D
DEWMTN
New member
I have been a lurker for a long time. This is my first post, just want to hear some other folks thoughts. I am sure this is a conversation long talked about.
I grew up Salmon fishing. After my late Grandfather couldn't do it anymore, neither did I. Until last summer. I picked up his rod and got back out there. Every weekend, for 8 to 12 hours a day. I have learned a tremendous amount, thanks to being on the water and with the help of good folks here, too. Before I continue, I am sure others will jump in and say that I shoot myself in the foot. Which may be true, because I am a die hard spinner man. I sometimes use twitch jigs, but I can't stand bobber doggin'. Tried it quite a bit, never turned out well for me anyway.
I caught 3 wild Steels, one hatch this year. Lost a big king. Caught a Jack. Been chased down plenty. I learned how to fish almost any water condition with spinners. Late last winter I came to the conclusion that I just must suck at this after being skunked on the Nestucca, little Nestucca, Sandy, Santiam North, Siletz, Clackamas, time and time again. However, every other guy I spoke to out on these rivers told me the same story; "it's just not the same". No one catching fish. ODFW claimed in early spring, that Steels were "pouring" into the North Santiam. In my time on the river, I witnessed one fella get one. That is it. The popular holes saw no rolling, no jumping, nothing. One day in May, I started targeting cutthroat on Three Rivers. caught 7 in an hour, one 13 incher. After that, I began fishing moutain streams, way up stream on popular rivers, etc. I have had tremendous luck with whitefish, hatchery and wild trout too. Took a 3 month hiatus from Salmon and Steelhead to target those fish, and had an absolute blast. I honed my skills on the spinner, and really learned how to present them in different water patterns.
Until a few weeks ago. I thought one day on my way down a mountain, I will hit a couple steelhead holes. I got chased once, and landed 3 honker trout around 15" to 18", all wild and that reignited the fire to go for the big boys. But the past few weeks, no luck. Same story for the rest of the folks on those rivers. I am heading back to the coast for the first time in several months to chase some Coho, maybe some late summer steels. But I find myself going into this with almost no hope, and that makes me sad.
But the last few months gave me some idea of what may be happening, and that maybe I don't actually suck at this.
I noticed that mountain fed streams leading into the big popular rivers are LOADED with trout of varying sizes and species. And they are AGGRESSIVE. One could say this is due to them having a lack of nutrients, and maybe that is true. But I don't know, I am not a fish biologist.
What I did notice, was that the rivers these streams run into, either have hatchery trout, or if not stocked recently are completely void of any fish life. I thought that was peculiar, but makes sense. Now reading some other folks talking of the lack of wild salmon and steelhead in our rivers, I think the same issue is happening to these species as well. We all know that there are multiple issues contributing to this overall problem.
So I suppose my question is; What is everyone else's experiences this year? What have you seen, or not seen?
I grew up Salmon fishing. After my late Grandfather couldn't do it anymore, neither did I. Until last summer. I picked up his rod and got back out there. Every weekend, for 8 to 12 hours a day. I have learned a tremendous amount, thanks to being on the water and with the help of good folks here, too. Before I continue, I am sure others will jump in and say that I shoot myself in the foot. Which may be true, because I am a die hard spinner man. I sometimes use twitch jigs, but I can't stand bobber doggin'. Tried it quite a bit, never turned out well for me anyway.
I caught 3 wild Steels, one hatch this year. Lost a big king. Caught a Jack. Been chased down plenty. I learned how to fish almost any water condition with spinners. Late last winter I came to the conclusion that I just must suck at this after being skunked on the Nestucca, little Nestucca, Sandy, Santiam North, Siletz, Clackamas, time and time again. However, every other guy I spoke to out on these rivers told me the same story; "it's just not the same". No one catching fish. ODFW claimed in early spring, that Steels were "pouring" into the North Santiam. In my time on the river, I witnessed one fella get one. That is it. The popular holes saw no rolling, no jumping, nothing. One day in May, I started targeting cutthroat on Three Rivers. caught 7 in an hour, one 13 incher. After that, I began fishing moutain streams, way up stream on popular rivers, etc. I have had tremendous luck with whitefish, hatchery and wild trout too. Took a 3 month hiatus from Salmon and Steelhead to target those fish, and had an absolute blast. I honed my skills on the spinner, and really learned how to present them in different water patterns.
Until a few weeks ago. I thought one day on my way down a mountain, I will hit a couple steelhead holes. I got chased once, and landed 3 honker trout around 15" to 18", all wild and that reignited the fire to go for the big boys. But the past few weeks, no luck. Same story for the rest of the folks on those rivers. I am heading back to the coast for the first time in several months to chase some Coho, maybe some late summer steels. But I find myself going into this with almost no hope, and that makes me sad.
But the last few months gave me some idea of what may be happening, and that maybe I don't actually suck at this.
I noticed that mountain fed streams leading into the big popular rivers are LOADED with trout of varying sizes and species. And they are AGGRESSIVE. One could say this is due to them having a lack of nutrients, and maybe that is true. But I don't know, I am not a fish biologist.
What I did notice, was that the rivers these streams run into, either have hatchery trout, or if not stocked recently are completely void of any fish life. I thought that was peculiar, but makes sense. Now reading some other folks talking of the lack of wild salmon and steelhead in our rivers, I think the same issue is happening to these species as well. We all know that there are multiple issues contributing to this overall problem.
So I suppose my question is; What is everyone else's experiences this year? What have you seen, or not seen?
