Need some pointers please, dedicated beginner .........

[Paul]

I have been long out of the salmon game and have the time and will to get back in, Problem is I have no friends into fishing as me so no one to ask advice from. I remember nothing about salmon fishing as I was never any good.
What I do remember is how to setup corky & yarn.
I bought new equipment, line and set up my rod today and am ready to go out tomorrow for a test day.
I have 12lb line, salmon rod and a few different corky & yarn setups for bottom drifting (or whatever it is called) and a few different spinners.

I need some advice where should I go?
The only places I know really is Dog creek, dodge park and thats about it..... Dont know where the deep pools are or anything..... Where can I have a decent chance? Please give me some pointers, Not asking for secret fishing holes just want a chance.............

Thank you!

 

[FishFinger]

Dodge is a great place to begin, just up from there is the Garbage hole. Cedar creek is an option; cross the river and head to the Slaughter hole and others down river or fish the stretches above CC. They are all public areas you can access.

Corkies... opt for florescent orange. Run your leader @24" lest you be called a flosser...

Pack some #4 orange blue fox spinner too.

 

[Paul]

Is dodge better then the stretch at cc?
I have been to CC the most and never really pulled a fish out, Never crossed the river either so I dont know where to really go....
Whats your opinion for tomorrow morning?
Garbage hole? is that a good thing? lol.......

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=...06pbikhc09BZpCVVDEjPd5-H06pbg&t=h&mra=ls&z=17

 

[Paul]

Garbage hole like right above the bridge? Do I need waders?

 

[FishFinger]

Dodge park @ first light, that's were I'd start.

Decades ago people dumped garbage at the turn out, thus the "Garbage hole" too deep to wade and too slow to effectively drift, spinners recommended.

I'd swim spinners over corkies. Coho get irritated and strike out at spinners as if they do what we do when "swatting" at flies.

 

[Paul]

sorry for the newbie questions but I dont even know how to setup or use spinners over corkies..

 

[Paul]

dodge park just above the bridge on google map right?
so no point in doing corkie and yarn there...... Thats what I have setup, I have to either setup something else or go somewhere I can have luck drifting. Whats you opinion?

 

[Steeliekiller]

Slip bobber and roe at dodge. Set up spinners straight to your main cast up river a little bit let it flutter down til you touch bottom an slow retreive

 

[Paul]

Getting close to bed time....
So do you guys think no point for me to go to dodge for drifting?
Cedar creek is better?
I'm set up for drifting so that's what I want to do, I don't have other gear and can't wait another week to excited to go fishing.

 

[FishFinger]

Dead drifting corkies is a option for Dodge park , I've seen many hooked right at the park drift. Eggs and bobble is a good choice too. Spinner over corkies, I meant spinner instead of corkies especially if fishing the garbage hole.

I'd also recommend you search the forum archives for info on the Sandy. They are chocked full of solid Information regarding the Sandy

 

[Moe]

A little early for the sandy that high up. I've been hooking fish on the clack and I'll be there Monday if I don't go sturgeon fishing. Pm me if you want the exact hole I was gettin em last. Just keep it a secret. I haven't seen any decent action on spinners yet, its been either you use roe or you don't get nothing

 

[troutmasta]

They both rock. Dodge will have more fish right now.

 

[Moe]

Yeah maybe a large group up fish went up with this rain

 

[Paul]

Moe, Did you get anything?
I have gone 3 days in a row.
Sunday went to dodge in the morning and didn't get one bite, Went to CC at about 10am and also nothing. Then went to mciver park and it started pouring so I left.
I have been to CC the other 2 days, Only landed a small 18"...... forgot what they call them, not coho, steelhead............

 

[Moe]

I got sore fighting two oversize sturgeon haha. I'll probably do one more sturgeon trip Saturday then go back to salmon. But just wait a couple days after the rain stops, then there are going to be so much fish rolling around you you're gonna be going insane if they have lockjaw haha.

I would probably start at CC an hour before sunrise. Fish for a couple hours then hit dodge. Float some good eggs under a bobber. If you need to buy some tdy Amerman they ship to your house within like two days. Before leaving a hole try swinging a size 4 spinner. I never start the hole off with a spinner cuz some times It will spook the fish, although when finishing up with a spinner you get slammed by a pissed OFF ho.

If you decide to hit the clack I'd start at eagle creek, then hike to the mouth. That's where they were last week, so they are most likely in the crick now. If nothing then hit McIver after that. Ssme techniques. Just stick witj it my friend you'll run into a hole full of biters and will have an epic day of fishing if you just spend time on the water. Coho fishing you gotta find that pod of fish and you can usually follow them up the river every day and get into that same group of fish.

Another method you should look into is twitching jigs for coho. Those Canadian peeps sure slay the coho that way. YouTube it and there is a very very informative video on how to do it.

Good luck and report back!

 

[setdahook]

Was thinking of heading to Garbage Hole on Saturday or Sunday morning to throw spinners for some Ho's. Still early or worth the trip?

 

[Moe]

With all this rain we've had there are fish everywhere in the system. It wouldn't be a waste of time I'll tell ya that. Go for it you have a good shot at them. 600 coho have gone over rivermill dam on the clack, and that's just the natives. I'd asume its about the same if not better on the sandy since it's free flowing.

 

[LawyerBob]

Paul, have you looked at the book "Fishing in Oregon" by Madelynne D. Sheehan? Another helpful book is "Illustrated Rigging for Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout" by Robert H. Campbell. The first one is a massive compendium of knowledge regarding the various waters in Oregon. It also has extremely useful maps of the major rivers, with information about their more popular holes.

The second book is an illustrated assortment of gear/rigging options that are popular for various fish and seasons. It's not super detailed about how to use each rig, but it presents a massive number of popular rigs and explains their general use.

Of all the fishing books I've purchased, these two are the ones I reference most often. Granted, I'm no fish slayer, so take these recommendations with a grain of salt.