lipped fishery. But the North Santiam is a tough river to catch steelhead on. Lots of people give up fishing becuz they started fishing the North. I know guides who wont fish the North in the summer becuz its so hard to catch fish. To have constant success there, you have to have it dailed in. And giving tips to people on where to go and what to fish with just isn't enough.

 

[OnTheFly]

A bass fisherman is a frustrated salmon fisherman.

 

[autofisher]

There's a couple of things that I really recommend that seemed to really help me out this year on fishing the Santiam...... #1 Don't put too much pressure on yourself to catch fish. I had way more fun and actually caught more fish when I abandoned all hope and just went to have fun. #2 Switch it up..... go against the norm. For months I read on here that pink worms don't work. Guess what? HAMMERED fish on the North Santiam with pink worms. #3 Jerks are free...... there were a couple of times that I missed fish because of a hesitation on my hook set. The steel up there are lightening fast and even if you were sitting there watching the fish swallow your bait, there's still a good chance that you're not gonna feel it in your traditional fish "nibble" sense. #4 Go with a friend or two.... it always breaks the monotony and even if you aren't the one fighting the fish, it's still exciting. You'll find that a lot of people on here are more than willing to share information when they're approached in the right manner.

 

[natro]

You just have to keep at it, keep on fishing and hunting. I couldn't tell you how many hours and dollars in gas I've spent going up on the rivers trying to catch fish. Probably the best thing that I've done is when you're on the river, just take a look around to see what the other people might be using. And if you run into someone on the river that sounds like they might be a little nice, ask them questions. As far as hunting goes, yeah hunting blacktails can be real hard. But it just takes time and effort and practice. In my opinion, and even what I've read out of hunting magazines, blacktail deer are the hardest deer to hunt, out of blacktail, mulies, and whitetail. I watch these hunting shows on tv, and they're shooting these huge bucks, seeing easily into the double digits of monster deer each day, all out of the front seat of their rig. I'd love to see one of these hunting shows do an episode on hunting some blacktail. Then they'd be doing some real hunting. Anyways, it just comes down to putting the time in, asking some questions and doing a little research.

 

[redsox0407]

great responses guys, seriously I appreciate all the input I can read. And yea natro I've said the same thing to my wife a hundred times " lets see you guys do a show on black tail, then I'll believe your such a great hunter. lets see some tecamate food plots over here. maybe there's not a wide enough angle lens to capture all the 18ft wide open areas over here. Its all good like I before if I wasn't having fun I wouldn't be doing it... or taking the time to type up my 12 o'clock campfire theory's.

 

[youngbuck307]

So all I got to say on this is if u have fished 200 hour and not got anything. No big deal that only 25 8hr days. In cents of salmon steel fishing that's not much at all! I went that in my first winter steel season alone! I was on unemployment so had lots of free time! But I didn't get into fish until the summer run came in. I would say I spent around 500hrs on the river befor I got my first! So don't get down on urself at all man! I spank fish now it's been 3 weeks ( only fish saterdays) cents I got one and that's way to long

 

[halibuthitman]

its all a brite shining lie.... odf is waggin the dog... The fish in washington practicely jump in the boat...

 

[brandon4455]

its all a brite shining lie.... odf is waggin the dog... The fish in washington practicely jump in the boat...

lewis river... thats all i have to say

 

[colbypearson]

A bass fisherman is a frustrated salmon fisherman.

not always, there are a few of us that are just bass fisherman bass fisherman :lol:

who knows maybe that goes 2 ways.... haha

 

[colbypearson]

its all a brite shining lie.... odf is waggin the dog... The fish in washington practicely jump in the boat...

just to put it into perspective how well (some, to make sure i dont offend anyone) of the workers at our oregon department of fish and wildlife offices are trained well enough, that when i caught my first oregon spotted bass and the first brought to oregon's official certification as a spotted bass...this was at the office in central point here i knew it was a spot bieng an avid bass angler 100%...... nope they swore it was a "perch-bass" half yellow perch half largemouth bass, what idiots, the fish was sent to OSU, for certification....lets just say i was right... i guess they didn't go to college long enough that theyre theory is not even remotely feasible, a perch bass LMAO :lol:

 

[OnTheFly]

not always, there are a few of us that are just bass fisherman bass fisherman :lol:

who knows maybe that goes 2 ways.... haha

lol. I like to throw that one out there once in awhile to see if you guys are awake.

 

[colbypearson]

lol. I like to throw that one out there once in awhile to see if you guys are awake.

hahahahaha true that i sleep with 1 eye open