Salem Fishing?? Best places, tips, strategies, etc??

[Steve]

Hello all, I just registered today.

I live in Salem, Oregon and have just started fishing this year. I used to fish when I was younger with my parents etc. Well Im 27 now and recently found out that I love fishing!!! So far this year I have fished in the Willamette, Walter Wirth Lake and Walling Pond. I was just wondering if there was any other hot spots I am missing.

Willamette River- Been on fathers boat once this year, fished a bit mostly boating
Fish Caught: 0

Walling Pond - Been there about 3 times, use powerbait and bobber, maybe a bite or 2 nothing for sure, nice area, some weird bums dumpster diving. Nice wildlife with different birds, animals
Fish Caught: 0

Walter Wirth Lake - Just got back from first time ever fishing there. This is probably my favorite spot so far. Nice area, lots of people when we first came. One bum searching trash for cans (he was friendly though ) Once people left and it started getting dark the fish were jumping like crazy. I was using a bobber with power bait, got at least one good bite as the bobber went all the way down and took my bait. Also I read the park is open until Midnight, is that true? Is there lights that come on for visibility? Do lots of people night fish there?
Fish Caught: 0

So as you can see I am a beginner at this and so far have not caught anything but a fewbites and a sunburn lol, I am determined though and will update in here when I finally do.

Does anyone know any other places to fish in Salem? Any tips for Walter or Walling? Such as bait, techniques etc? Id love to hear anything.

Thanks
Steve

 

[Troutski]

Welcome to OFF...

Welcome to OFF...

Nice to have you on board...I don't fish up there in your part of the state but I am sure someone else on the site will lend you a hand..again welcome to the site.

Chuck

 

[Steve]

Thanks for the welcome Chuck...

Does anyone fish around here?

 

[SDK]

Welcome to the board.

I've been living in Salem since February and the fishing here is not that great, especially without a boat. There are some ponds and sloughs in Minto Brown park, but not much bank access. The areas where there is access are heavily fished. If your dad's boat can get you into the area by the acid ball, you can access the biggest slough in Minto through there.

Walling pond (as you've already seen) is just south of downtown. It's an odd little pond in the middle of an industrial park that used to be a gravel pit. It's a good place to get to quickly after work, and you can hook some decent fish in there. It's just more like a fishing hole than a nice natural setting. the dumpster diving story sounds about right LOL...

I've been experimenting with bank fishing the Willie from the Marine Park boat ramp. Primarily, I'm practicing with casting, presenting and mending line for the weekends. I've been taking the hour drive out to the coast on Saturdays to drift and bobber/egg fish for Salmon and Steelies. If I actually catch something while practicing in the Willie, I'll let you know. I'm not exactly holding my breath though Again, with a boat, you can hunt for sloughs and such off of the main river. There are supposedly large and smallmouth bass to be found there.

That's all I've come up with so far, but I haven't lived here that long. If you find a good spot, or want to get together for an after work trip, let me know...

Scott

 

[Steve]

thanks for replying, I will def check the sloughs, please keep me updated on your catches. Have you tried Walter Wirth Lake yet?

 

[SDK]

Haven't been yet, but they just stocked it again on June 2nd so an after work trip over may be in order. If the stocked trout aren't biting on your powerbait, try throwing some spinners or cranks around.

I also have had luck bobber fishing with the artificial worm baits and lunker lotion when they won't take the pellets. I don't mean the bright artificial worms. They make ones that come in a jar and look/feel like real earthworms. "Gulp Nightcrawlers" I believe. You can get them at Sportsmans Whse..

 

[Steve]

Thanks, Ill have to try the fake worms.. They sure were biting last night about 9pm and I seen a lot jumping. Wish I had about a hour or so longer but towards the end my gf and son were cold and waiting in the car and I felt bad so packed up.. I heard you can fish til midnight there

 

[18406ej]

Hours

Hours

There isn't anything that exempts Walling or Walter Wirth from the fishing regulations regarding when it is lawful to fish (one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset). Midnight would be well past the allowed time frame. We should hook up some time- not too many Salem fishers on the board...

 

[SDK]

I've been heading down to the coast on weekends, but would be up for an after work meet during the week...

 

[chris61182]

There isn't anything that exempts Walling or Walter Wirth from the fishing regulations regarding when it is lawful to fish (one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset). Midnight would be well past the allowed time frame. We should hook up some time- not too many Salem fishers on the board...

It all depends on what you are fishing for, warm water fish are open 24hr, salmon, steelhead, trout, sturgeon, and a few others are the hour before and after.

 

[18406ej]

Good point- I should have read the whole paragraph, huh? Sorry.

 

[The Wiggler]

Thanks, Ill have to try the fake worms.. They sure were biting last night about 9pm and I seen a lot jumping. Wish I had about a hour or so longer but towards the end my gf and son were cold and waiting in the car and I felt bad so packed up.. I heard you can fish til midnight there

Hey Steve.

Welcome back to fishin'!

Salem-Keizer area doesn't seem to have many fishin' oppourtunities. Some people say that the St. Louis Ponds are good, but the only luck I ever had there, in about a dozen times over the years, were 3 bluegill about 3 1/2" long. I heard that the main pond is stocked with trout though. Father's day (last weekend) was the first time I caught anything out of there. Of course, I didn't fish ALL of the ponds, so who knows, there may be some decent fish in there. My guess is that if you were to go to the ponds that you have to hike a ways in to, you may have better luck, and possibly more and/or bigger fish. I think there are 9 ponds in all.

As for other fishin' around Salem area, I've lived in the area most of my life and know of St Louis, Walling Wirth, and Mission Park. If you get a chance, Central Oregon has fantastic fishing. Closer by, of course, is Detroit Lake, which has lots of opportunity for bigger-sized fish, and is stocked multiple times throughout the year with smaller trout. The biggest one I've caught out of there is 14", decent-sized (rainbow). The other one I caught was 12 1/2". Detroit is extremely popular, but if you get there early, you may still have a shot on the dam. There are other spots to fish in that general area too, and along the way I've heard, but haven't had a chance to fish them yet. It's a bit of a drive, but in my opinion, well worth it.

If you don't want to go East, Henry Hagg Lake (not too far from Hillsboro) could be good if you had a motor boat or could hit the bank early. It's a good-sized lake that has bluegill, rainbows, bass and I think some other stuff too. I only ever got one bite out of several times there, but I did see a guy take about a 17-18" trout out of there that looked like a steelhead, beautiful fish. Lots of people fish there, so I would have to think that there must be quite a few fish there (or at least a lot of people believe that).

Good luck! And remember, If you ain't fishin', you ain't livin'!

 

[FishSchooler]

Welcome to you too! There are plenty o bassin spots near salem, Minto Brown, the sloughs, willamette, Louis Ponds, wilsonville pond oh yeah I forgot! Walling pond is great! the water is clear, so you can cast at the fish, there's trout and bluegill in there too. Theres fern ridge too. Hope that gives you some options!

 

[SDK]

I snuck out of the office early, and went to Walling Pond about 3:30PM today. Seemed like everyone was bobber fishing with power Bait, and I saw not a nibble to be had.

After watching for a bit, I put down the bobber rig and rigged up the spinner with a rooster tail. Caught four rainbows in about two hours. I tossed the two smaller ones back, but kept a pair that were in the two to three pound range. At that point I figured I had my share, and also had enough of the dirty looks from the bobber set, so I headed for home.

The two bows are in the oven right now, stuffed with orange slices and garlic gloves. mmmmmm :dance:

 

[Troutski]

Congratulations

Congratulations

I snuck out of the office early, and went to Walling Pond about 3:30PM today. Seemed like everyone was bobber fishing with power Bait, and I saw not a nibble to be had.

After watching for a bit, I put down the bobber rig and rigged up the spinner with a rooster tail. Caught four rainbows in about two hours. I tossed the two smaller ones back, but kept a pair that were in the two to three pound range. At that point I figured I had my share, and also had enough of the dirty looks from the bobber set, so I headed for home.

The two bows are in the oven right now, stuffed with orange slices and garlic gloves. mmmmmm :dance:

Sounds like you schooled them....and dinner is in the oven. :dance: :clap: :clap:

Chuck

 

[SDK]

Yes, I used their tears as a garnish. Delicious :clap:

 

[FishSchooler]

I thought that there were great fishing spots in salem... You've always got the Santiam River and detroit lake around there.

Hey! I'm supposed to school the fish, both teach, put in groups, and own. :lol:

I once caught a newt from hagg bottom fishin for trout with a night crawler, man it was huge, like 2 pounds!

 

[Raincatcher]

Hey, don't forget about all the state parks on the way to Detroit! You don't have to go all the way to Detroit either, Big Cliff has great trout fishing also. Then there is the Santiam River a few miles south of Salem at Jefferson. At the rest area to be precise. I've caught trout,bass,carp and steelhead at that rest area. Stayton has a couple parks (Pioneer Park) with creeks and ponds as well as access to the Santiam (incl. restrooms). I haven't tried it yet, but Minto Brown Park is in Salem and you might find something in Mill Creek which winds all throughout Salem.
There is my $0.02 worth.
Barb

 

[SDK]

Lots of good stuff "around" Salem, more so than in. Detroit Lake is about an hour away, and using that radius, you could count the coast, Portland and Eugene area fishing. That's why I love Oregon. The good fishing and beautiful wild places are never too far away.

I'm actually heading up to Detroit Lake tomorrow with my wife and baby, and we rented a boat for the day. I won't be doing any serious fishing, but will bring the poles along for some fun.

That's another good possibility for an OFF group trip from the Salem area. A 16" center console boat can be rented for $100 for the day. Split up between 3 or 4 people makes it pretty reasonable. Especially for a shot at some nice Kokanee, landlocked Nooks and trout...

 

[18406ej]

You will have to let us know how Detroit was today. I will be getting up at 3:30 on Monday AM to get to Big Cliff for a day of fishing. It was just stocked, so I am hopeful that I will produce something...