Not a bad day on the Molalla today!

[Bnnopo]

Went out with a few friends to a buddy's property just downstream from Wagon Wheel Park today for a little early fishing, then some swimming.

The river dropped quite a bit since we were last down there over 4th of July weekend. My buddy was sure that there were no fish in there because he "can't see any" in the 3 feet of water. I said "It's getting hot, there is shade over the water, and a little undercut in the opposite side bank. I can see tiny fish, trust me, there are fish here." I sling my worm out and as I'm reeling in the slack "Wham!" I got a fish on and my buddy is still trying to rig his line.

Long story short, this goes on for a while. All native rainbows around 10 inches. Not too much girth to them, no real fatties. Didn't take any pictures, the camera phone was in the truck streaming pandora radio, and being natives, I wanted to make sure I got them back in the water quick for a good revive.

So, long story short, there are plenty of trout in the Molalla, and they love the simple night crawler breakfast.

 

[bernduffy]

Nice! I'm going to float the Big Mo soon.

 

[Modest_Man]

Just FYI bait is only allowed on the Molalla May 15th to July 15th, and earthworms are definitely bait. Lots of those "trout" are native winter steelhead parr and we need to be gentle with them. Single barbless hooks recommended and no bait now. Wouldn't want you to get fined either. I've found them very obliging on a size 1 spinner; like 25+ fish. One was 18". This was last summer, this year I'm trying to get them with flies.

 

[Bnnopo]

Ohh, good call on the bait. Power worms until next year. As far as barbless hooks go, always. Normally we fish the cove area, that's full of squawfish that will bite on pretty much anything you throw in there. So my question is, if I am legitimately fishing for squaw, can I use hotdog for bait? Or is bait on the river not allowed at all. This is honestly the first time I have ever fished for anything other then squaw down there. It's fun because you can hammer out fish one after another, and the scavengers, like raccoons get a nice fish meal.

 

[Modest_Man]

It's bait in general, not just bait for certain species. So no bait at all. Also, power worms are bait too. Straight from the regs- "Angling restricted to artificial flies and lures in streams". "Any item used to attract fish which is not an artificial fly or a lure. Molded soft plastic or rubber imitation worms, eggs, or other imitation baits are considered bait. Scent is not considered bait." Keep it to spinners/spoons/flies etc.

Know the regs of the waters you fish.

 

[abel]

One river that has seen remarkable victories in a few short years due to the Native Fish Society River Steward Program is the Molalla River, which now has the healthiest run of Upper Willamette winter steelhead, thanks in large part to the Stewards’ efforts. The following is a list of accomplishments made by NFS Molalla River Stewards to protect and restore the river’s native fish populations.


Bait: Any item used to attract fish which is not an artificial fly or a lure. Molded soft plastic or rubber imitation worms, eggs, or other imitation baits are considered bait. Scent is not considered bait. Page 9

Molalla River (Clackamas Co.): 1. Upstream to Pine Creek Bridge
• Open for adipose fin-clipped Chinook salmon and adipose fin-clipped steelhead entire year.
• Open to harvest of non-adipose fin-clipped steelhead July 1-Aug. 31.
• Use of bait allowed May 15-July 15.
• Open for coho salmon entire year.
• Use of single barbless hooks encouraged.
• No limit on size or number of bass taken. Page 53