Launch from Dayton

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

Launched the NuCanoe on the Yamhill at Dayton this morning at 6 am and trolled 4 miles or so down until it dumped into the Willamette. Arrived at the Willie about 9 a.m., then turned around and trolled some of the way back upriver to the boat ramp and called it a day at 11:30.

Landed 9 smallmouth and 1 pikeminnow. Lost 3 or 4 fish as well. Most of the smallies went about 1/2 a pound, but a couple were 15 inches or so and weighed about 1.5 to 2 pounds. I saw one of the man-eating nutria...or maybe it was a beaver? Saw one otter, one osprey that dived down and grabbed a fish from the river right in front of me. The river itself is beautiful and ranges in depth from 5 to about 35 feet. Current was running about .5 mph. Water temp 59 F.

Trolling was a lot of fun, got to cover a lot of water and see a lot of river, but it was snaggy for sure. Best part of this trip was that it felt like I was on a remote river in the middle of nowhere...there are no houses visible from the Dayton ramp down to the Willie.

The boat ramp looks a bit rough...someone tried to patch it with bricks. It's steep and a little difficult to launch from.

 

[bass]

Thanks for the report. That sounds like that is a really cool place to fish, I will have to give it a try in the kayak one of these days. The remoteness sounds really compelling. Plus, that one smallie in the picture is a nice chunk for sure!

 

[ooth23]

Yeah agree that is a very nice looking smally. doesn't surprise me I fish the Yamhill 5 or so times every summer from the bank and from a boat and do very well. If your fishing from the launch you can catch a few I caught a 5 pnd large mouth and have landed several 2-3 pnders large and small mouth on the right side where the stream that comes in on the right meets the Yamhill. The best fishing on the Yamhill is at the mouth where the current meets the Willy anchor down and fish the edge of the current. I plan on going out in my new canoe here very soon glad to hear you did well gets my hopes up not sure if thats a good thing. Crappie are in there too and unfortunately so are pike minnow aka garbage fish. Last summer me and a buddy went out in his canoe and slayed them at sun up they were everywhere but it dies off around 11 am or so. i have a pic of that 5 pnd large mouth somewhere i will see if i can get it posted.

 

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

There were a couple of guys fishing at the dayton ramp who were talking about the crappie as well. Do people actually eat them out of the Yamhill? There is a lot of animal waste (cattle) flowing into that river. You can really smell the cows in some spots. The water color was good and i didn't see any algae (though i suppose algae wouldn't get thick until the summer). Lots of farmland bordering the river, so there must be quite a few pesticides and herbicides flowing in as well. It's a shame...the fish in there could make for some serious eats. But then again, if they were edible everyone would fish them hard and they would be gone. So maybe it's better if they are little radioactive.

 

[ooth23]

I dont usually eat the bass from either the Yamhill or the Willy..not to say I have not but its usually catch an release for me. However last year when me and a couple other fellas anchored a the mouth of the Yam/Willy we caught 15 bass with some good size most between 1-2 pnds and had a nice fish fry. That being said I have caught to many bass on the Willy with noticeable worms/parasites so I am often hesitant to eat what i catch. Just be sure to inspect your fish well before you decide to keep it.

 

[kenr74]

That is definitely an area where you feel away from it all. I launched last year at the Yamhill Locks and paddled down to Newberg. It was late summer so not much water movement and tons of snags but ok in a kayak. Only saw one other boat before I hit the Willamette.

 

[btplayer]

Does anybody have any advice for fishing technique on the Yamhill? Especially near the mouth and the Willamette.

 

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

Does anybody have any advice for fishing technique on the Yamhill? Especially near the mouth and the Willamette.

For smallies, crankbaits in a crayfish pattern are hard to beat. But they were hitting perch and rainbow colors last week as well. The first quarter mile of river above the mouth is a wide, long section of the yamhill that runs about 10 -14 feet deep and it's great for trolling crankbaits. I like to troll crankbaits with at least 100 ft of line out so they dig deep, letting them bounce along the bottom every now and then. The bass go nuts when they see those little puffs of mud kicking up along the bottom. Trolling for smallies is similar to trolling for trout and I use the same gear for both: a 6 1/2 to 7 ft medium action rod with 10 lb mono, and i almost never set the hook. When trolling, smallies hook themselves and all their head thrashing drives the hooks in further. Once you locate smallies on a stretch of river by trolling, you can run back through that same spot again and again and often pick up more fish. Or you can kill the trolling motor and start hitting the hot spots you found with Texas-rigged soft plastics -- senkos/curly-tail worms/crays/lizards.

Trolling, especially with a depth finder, is a really fast way to learn the fish-holding structure in the river along with spotting both visible and submerged cover. Plus your lure is covering a lot of water, passing by a lot of fish, for a longer amount of time. On a 4 hour fishing trip, my trolled lure is in the water fishing probably 3 1/2 hours. When casting, my lure may only be in the water for 2 hours out of the 4 i'm on the water, maybe even less due to all the boat adjustments, paddling, bad casts, etc.

 

[btplayer]

That is great advice. I have had success with Senkos, but struggled with crankbaits around Newberg because of all the logs in the water and debris. Will give it a try. I catch and release so they will be there for you to catch.

 

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

The Yamhill is very snaggy, too. Replacing treble hooks on crankbaits with single-point siwash hooks reduces hang-ups and makes C&R easier, too. I put the siwash hooks on a swivel so they ride in the water pointing upward (less snaggy) and they simply rotate into the fish's mouth when it strikes. Seems like 90% of the fish are hooked by the rear siwash hook, so you could probably get away with just having one hook on the crankbait which would reduce snagging even more.

I forgot to mention trolling speed. I usually troll 1.5 to 3 mph. I'm fishing the yamhill tomorrow, and I'm going to see if i can hook a smallie at 3.5 to 4.5 mph -- maybe the higher speed will entice a larger fish? Will be fun to find out.

 

[ooth23]

Does anybody have any advice for fishing technique on the Yamhill? Especially near the mouth and the Willamette.

I too have trolled through there doing well and yes it can get a bit snaggy at times. Bait Casting has served me well especially early in the morning. If u can get out on the water before the sun comes over the trees you will see what i am talking about its crazy how many fish you will see. Went last year was at the boat ramp when it was still dark got in just as it was getting light and for about 2 hours bait casting landed 10 bass just around the ramp area. If you want to head to the Mouth of the Yam/Willy anchor down relax for awhile and throw a light weight on just to get it to the bottom but still light enough to move with the current. Find where the 2 currents meat and just flip out a worm and let it move with the current and you will slay it too. The bass hand out in the dead zone there where the 2 currents meet waiting for the bait fish. Last year me and 2 other dudes did that for 4 hours and landed 15.

 

[Outdoor_Myers]

Is the yamhill easy to paddle back up? I would like to get a kayak or a small boat for the yamhill and willy but unsure if its feasable to paddle up river? Also can you anchor down and do some catfishing and still be safe in a kayak?

 

[kenr74]

The Yamhill between Lafayette and the Willamette is BARELY moving. I went down it in July last year and paddled the whole way. Shouldn't be any issues with paddling up it or anchoring. There are a ton of snags to avoid but no problem in a kayak.

 

[ooth23]

Took the Canoe out from the Dayton boat launch early Wednesday morning got on the water about 06:00 and fished until 10:00 or so. Caught a few smallies this was the best of them. Water levels are way way down I would say about 4 feet or so. Current was very slow just drifted about a mile and bait casted a bit was slow but was nice to be out and have the river to myself

 

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

Nce fish. Need to get back out there again. Last time I only had a chance to fish for a couple of hours, and the moss has started getting thick (at least upriver from the ramp). I hadn't realized there were no houses or docks upriver from the ramp, too. It's quiet up there as well.

 

[ooth23]

Since the water levels are so low right now trolling might get a bit dicey a lot of snags. But on a clear sunny day in a lot of spots you may actually be able to see the bottom and do well spotting fish or casting to areas with structure. I found/find casting to the bank right at the edge and retrieving slowly seems to work the best. Got a friend going out to the mouth of the Yamhill and Willy today I suspect he will be anchoring down and tossing some worms with light weight on and letting the current take the bait too where the two currents meet. He usually does very well with that so I will post when he texts me and brags at how well he did. Meanwhile i am stuck at work...

 

[kenr74]

Hit the water around 8 at Dayton and trolled down to the paddle launch in Dundee. Had the river to myself then all the sudden probably 10 kayaks snuck up on me and disappeared around the corner.

 

[fishtales]

Is the yamhill easy to paddle back up? I would like to get a kayak or a small boat for the yamhill and willy but unsure if its feasable to paddle up river? Also can you anchor down and do some catfishing and still be safe in a kayak?

Its easy to paddle up during the summer. so is the Willamette around Newberg. fall and winter would be pretty cold. Not too sure about the anchor.

 

[Gettin' Jiggy Wid It]

Sounds like a good float, Ken. That larger fish is a nice slab. Was the Willie water a little more clear than the yamhill?

 

[kenr74]

Definitely more clear than the Yamhill. I was in 2' of water and couldn't see the bottom in the Yamhill. That big one was quite the anchor trying to get down to Newberg.