Moving back home to Veneta, Oregon

[bucketman009]

Me and the family will be moving back home Mid June from the East Coast.......and I was REALLY hoping to get into some pannies.....maybe some yellow perch and crappies......not looking for any hot spots......just a few area lakes to look for them in.......also i have a boat and would be willing to trade a trip or two for some info........thanks in advance for any info!!!!!

 

[troutdude]

Way cool. What area, do you want to fish in? I'd LOVE to do, some crappie fishing!

 

[eugene1]

Welcome back home!

Can't help ya with those fish, but maybe there will be some summer runs on the Willy this year.

 

[Fishpdx]

Crappie are starting spawning now , people catch them on the willamette river near sellwood area. Look for creeks entering river or lakes. lot's of cover and you'll find them

 

[troutdude]

LOL Just realized that, you mentioned Veneta. Fern Ridge is full of slabs. And further west (and north a bit), is Triangle Lake.

Also the Long Tom River, below the dam (above the dame, is a trout fishery).

There's also Cottage Grove, and Dorena, Reservoirs just a bit south of Eugene. To the west, and up in the Cascade foothills, is Hills Creek Reservoir. For years, I've read about white crappie in there.

Then, there is the Willy. With lots of tribs, and miles of sloughs to explore. If you want to venture north, there's great water at Minto Brown Park...just SW of downtown Salem.

And a lot more of the Willy, to explore. Including an old rock quarry pond, on the south side of Hwy. 34, just coming out of Corvallis (directly south of Trysting Tree Golf Course). Just don't eat any of, those pond fish. I tubed across that lake, as a kid. Then my cousin, and I, began to see fish floating belly up. Then we noticed a layer refuse landfill, along the SW side of the pond! But that was nearly 40 years ago--so maybe you'll find some with threes eyes by now?

Those places, should keep you pretty busy for while. Good luck.

 

[Billamicasr]

This wont help much for this year, I believe you'll miss the run; if that's what it was.

I remembered filling a cooler more than once with crappie in the spring at the Long Tom River at the North shore of Fern Ridge Reservoir; that was better than 30 years ago and things have changed a bit. I looked on Google Earth for a screen shot and found they made parking lots and a paved road which wasn't there when I was last. It looks like access is now great. There was a passable path that often was flooded and lots of cattails and tall grasses. We used a fly rod because of the length and a 1/16th oz. plastic Mr. Twister jig. No casting just get the jig in the water and wiggle it a couple of times and another fish. They weren't huge by any stretch, probable 8 or so and that made for some "fish stick" sized fillets.

Maybe someone can shed recent light on the crappie runs on the Long Tom or even if they still exist. Did the fish come out of Fern Ridge to enter the river for spawning? Or were they leaving the Long Tom for the open waters of the Reservoir?